Broken yoke

Dabbler said:
FWIW, brazing won't do you any harm, and when it breaks again you can replace it with a fabricated steel one.

On my 12X37 lathe I had a yoke for the change gears that broke. It was brazed by a welder well versed in cast iron repair, it lasted a week. I made a new one in soft steel, and it has worked for almost 40 years. If you do braze it, remember it has to be heated to at least 300F.
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That also IMHO, is the best route to go ^^.
 
Making a new one would likely be best. But! Repairing that one will provide some great experience and if not over tightened will likely last indefinitely. If it fails again, you learn something about cast iron repair and then make a new one. The clamp screw design seems goofy with such a long moment arm to the clamp screw. That was designed for light clamping pressure only. My drill press base cracked due to an over exuberant tightening by someone and the giant fastener encouraged a long big wrench. cast Iron comes in many flavors and the repair results should be as variable. I have managed to be very successful in my repairs of some highly loaded parts (I might be lucky). I have found the skill and confidence to make such repairs valuable on occasion.
i guess my point is, even if you make a new part, try the repair for practice and test it. Failure isn't bad. Success is fun.
 
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I will try TIG brazing it and see how it goes. Long term plan is to make a new yoke.
 
Ah, "long term project list" Where it falls on that list will be the best measure of your TIG brazing adventure! The aluminum bronze filler is expensive but goes a long way. I doubt I will ever use my 1 lb tube. I made some butt, lap and fillet welds on low carbon steel scraps, testing to failure. It is fun to use, AC isn't needed for steel but I used it for practice and I was amazed by the strength of that stuff!
 
@NC Rick I need to call around and find some aluminum bronze rod. Funny thing is that I almost bought some silicon bronze rod on the weekend, just in case.
 
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I have both. Amazon has a lot of that stuff. I got mine from McMaster-Carr. The local welding store could help I'm sure, give a good price too. I just do t like to go places sometimes and that was before this years distractions. I will send you a stick if you can't find it.
 
NC Rick said:
I have both. Amazon has a lot of that stuff. I got mine from McMaster-Carr. The local welding store could help I'm sure, give a good price too. I just do t like to go places sometimes and that was before this years distractions. I will send you a stick if you can't find it.
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NC Rick to USPS "How much to ship a package 1/4"x 1/4" x 36"? :D
 
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