Atlas Mill feed gear case MF-1

[brandon428]

While I was taking the table off my MFC, I forgot to remove my feed gear case, and cranked a little too hard trying to take the table off before I remembered to remove my feed gear case. Bottom line, my MF-1 is cracked, and there doesn't look like any easy way to repair it. I tried some expoy, but after letting it dry, once I put pressure on it to engage, it didn't hold.

Does anyone have a spare they're willing to sell or know any tricks to repair one of these?

 

[markba633csi]

Did you use JB weld? it's pretty strong if applied correctly and cured with heat- reinforcing the crack with hardware cloth beforehand can add considerable strength to the repair also

 

[brandon428]

No, some Loctite epoxy I had. JB Weld is better? Which kind? There are so many variations.

How would I reinforce it with hardware cloth? Laying it perpendicular to the crack with some JB Weld on it?

 

[Bi11Hudson]

The casting is ZAMAK, an alloy of Zinc and Aluminium. Using pins as reinforcement, along with the recommended JBWeld would help. Hardware cloth might be too large a mesh. Maybe a wire bug screen. . . Avoid most of todat's screen is plastic.

.

 

[pontiac428]

I broke a thru-bolt corner off of a carburetor mounting flange once... cast aluminum, no hope for repair. I decided I had nothing to lose, so I did a JB Weld repair. The truck was driven daily for another 15 years without issue, with heat cycling and vibration and all. JB can do amazing things. I've mentioned it here before, but way back when I had a friend who made a 22LR single shot derringer out of a block of JB Weld. The only metal was the firing pin and breech plug. It did work.