Plugging large holes in 1in plate

J

jmarkwolf

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I have an 8in x 8in x 1in steel plate I want to use for a project. It already has four 0.375in holes I want to plug, to make the plate "contiguous".

I'm thinking of drilling and tapping the four holes to 1/2-13 (0.4219in tap drill), then "slathering" JB Weld on bolts (or studs) spin them into the holes, sticking out a little proud on each side, then once the JB Weld cures, milling or fly-cutting down the surface of the plate.

Any other suggestions?
 
Seems to be a nice solution. The only thing I might do differently is to tap to 1/2-13, run in an appropriate length piece of all-thread leaving it a bit proud on the bottom and a little sub-flush on top. Weld the top side, then mill both surfaces.

Bruce
 
No need to tap if you have a welder, just use ⅜ rod to fill the hole and plug weld top and bottom, grind or machine flat. Otherwise, your original plan will work.
 
Eddyde said:
... just use ⅜ rod to fill the hole and plug weld top and bottom, grind or machine flat.
Click to expand...

This ^^ is what I would do. Have you ever tried to tap 1" steel plate before? If you don't have a welder, find a friend who does.
 
I'd countersink the holes from both sides, and full penetration weld from both sides. Once you machine it flat, it'll be like it was never there. And only take about 10 minutes to do it. Then you can locate your features on the new part wherever you feel like it, as it will essentially be one homogenous piece of steel.
 
jmarkwolf said:
I have an 8in x 8in x 1in steel plate I want to use for a project. It already has four 0.375in holes I want to plug, to make the plate "contiguous".

I'm thinking of drilling and tapping the four holes to 1/2-13 (0.4219in tap drill), then "slathering" JB Weld on bolts (or studs) spin them into the holes, sticking out a little proud on each side, then once the JB Weld cures, milling or fly-cutting down the surface of the plate.

Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...
Do you have drawings.
On steel never use JB Weld it will let you down.

JB Weld works a sub for locktie

Dave
 
We used to do it all the time when building prototype machines. Sometimes a component only needed to be moved an inch or even fraction of an inch for better performance.

The procedure was similar to what most have forwarded so far.
1. countersink the hole from both sides
2. make or find a piece of the same material that will press fit into the hole
3. cut the stock slightly shorter than the hole
4. chamfer both ends
5. press it in the hole leaving it equal distance from either end
6. weld in place
7. machine the surface back to proper thickness

As a caveat we never admitted to making mistakes. If a component needed to be moved it was because it was called out wrong on the print, not because the print was read wrong. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
 
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