I had a little accident involving a fork lift and one of my glass lathes. End result was one of the cranking wheels to move the carriage was broken. The spokes broke free of the hub. I believe it is cast aluminum.
What would be the best way to fix it other than something like JB Weld?
You could probably have it TIG welded (or even MIG welded) if, in fact, it is aluminum and not some kind of pot metal. If your shop is capable, you could machine a new one. Or you could buy a generic replacement.
A lathe for turning glass as it is blown. One of the local metalworkers works as a mechanical engineer and gave me a tour of his facility. That was one of the cooler toys they had.
Given the chance you can place a piece of support material around the broken spokes, your idea is actually quite a good one. In a moment of stupidity, I tipped over my rather trashy Crapsman overarm saw, which has been indispensable in building our shop and house. The handle broke off the saw when it tipped over, so I repaired it exactly as you suggested, with a couple small strips of aluminum added to each side of the handle to lend strength. It's been that way for a few years now and has worked perfectly, although it's not very pretty. That's OK, I'm not, either. :-)
Welding by any means is likely to result in a rather crooked running wheel, although with care it might turn out fine. You would have complete control using epoxy, which, I think, in this instance, would be my first choice. I keep thinking of a small piece of tubing placed over each of the spokes, if you get my drift.
search for "handwheels". MSC, Mcmaster-Carr, and several other vendors also carry them. It may be simpler just to replace it with a new one that is similar. --Glenn Lyford
Randy H. wrote: ... cranking wheels to move the carriage was broken.
If it is aluminum, not pot metal, and you don't have a welder, you could use that aluminum soldering stuff ("Alumiweld" or something like that). Works with a propane torch, MAPP is better. Kinda pricey, though. If you could scrounge up a little zinc, it would probably work just as well (the alumiweld is mostly zinc). A roofer might have some zinc scraps.
Or just use JBWeld, there isn't much force on the wheel.
Once there was a product called Liquid Al and Liquid Steel. In a tube. See if you can find it in a hardware store.
Martin
Martin Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net NRA LOH, NRA Life NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder
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