Specialist's Feats in Welding Skill
Page 36
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Conservation of Our Resources Can be Materially Assisted by Welding Repairs to Parts of Major Importance
SONIE concerns seem to be able to rise to every occasion and give a praiseworthy account of themselves. In the case of Barimar Ltd., the well-known welding company, 14-18, Lamb's Conduit Street, London, W.C.1, the truth of this remark was impressed upon us most strongly during a recent visit.
The works have,been organized in such a way that, notwithstanding the large volume of repairs of an official nature in hand, the service available to commercial-vehicle users has been extended. This was effected during the winter months consequent upon almost overwhelming requirements in the matter of frost-fractured cylinder blocks and heads.
Scores of these jobs are still being handled, not because of any tardiness on the part of the welding engineers, who can deal with peak demands, but by reason of the fact that repairs of this kind continue to arrive for months after a severe frost. This is understandable in the case of private vehicles, which may have been laid up carelessly, but the reasons are more obscure where commercial vehicles are involved.
Some of the frost fractures are incredibly extensive. There are jackets in so many pieces that the task of fitting them together bears the obvious relationship to a jig-saw puzzle. In other instances, no external damage can be seen, the fractures being in such a position that the first intimation of trouble is the unpleasant discovery of fragments of cast iron, together with a quantity of water, in the crankcases.
The saving which welding can afford in cases of this kind averages 80 per cent, of the cost of a new replacement. Obviously, the increasing difficulty in obtaining renewals at once makes welding a matter of national importance, for it provides prompt means for keeping transport vehicles in operation by reducing delays due to essential maintenance work, not only in connection with cylinder blocks, but in numerous other ways.
Recently there has been a marked ificrease in the request for renewed valve seats, which have become undercut because of repeated grinding. Barimar operators weld special heat-resisting metal on the old seats, after which they are recut to the original level with a regard to accuracy which would seem to equal that applied to the manufacture of aircraft engines. We were assured that test figures reveal a remarkable improvement in fuel consumption after fuSlve reconditioning of this type.
Another effect of the cold weather has been to cause an increased number of gear failures. One Barimar department spends its time grafting-on teeth which have been broken away from the parent metal, or creating new ones by the use of special apparatus. When these jab's are machined they are indistinguishable from new and gliaranteed.on.the same " money-back " basis, which is cha3tacteristic of all welding repairs carried out by this concerti.
Perhaps one of the most surprising achievements al modern welding is the manner in which broken crankshafts are reunited. Anyone witnessing this type.of repair, for the first time invariably asks if the original strength can be fully restored. The reply is that Barirair knows of Only• one instance in which a crankshaft welded at its works failed a second time. This was due to no fault on the part of the welder concerned, for the second fracture Occurred nearly 12 ins, from the weld, the cause being a hidden flaw in the forging, .
Although Barimar welding operators work with such assurance that their tasks look almost easy, we were told that, notwithstanding the great advances made in the development of welding equipment during reeent years, a natural aptitude, coupled With long experience, is essential to achieve welding of such quality that it will literally Make a damaged component equal to new, as shown by actual test. This is the standard which must be attained before any job is passed out by the inspectors; moreover, were this not the case, a satisfactory guarantee would hardly be possible.
Barimar work in connection with the fusive treatment of alloys is so well known that it needs little emphasis here, but to see this class of work in hand never fails to give the impression that something almost mystical is being performed. The results are tangible enough, however, for each repair is a fine example of welding skill carried out speedily.
In view of possible delays and difficulties in transport, it may be mentioned that Barimar branch factories have been operating for many years at various important centres in the provinces—I17, Charles Henry Street, Birmingham; 67, Brunswick Street, Ardwick Green, Manchester; 31, The Close, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and 134, West George Lane, Glasgow. Commercial-vehicle operators in the neighbourhood of these branches can, therefore, get precisely the same service as at the London factory.