I Love my Milling Machine!!

[Brent H]

# 2 son is working his butt of as an HVAC contractor and is pretty much on the go all the time. He had a very loud engine compartment and we took a look - exhaust header split in half at the catalytic converter :

so I got all the pieces out, bolted it to the welding table and welded it all back together using the high nickel mig wire - took a while and I let it cool between welding stitches.

after that - how to make it flat and true - good ol Bridget and a a wack of supports!!!!

Yes - that backwards nut on the threaded rod just put enough on the flange to take out vibration and not distort things. The whole contraption is sitting on 3 blocks and then I jacked up one end to make the header flat in the x axis - bolted it all down solid and then rotated the mill head to be at the same y axis angle.

the passes averaged about 3 thou per pass and I had to take 0.045” off to get all the flanges clean and true

Hopefully after a new gasket it will last at least long enough for the boy to decide on a new truck or dump $600 on a new exhaust - I think he gets a core return.
Love the mill!! Woo Hoo!!

 

[DavidR8]

Looks like your regular 'run of the mill' kind of setup. Great job!

 

[Chicken lights]

Fantastic work!

 

[Brent H]

@David_R8 indeed it was a very punny set up as you mentioned (LOL) but it held solid for the job! Can never have too many hold down devices involved!

@Chicken lights - thank you!! It had some pucker factor going in - especially welding it yesterday. But machining it today was awesome!

 

[DPittman]

Very nice fix! I'll have to research high nickel might wire...have you used it before? That was cast iron manifold right? Are you very well experienced in cast iron repair.

 

[Brent H]

It wire is expensive - I have had it for several years - so far I have welded the cast iron support for my band saw - still working after 8 years- I have several repairs to my lathe (welded in a tooth on the main gear) and welded up several items on my grinder machine - this would be my first full round exhaust manifold - have to see how she goes with the heat factor.
The nickel is like 55% or something like that in the wire - migs like regular wire - just watch heat and if the cast iron has lots of crap in it you will get slag blisters you will need to grind back. I stitch the repair (I gouged up and ground back to clean cast - drilled stop holes at crack ends etc) keep the heat as low as possible and build up deep areas over several weld/cool down periods. I will post back if it fails - but I still love the mill

 

[Brent H]

Couple things I should mention-

So that is the wire in the picture. I have had the best success using a 0.040 tip and not the 0.035 tip that would normally be the choice. Also, the wire is hard and my mig will sometimes slip on it so I changed out the smooth roller groove( for solid wire) and run a flux core feed roller (serrated groove). This tip/groove combo stops the slipping.

 

[YYCHM]

That's truly awesome work Brent!

 

[Everett]

That is cool, I'm impressed with that repair - and your ingenuity at table setup, lol! I've only ever brazed cast but if the high nickel wire you used will hold up under heat/cool cycles it might be a useful addition to our arsenal at the heavy truck shop where I work. I don't have a MIG . . . yet

 

[Chicken lights]

That is cool, I'm impressed with that repair - and your ingenuity at table setup, lol! I've only ever brazed cast but if the high nickel wire you used will hold up under heat/cool cycles it might be a useful addition to our arsenal at the heavy truck shop where I work. I don't have a MIG . . . yet

You work at a heavy truck shop? General repairs or specialized?

 

[Everett]

It's a small general shop in Stony Plain, we do all sorts of stuff from oil changes to engine swaps. Coming into it as an auto mechanic, I've had a lot to learn about things like air brakes and 18 speeds, lol!

 

[CalgaryPT]

Really nice work using a combination of skill sets Brent. I was especially impressed how you improvised with MIG tips and rollers to get the desired outcome. And yes, can we ever have enough/different/adjustable/unique clamps around?

There is something so satisfying about seeing someone fix a part that normally would have to go to a speciality shop for repair, or more often these days—just get trashed for a new one. It feels like you dodged a bullet.

Good for you. Excellent job.

 

[Brent H]

Just a fast update for anyone watching:

Exhaust gasket arrived yesterday and I fit the repaired manifold and buttoned the engine all back up. My son test drove it and things were good after all the oils etc smoked off.

today it had a full drive around doing the HVAC patrol and all is good!!!

Hopefully it holds for a good long while. His truck sounds great !

 

[DPittman]

Awesome if handles the first few heat up and cool downs its probably a good fix for a long time. That's the sort of fixes I love, job well done. Ya don't get that done at any commercial garages.