Crack in cast iron nose piece

[Howard Wright]

Hi All

I have found a small crack in the nosepiece of my 1929 chassis.

The pictures aren't too clear but the pencil mark denotes the crack's extent.  There are a couple of scratch or foundry marks close to it which confuse things.

Since the photos were taken I've drilled a 2.5mm hole just beyond where I think the crack ends.

Now.... can this be repaired or is the nose piece scrap?

If its the latter does anyone have one I can purchase?

[Chris KC]

Hi Howard,

There was a debate about the nose piece on this forum not so long ago and whether it was a casting or a forging. I think the jury's still out on that one.

If it's a forging - and that would be my guess - it ought to be a fairly routine job to weld it up. It's a job I'd be inclined to give to a pro, given the thickness of the material if nothing else - don't go dabbing at it with a mini-mig.

If it's a casting, then it's still possible to weld, but you are into rather more specialised territory and you really want to go to a specialist in cast iron welding. That will be costly.

I'm not sure if the nose piece on a '29 is any different from any other A7 chassis, but they do show up at autojumbles and on eBay now and then, salvaged from rotted frames. I imagine it's a bit of a job removing and replacing the rivets soundly. But if the welding does go bad don't despair.

I hope that's some help, also that someone more knowledgeable than me will say something more helpful!

Oh yes and +1 for drilling a crack stop hole, but personally I would now get the crack welded shut.

[Hedd_Jones]

its steel. Cast or Forged is irrelevant. It'll weld fine

[Chris KC]

I'm 99% confident you are right Hedd, but is that based on some sort of evidence?

[Ian Williams]

They weld beautifully but thats all I can tell you.

[Hedd_Jones]

yes. cast steel welds just as easily as any other type of steel.

[Howard Wright]

Thanks all for the input.

I've been doing some research on Google and I think that if I weld the crack I'll be stick welding using a special cast iron rod.  However I have just remembered that I repaired the countershaft bracket on my lathe (a complete break rather than a crack) by brazing.

Given that the crack is small has hopefully been "stopped" by drilling I think a braze repair should be OK.

Any comments?

Cheers

Howard

[Hedd_Jones]

why a cast iron rod?

[Howard Wright]

Hi Hedd

Taken from the Welder's warehouse blog.....

Arc/Stick Welding is, arguably, the best all-round process for Welding Cast Iron, provided the correct welding rods are used.  Cast iron Welding Rods have a special Graphite rich flux, this graphite chemically ties up the Carbon in the Cast Iron, limiting migration into the weld metal and heat affected zone.  There are two common types of Cast iron Welding Rod, Ferro-Nickel and Pure Nickel.  Ferro-Nickel are typically 53% Steel and 47% Nickel.  Ferro-Nickel Rods are cheaper than pure Nickel and are ideal for welding Cast Iron to Steel.  Pure Nickel will produce a softer, more malleable weld deposit.  I would advocate using Ferro-Nickel, unless the job specifically requires Pure Nickel.

Would you just use a standard rod?

Cheers

Howard

[Austin in the Shed]

If the nosepiece was made of cast iron it wouldn't have lasted a month in service before snapping.They are more likely an alloy steel forging like En 16 as is the front axle.
I think I would have it welded with a low hydrogen rod E7018.You would probably get away with using one of the nickel based CI rods but wouldn't be very strong.