Arch front crack repair?

[BeeRay Farms]

I have a leader arch front that has cracked this season, crack goes from the top of left door opening all way to top between the "E" and the "R". I put a pipe clamp across as a way to hold it together to get me though this season.

Looking for suggestions on repairing it? Should I build a fire in the arch and braze it with a torch while hot? This seems like a logical way of pre/ post heat.. Other options I know are things like nickel rods and arc welding or stainless mig wire.

Guess I'm wondering how others may have made similar repairs and how effective they are, I know cast iron is always a crap shoot to work with

Thanks

[adk1]

I have a crack above right side of right door

[js4fn]

Need pictures you will have to drill hole at end of crack or it will keep going


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[palmer4th]

If you look up Shilson Sugar shack on Facebook you can see what I did to my leader door. I had three cracks. I drilled holes on both sides and installed a piece of flat stock metal to hold it together, plus I added two sheets of stainless to my door to deflect the heat.

[BeeRay Farms]

Crack is completely through all way through top. It's only the front that's cracked, not the doors.

I'll try and get pics tomorrow in daytime

[Russell Lampron]

Mine did the same thing. I have been using a bar clamp on it for 3 or 4 seasons. I don't know if I am going to have an airtight front made for it or if I am going to have someone build me an intenso-fire style arch. I already decided that I'm not going to have it repaired.

[West Sumner Sugar]

Ours is cracked in about 3 places on the front which doesn't allow the doors to close tight. We are gong fix it after this season.

[VT_K9]

You can try to weld it or have it welded. Cast is a challenge, but should be able to be done. If it were mine (I have the ability to do the welding, maybe not the high skill though) I would drill a hole at the end of the crack as mentioned above. This should stop the crack from progressing. Then I would weld the crack while the arch is in use and let it cool as normal when done.

There are two theories of welding cast. The first is to weld it hot and let it cool very slow (natural with an arch is slow due to the heat retention in the firebox). This is primarily the concern with welding cast...temperature changes. The next theory is to weld it cold. You need to keep the metal cooler for the whole process. Basically weld one end then the other of the crack not letting the side metal heat up much.

I used the cold method and kept the metals cool enough to handle briefly within a short time of the weld. I did this on a cast bench leg. It has held up almost 2 years now.

Good luck,

Mike

[dcast99]

Had the same problem with mine at the beginning of the season. Drilled a hole at the end of the crack, chanferred the crack then drove a sheetmetal screw thru the crack by the door. This keeps it aligned while welding. Got the arch fired up and hot. A buddy then used a flux core mig to weld it. Hasn't crack yet. I then made sure the insulation blanket fit tight around the door opening. Before it had a gap there.