# Brought home a Boxford Mk2 yesterday!



## ghostdncr (Mar 24, 2017)

I went on a twelve-hour road trip yesterday to pick up a Boxford Mk2 yesterday. Nothing fancy, just a standard Mk2 with the fixed table and manual downfeed, but it is equipped with a nice swivel vise setup. Drove up to just south of Akron, Ohio to a little welding shop out in the middle of nowhere with cash in hand. This one had all the hallmarks frequently heard about the Boxford's, in that it had been purchased "several years ago" at a tech school auction and the seller described it as having no visible damage or wear aside from a missing knob on one of the handles (drive release handle). 

I headed out in the middle of the night and arrived at the shop around 8:30am. I struggled with road construction and delays around/through several major cities and near the end went about fifteen miles down a hilly, snaky road I would've never guessed existing in northern Ohio, followed by 3-1/2 miles on rough gravel, and culminating in .8 miles of what would be best described as a Jeep/goat path through the woods. Sure enough, there was a welding shop back there! I was a little worried about getting back out in one piece with a top heavy, 500lb. shaper riding in the bed, though.

After introductions and pleasantries, the owner immediately apologized for his error in description, correcting his "several years ago" remark to say he got to thinking about it and he had bought the machine approximately 22 years ago. Said it had sat right there in the corner ever since. I found that to be intriguing news, with the possibility of its being a low-hours machine growing in my mind. He had dribbled some oil here and there and everthing seemed to work smoothly, so money changed hands, the little shaper was loaded, and back down the goat path I went.

Arriving home many hours later, the sky was threatening rain and I needed to get the machine into my basement. It took about an hour, but I disassembled the machine and carried it down one subassembly at a time. The steel cabinet was by far the most challenging piece, but I got it all down there. Due to the rain, I neglected to take a single photo before disassembly, but I'll post some of the cleanup and reassembly in coming days. Looking over my pile of parts late last night, I can't help but guess this machine hasn't been ran 10 hours since new. There is almost zero wear on any of the mechanisms that I could detect with the naked eye and so-so lighting. Mostly accumulated filth, welding soot, light surface corrosion on exposed metal surfaces, and the like.

Here's a link with some good pics until I can get around to uploading the real deal: http://www.lathes.co.uk/boxfordshaper/


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## MonkMan (Mar 24, 2017)

Interesting find. How did you hear about it? Thanks!


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## ghostdncr (Mar 24, 2017)

MonkMan said:


> Interesting find. How did you hear about it? Thanks!



I was fairly certain the Boxford would be a good fit for me and had been looking for one for quite awhile. Found a few that were far out of driving range, a couple of junkers that were way overpriced, the usual stuff we contend with when seeking out used machinery. There's a website I use pretty regularly  http://www.searchcraigslist.org/ that searches craigslist ads nationwide, and it really came through for me in this case. I called the contact number, and now there's a Mk2 partially disassembled in my basement!

The Mk2 is fitted with a Baldor Type 56 1/2hp 1725rpm 3-phase motor. A very common frame/footprint, etc. My problem is that I don't have 3-phase power and no plans to acquire it at this location. Should I temporarily convert over to a single phase motor or start exploring 3-phase converters to best get this little devil back to making chips? Of all the industrial skill sets, the electrical arts are by far my weakest. With this in mind, I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions. I read somewhere that a 3-phase motor will help produce a better finish with a shaper, but can't recall the why of that statement.


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## scwhite (Mar 24, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> I was fairly certain the Boxford would be a good fit for me and had been looking for one for quite awhile. Found a few that were far out of driving range, a couple of junkers that were way overpriced, the usual stuff we contend with when seeking out used machinery. There's a website I use pretty regularly  http://www.searchcraigslist.org/ that searches craigslist ads nationwide, and it really came through for me in this case. I called the contact number, and now there's a Mk2 partially disassembled in my basement!
> 
> The Mk2 is fitted with a Baldor Type 56 1/2hp 1725rpm 3-phase motor. A very common frame/footprint, etc. My problem is that I don't have 3-phase power and no plans to acquire it at this location. Should I temporarily convert over to a single phase motor or start exploring 3-phase converters to best get this little devil back to making chips? Of all the industrial skill sets, the electrical arts are by far my weakest. With this in mind, I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions. I read somewhere that a 3-phase motor will help produce a better finish with a shaper, but can't recall the why of that statement.


I love your new Shaper it is a great find
I also just bought me a 7" Southbend shaper
I drove from Shreveport, Louisiana to New Jersey
To pick up a Clausing 8520 mill & Clausing 8540
Mill . It was 1350 miles one way .On the way up there I told my friend that went
With me . Would it be nice if he had a Shaper we could buy . Guess what he did have one and we bought it .
     I will put some pictures on here if I can ever
Get my 10 year old Grandaughter to show me how .
     LOL


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## ghostdncr (Mar 24, 2017)

scwhite said:


> I will put some pictures on here if I can ever
> Get my 10 year old Grandaughter to show me how .
> LOL



That's a great story! I hope your grandaughter will help out because I'd love to see the photos.

Speaking of photos, I had a little time to start actually messing with the Boxford this morning. I was mostly curious if this machine would be ready to go into service after a thorough teardown and cleaning or if it would need substantially more work. I cleaned the ram ways/gib up top and then the feed plate and pulley to generally assess both the ways and the external surfaces, of which these items should give a fair impression of similar components. While it wasn't easy work, my progress would indicate I'm going to need help with that 3-phase issue MUCH sooner than I was anticipating!

I found no wear to speak of anywhere in the ram ways. There were two small burnished spots on the gib down toward one end but aside from that and some minor corrosion spotting, the ways look great. In the pic below you can see that twenty-plus year old layer of filth I mention earlier. A dull carbide scraper blade made short work of it, though. Good thing, because neither WD40 or kerosene would touch it. Finished off with a fine stainless toothbrush and those are good to go.








I would almost bet the machine was covered in heavy oil before the previous owner stored it. That combined with years of welding soot and general airborne fines so common in such an environment are what made this layer. It has a consistency not unlike dried clay, but seems to have formed a jacket that offered some protection from the elements. The pulley and feed plate cleaned up nicely, as well.

Before:






After:


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## scwhite (Mar 24, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> That's a great story! I hope your grandaughter will help out because I'd love to see the photos.
> 
> Speaking of photos, I had a little time to start actually messing with the Boxford this morning. I was mostly curious if this machine would be ready to go into service after a thorough teardown and cleaning or if it would need substantially more work. I cleaned the ram ways/gib up top and then the feed plate and pulley to generally assess both the ways and the external surfaces, of which these items should give a fair impression of similar components. While it wasn't easy work, my progress would indicate I'm going to need help with that 3-phase issue MUCH sooner than I was anticipating!
> 
> ...


It looks good you will have it running soon


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## ghostdncr (Mar 26, 2017)

And I've officially arrived at the "woe is me" portion of this project. While tentatively breaking down the ram assembly yesterday, I broke the clapper box! The protective oil coating discussed earlier had managed to expertly conceal a small set screw retaining the 7/16" taper pin upon which the toolholder plate pivots. This setscrew was also not illustrated on the ram assembly blueprint posted on Boxford's spares website here: http://www.boxford-software.com/spares/SHRam.html Sadly, I even consulted their print before beginning disassembly, looking for just such a trap as this. Note to self: in the future, pre-clean assemblies before teardown commences...

I was using a wee ball-pien hammer (~10 oz.) and a 1/4" brass  punch, just to give an idea of the limited force applied to the taper pin. On the second tap the taper pin began moving. Not much, but it clearly moved. Each successive tap moved it a bit more, so I continued. After the taper pin had moved perhaps 1/8", the hidden set screw reached the end of the flat machined on the taper pin and encountered the sharp shoulder of said flat. On my next tap, the pin popped free and I heard/saw several somethings bounce off the bench and onto the floor. My initial thought was that something lying on the bench had vibrated off or been knocked off by the ejecting taper pin, but it was not to be. A quick glance at the underside (from my perspective) of the clapper box showed significant damage and to say my heart sank would be the understatement of the day:






I've already gotten an email sent off to Boxford to request pricing on a replacement. It's shown as an active part number on their spares website, at a cost of £30.25 ($37.74 USD as of this morning's exchange rate) and what I consider to be an extraordinarily fair price. Of course, that cost may have been posted in 2003 and never updated but I'll worry about that when it comes up.

Today, I'll be trying to put this amateurish mistake behind me and continue cleaning the undamaged components of the ram assembly. It's now fully disassembled and I'm happy to report none of the remaining pieces have suffered additional damage at my hands. Yet...

As it seems easy enough to find a comparable single-phase motor for around $125, I will probably end up going that route. Should I consider going to a slightly larger motor, say 3/4hp, when switching from 3-phase to single, or is this a consideration I've made up entirely in my own mind?


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## MonkMan (Mar 26, 2017)

Great! Looks like this is easily resolved.


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## ghostdncr (Mar 28, 2017)

An email exchange with Steve Bowers (Boxford's customer service manager) has revealed that they have essentially no spare parts of any kind for the Boxford shapers. He also told me that almost none of these machines were sold on the US market, explaining the apparent lack of used parts available from any of my usual domestic sources. Looks like I've got about three decent options at this point, and will likely pursue all three somewhat simultaneously:

Begin haunting eBay UK in hopes I can find a machine being parted out.
Machine an insert to replace the broken tab.
Make an entire new clapper box from bar stock.
I'll set up a search alert on eBay UK so that I'll be notified by email if anyone posts anything with "Boxford" in the title or description. A simple process that runs in the background without any further intervention on my part.

Using common inserting practice, the finished repair will likely be stronger than the original part. I ordered a taper-pin reamer yesterday and will begin scrounging around for a suitable piece of insert stock today. 

I've always found it interesting to use a machine to make repair parts for itself. In this case, the repaired clapper box could be used to make a new clapper box! I've used A36 in the past as something of a cleaner substitute for cast iron parts and see no reason it wouldn't work in this case. Considering the design and fitment required, I'd like to avoid all that moving around experienced with CRS, and I believe an alloy like 4140 or one of the air-hardening tool steels would just be overkill.


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## f350ca (Mar 28, 2017)

Bugger (think thats an English term) on breaking your clapper. Nice looking machine, I love shapers. If you have the broken parts could they be brazed back together to get it going. I've had a Logan and now a Peerless, neither have a set screw on the tapered pin, so don't feel too bad.
As for the three verses single phase I'll probably get flamed on this but you'd never see the difference in surface finish. I've discussed this with electrical engineers and they agree the only way you could see the added energy pulses from three phase would be when the motor was at near stall and the momentum of the armature let alone the rotating mass of the driven equipment wasn't smoothing it out. My analogy is can you feel the pulses from a 4 cylinder engine vs a V8 when your driving down the highway?
A 1/2 HP would probably never run out of power but you could go 3/4 and the lower load would have it running a little cooler. There's no tag on the old repulsive inductive motor I have on the Peerless but Im guessing it 2 or 3 HP it never slows down taking 1/8 th cuts 16 or 18 inches long.

Greg


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## ghostdncr (Mar 28, 2017)

Thanks for that post, Greg. Lots of good info there to ponder as I get this little machine back up and running. I had considered brazing, but the largest piece broken out of the clapper is scarce bigger than my little fingernail cubed. That would be a mighty fine brazing job and I don't know anyone with that level of skill at it. My friends and I would be better suited to brazing a manhole cover back together, or something of that sort. 

That's a good analogy, comparing the 4 and 8 cylinder engines at highway speeds. Makes perfect sense. Most of my work will be light duty cuts in aluminum, brass, iron, and mild steel, so a loss of momentum is unlikely. I may yet upgrade to a 3/4hp for the very reason you mentioned. Letting the motor work comfortably suits me fine, especially since there appears to be little price difference between the two.


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## scwhite (Mar 28, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> And I've officially arrived at the "woe is me" portion of this project. While tentatively breaking down the ram assembly yesterday, I broke the clapper box! The protective oil coating discussed earlier had managed to expertly conceal a small set screw retaining the 7/16" taper pin upon which the toolholder plate pivots. This setscrew was also not illustrated on the ram assembly blueprint posted on Boxford's spares website here: http://www.boxford-software.com/spares/SHRam.html Sadly, I even consulted their print before beginning disassembly, looking for just such a trap as this. Note to self: in the future, pre-clean assemblies before teardown commences...
> 
> I was using a wee ball-pien hammer (~10 oz.) and a 1/4" brass  punch, just to give an idea of the limited force applied to the taper pin. On the second tap the taper pin began moving. Not much, but it clearly moved. Each successive tap moved it a bit more, so I continued. After the taper pin had moved perhaps 1/8", the hidden set screw reached the end of the flat machined on the taper pin and encountered the sharp shoulder of said flat. On my next tap, the pin popped free and I heard/saw several somethings bounce off the bench and onto the floor. My initial thought was that something lying on the bench had vibrated off or been knocked off by the ejecting taper pin, but it was not to be. A quick glance at the underside (from my perspective) of the clapper box showed significant damage and to say my heart sank would be the understatement of the day:
> 
> ...


Ouch  not good


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## FOMOGO (Mar 29, 2017)

Well, if we never broke anything, we probably wouldn't be able to appreciate it nearly as much when something comes apart painlessly. At anywhere near that price, replacement seems like the easiest option. If I were going to braze it, I would just throw out the piece and braze it up solid and re-machine. Cheers, Mike


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## scwhite (Mar 29, 2017)

FOMOGO said:


> Well, if we never broke anything, we probably wouldn't be able to appreciate it nearly as much when something comes apart painlessly. At anywhere near that price, replacement seems like the easiest option. If I were going to braze it, I would just throw out the piece and braze it up solid and re-machine. Cheers, Mike


I would buy the new one if it is available


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## scwhite (Mar 29, 2017)




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## scwhite (Mar 29, 2017)

Here is my Clausing 8520  vertical mill 
And my 7" Southbend Shaper


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## ghostdncr (Mar 30, 2017)

Yesterday brought some good news on the Boxford project. Looking through eBay and craigslist ads for electric motors, I was finding mostly incompatible motors at near-new prices, so wasn't overly impressed with the chances for any near-term resolution on my power issue. There was this one ad that had just been posted overnight, though. I initially blew that one off because the entire ad consisted of "Electric motor, good shape." That description covers a lot of ground, ya know? It could be anything from a slot car motor the size of your thumbnail up through that 300hp motor I once saw being rewound where my wife works. Having no luck anywhere else, I sent the guy a text. It took most of the day to extract all the info from him but by mid afternoon was satisfied that his motor was almost exactly what I was looking for. Best of all, he only wanted $40 for it. I'm scheduled to pick it up this morning and it should be a bolt in, plug and play swap for the original. I stated earlier that the original motor was a 1/2hp, but was confusing the Boxford with a tool post grinder I'm also currently working on. The Boxford motor is 3/4hp and the one I'm picking up today is 1hp. That appears to be the only variation in spec between the two.

As to the damaged clapper box, I mentioned the possibility of inserting the damaged area to carry along until I can make an entirely new one. On the chance that some of you may have never dealt with inserting procedure, I thought it may be helpful to briefly discuss what this involves. I've worked in plastic injection molding off and on for many years and inserting damaged areas in tooling is so common a procedure that we come to take it for granted. The internal forces produced during a molding cycle are tremendous, so it only makes sense to me that the clapper box could be repaired, at least temporarily, using these same techniques.

I was taught that capturing an insert on at least three axes would usually produce an acceptable repair. Using this advice, I've envisioned what I think is a suitable insert to withstand the forces acting upon the clapper box during operation. Sorry about the cheesy MS Paint sketch, but it's what I've got to work with...




You should be able to see how the insert will be captured on the _X, Y,_ and _Z_ axes above. The _X-_axis will be controlled primarily by the flat head screws seen near the bottom of the insert. To reinforce this, I may turn out a temporary taper pin with a threaded section on the small end. A locking nut snugged against the undamaged side would transfer support from the good "ear" over to the inserted side, which would in turn give us three points of support for the insert. The _Y_-axis is pretty straightforward, as there will be original material blocking the insert in at two points along this axis. The_ Z_-axis will be captured at three points, both a "foot" running along the underside of the clapper box, the undercut seen running along the _Y_-axis toward the rear, and the flat head screws will also be resisting shear forces along the _Z_-axis.

This insert will be fitted pretty tight and since it isn't backed up (on the right side, _X_-axis) by standing steel as it would be in an injection mold, I'll be coating all the mating surfaces with some type of epoxy, such as DevCon Liquid Steel, during assembly. I can't imagine this not holding together long enough to get the new clapper box blanked out. Actually, I can't imagine ever generating enough force with the little Boxford to blow this repair. I may be dead wrong, but I don't think so. I'll try to get video of the first cuts in case it does.


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## scwhite (Mar 30, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> Yesterday brought some good news on the Boxford project. Looking through eBay and craigslist ads for electric motors, I was finding mostly incompatible motors at near-new prices, so wasn't overly impressed with the chances for any near-term resolution on my power issue. There was this one ad that had just been posted overnight, though. I initially blew that one off because the entire ad consisted of "Electric motor, good shape." That description covers a lot of ground, ya know? It could be anything from a slot car motor the size of your thumbnail up through that 300hp motor I once saw being rewound where my wife works. Having no luck anywhere else, I sent the guy a text. It took most of the day to extract all the info from him but by mid afternoon was satisfied that his motor was almost exactly what I was looking for. Best of all, he only wanted $40 for it. I'm scheduled to pick it up this morning and it should be a bolt in, plug and play swap for the original. I stated earlier that the original motor was a 1/2hp, but was confusing the Boxford with a tool post grinder I'm also currently working on. The Boxford motor is 3/4hp and the one I'm picking up today is 1hp. That appears to be the only variation in spec between the two.
> 
> As to the damaged clapper box, I mentioned the possibility of inserting the damaged area to carry along until I can make an entirely new one. On the chance that some of you may have never dealt with inserting procedure, I thought it may be helpful to briefly discuss what this involves. I've worked in plastic injection molding off and on for many years and inserting damaged areas in tooling is so common a procedure that we come to take it for granted. The internal forces produced during a molding cycle are tremendous, so it only makes sense to me that the clapper box could be repaired, at least temporarily, using these same techniques.
> 
> ...


That should work good . Most of the force is against 
The bottom of the Clapper Box where it mats up 
With the head . 
     I don't think you will have any trouble out of it


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## scwhite (Mar 30, 2017)

You could braze that Brocken piece right back on there and bore the hole back out .
     I bet it would last 50 more years


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## Rob (Mar 30, 2017)

Was the tapered pin that you had to remove threaded on the end with a nut to hold it in place and temper it?  I forget the name of these tapered pin but the nut holds it in place with the prober tension.


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## ghostdncr (Mar 30, 2017)

No Rob, the original did not have that threaded feature on the small end. I can't remember the name of those pins either, but was kinda thinking there was such a style out there.


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## C-Bag (Mar 31, 2017)

My condolences about your clapper box. And having just gone through a 7b shaper I know all about trying to figure out how something as complicated as shaper comes apart by a parts blowup. I only messed up one screw not knowing there was a set screw not shown on the diagram. I feel it was just dumb luck on my part. 

It's hard to see by your photo, but it looks like a good chunk of the side of the box is still intact inside of where the set screw was. I'm no engineer, but I am a welder. And I'd braze that outer part back up in a heartbeat and never think twice. From what I gather of the shaper the real stress is in the power stroke and that part is just the hinge for return clapper. 

The first thing we had to do in welding class was take two flat pieces of steel and v grind them then braze them together. Then take it to the press and with the braze down, bend the plate to a perfect U shape. Mine held and it taught me brazing is not soldering, done right it is really strong. 

The motor belt guard on my 7b was obviously broken off which broke the cast iron mount where it was supposed to go. Rather than buy the whole oil tray it is part of, I built up braze to replicate the missing chunk and ground it down to shape. Then re drilled the hole. Granted, it's not as crucial a part of the clapper box, but I would bet it would make it so you could use your shaper to make another clapper box. Just my 2c.


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## ghostdncr (Mar 31, 2017)

After several of you guys suggested it, I'm fishing around right now for someone who might be able to handle the brazing. I live in a fairly large city and most of the shops I've contacted will build an iron fence around a five-acre estate or fabricate a three-story spiral staircase, but have no time for my little repair. That whole farm shop mentality doesn't seem to exist here in town. One of my country friends thinks his friend knows a guy whose second cousin's uncle's brother-in-law does stuff like this, so he's trying to get a name and number for me.

I finally finished cleaning up the ram last night and slid it back into the base to see how things felt now that they're clean and freshly oiled. I didn't fine tune the gib, but things felt silky. I'm going to let that sit for now and move on to cleaning some other component...


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## C-Bag (Mar 31, 2017)

You might be looking in the wrong place as commercial welding shops. And yeah, oxy-acetylene welding is turning into a lost art along with brazing. Personally I love to do both and it was a fun project to build up that mount on the oil tray. I'd never done that before, only using it weld up cast iron parts before. 

Have you tried like a bicycle frame builder or metal artist? Brazing bike cro-moly frames have made a comeback so there might be somebody who could do it.  I know an artist in Lousiville and I was needing to touch base anyway and I asked him if he could do something like that or knows somebody. If he gives me any leads I'll let you know. 

Good luck.


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## Rustrp (Mar 31, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> After several of you guys suggested it, I'm fishing around right now for someone who might be able to handle the brazing. I live in a fairly large city and most of the shops I've contacted will build an iron fence around a five-acre estate or fabricate a three-story spiral staircase, but have no time for my little repair. That whole farm shop mentality doesn't seem to exist here in town. One of my country friends thinks his friend knows a guy whose second cousin's uncle's brother-in-law does stuff like this, so he's trying to get a name and number for me.
> 
> I finally finished cleaning up the ram last night and slid it back into the base to see how things felt now that they're clean and freshly oiled. I didn't fine tune the gib, but things felt silky. I'm going to let that sit for now and move on to cleaning some other component...


There are several welding process and directions to take in doing the repair especially if you plan on using the repaired part long enough to make a new part. If I were welding it I would go with a nickel rod (as a permanent repair) as a first choice, TIG weld it up with silicon bronze as a second choice and braze it up as a last choice. If you have the room/clearance where the part is located, just fasten (drill and tap) a piece of bar stock on the side to limp through to the next step. In the mean time; As you get it installed a replacement will show up on EBay. 

The problem in most shops is finding someone (employee) who can move between projects without two hours of instruction. I get the question; Do you do jobs this small? I work by the hour, so they're all small jobs. You get a quote, I get a deposit and there's no surprises later.


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## scwhite (Apr 2, 2017)

Rustrp said:


> There are several welding process and directions to take in doing the repair especially if you plan on using the repaired part long enough to make a new part. If I were welding it I would go with a nickel rod (as a permanent repair) as a first choice, TIG weld it up with silicon bronze as a second choice and braze it up as a last choice. If you have the room/clearance where the part is located, just fasten (drill and tap) a piece of bar stock on the side to limp through to the next step. In the mean time; As you get it installed a replacement will show up on EBay.
> 
> The problem in most shops is finding someone (employee) who can move between projects without two hours of instruction. I get the question; Do you do jobs this small? I work by the hour, so they're all small jobs. You get a quote, I get a deposit and there's no surprises later.


If you nickel rod tig weld that part up
You will never get the taper pin reamed back right.
Sure it will holed good but you are going to wind up with a very hard glaze seam Right where your cracked off piece is and it is right through
That taper hole .
     You are going to have to brake that cast iron with
A Yellow brass none fluxed brazing rod .
  And buy your brazing flux in a dry powder can
It is  Peterson brazing flux . It is a blue dry powder
Flux in a one lb. Can the brazing rod is solid brass slick no flux on the rod .
     You will heat the tip of that rod and dip it into the can of flux it flux will stick to the end of the rod
Then you will keep doing that as long as you are brazing the first pass .
   Clean all of the hardened flux before starting the next pass you do this until you finish .
     Then you can machine , drill and tap , and bore , and ream your taper hole without any trouble.
     The Yellow brass brazing in this way is by far the very best way to repair the Broken clapper box .
     Bar None .
          You are going to have to buy the reamer also


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## ghostdncr (Apr 2, 2017)

scwhite said:


> If you nickel rod tig weld that part up
> You will never get the taper pin reamed back right...



Nickel rod is great stuff for welding cast iron, but it wouldn't do very well in this application. I've already got the taper pin reamer and I was hoping to have it in good condition AFTER completing this job! Brass brazing is likely the best way to approach this, except for one minor detail. In cleaning up the clapper box and the broken-off ear, I found the ear to be cracked in two other places that all let go during the cleaning process. The damaged part is now three damaged parts and I've yet been able to get them set into place where everything is closely aligned. Never mind seeing how to V several of those tiny surfaces sufficiently for the filler rod. I'm leaning strongly back toward the insert repair I discussed earlier.

If it ain't one thing, it's another, right?


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## Rustrp (Apr 2, 2017)

scwhite said:


> If you nickel rod tig weld that part up


I would TIG weld it up with silicon bronze which has a tensile strength of something around 60k+.  It's quick, easy and fast. I would consider TIG or SMAW (stick) nickel filler metal also. I would preheat in any of the choices and all the processes produce good machinable welds. On problem with machining is what may flow out of the cast iron when welding and end up in the weld metal. The same problem exists when you machine cast iron.....SUPRISE! and the cutter is dull or breaks.


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## Rustrp (Apr 2, 2017)

ghostdncr said:


> I'm leaning strongly back toward the insert repair I discussed earlier.


The insert is a good repair and without seeing the additional broken pieces it's difficult to choose a direction on the remaining repairs. Your initial photo showing the hole for the tapered pin indicates you still have about 2/3 of the original hole circumfrence remaining which is still a lot of strength. I would begin with a v-groove on the top where the set screw hole is and weld it in place. Then vee the side (outside) and weld it up. I usually do these as a step by step process in order to clamp the pieces together as accurately as possible along the fracture lines and continue with a die grinder to vee if needed.


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## Rustrp (Apr 2, 2017)

scwhite said:


> You will never get the taper pin reamed back right.


Never is a Looooooong time.


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