Chainsaw Repair

Anyone have information about welding chainsaw parts?

Aluminum, Mageneseum, or alloy of both??

Wonder if this stuff would work?

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/

What have you used or tried?

 

Anyone have information about welding chainsaw parts?

Aluminum, Mageneseum, or alloy of both??

Wonder if this stuff would work?

http://www.aluminumrepair.com/

What have you used or tried?

Another thread with some info  http://chainsawrepair.createaforum.com/ported-saws/welding-cylinders-to-fix-them/

I have a Miller Tig welder and have been doing some magnesium welding on chainsaw parts.   I have welded various parts from clutch covers to crankcases.   I have welded I believe about 12 chainsaws as of this time with some pretty good results.

    So here is what I am doing.  First off I am not using any kind of aluminium rod and it will not work at all.  The rod I am using is magnesium and is so close in composition that when the welding and finish work is done you cannot see the difference in the two metals.  The magnesium rod I use is called AZ92A. 

   The tungston I am using in the torch is 2% ceriated 3/32 in size.   I like using this because it takes less amperage to get the arch going.  I use the 3/32 size because alot of chainsaw parts are not very thick and it does not take much amperage to weld.   I have found that it takes much less amperage than aluminium.

    I usually set up the Miller tig welder just like I am going to do aluminium but it uses less amperage which is controlled either by foot on by a thumb control.  I am also using 100% argon gas.

     I also have found that sand blasting the part first cleans it pretty good and helped to eliminate contamination.   Chainsaw parts get soaked in oil and it is very hard to eliminate all of the contamination.   So if while I am welding and I run into a bad section I will stop and clean the area again with a stainless brush and then re-weld it again.  I have done this up to 3 times on some parts that I have welded on to get rid of the contamination and to get a good weld.  If it is a crack I am welding together I will weld it from both sides.

    Another thing I have found is the torch needs to be held closer to the part to keep a good steady arch going.  In some cases if the part is thin and on an edge I will use a backing material that will not stick to the magnesium.  This will keep the puddle from falling away.

   So here are a few before and after pictures.

 

   

One more set of pictures.  This is a clutch cover from a J-red 670 that had a crack in it.  I also included a picture of my welder in case you wanted to know what I was using.

I just picked up another 335 that has a crack in the side of it where the bar studs come through and is now leaking oil.   When I get around to splitting the case and welding this up I will post the before and after pictures of it.  I like picking up these saws because they are usually very cheap and require more labor then parts to repair.