halftrackinfo
armor plate => straightening and repairing => Topic started by: brit plumber on September 04, 2020, 03:13:41 AM
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Some of the armour on my track was gas axes leaving a part behind while likely scrapping the removed piece. I could buy repro easy enough but I’m wondering if it could be worth making a replacement section from mild steel plate and having it welded together. Is this a viable option? I believe stainless welding is required for welding armour, is that correct?
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It can be welded with regular mild steel wire. Very short welds though. You could probably weld the two together, but making it look nice and end up straight would be almost impossible.
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Thanks, if it can be welded with regular wire then I may give it a go myself. If it looks s*** then I can fit some repro stuff. I actually have some arc welding rods that I picked up from work about 15 years ago. I may try them.
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I had to weld some patches into my back plates to save them. I preheated, welded, post heated and used a needle gun to relieve stress. Then used my welding blanket on top of that to slow down the cooling. I did it in short welds. I also clamped the plates down to a small welding table where I was putting the patches in. Very time consuming. It took a few try’s as some of the welds would crack as it cooled. I preheated more and that finally helped. I welded a lot of cracks in my plates and had no problems. The patches were tough. I am just a hobby welder so that could have been part of the problem. I used a mig with both stainless and mild steel wire. The heat seemed to be what made the difference.
Gary
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Stainless welding rods work fine! But as Gary mentions, don't forget pre- and post heating! A good (and fun) way of post heating is make a campfire that will have sufficient charcoal in the bottom and simply throw you welded piece on top of that. Let the fire die by itself and cool off. The fire will cool off gradually which is great for the steel to re-align. Once it cooled completely it will be good to go.
And, don't forget to grab a beer while you're on it!
Rob