On Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:12:15 -0700, wrote:

I bought a small press in a junk shop for $20. I mounted it on a 2x6
and let it collect dust for a year before I started to use it to
flatten sections of copper pipe. It did very well until today: There
was an ominous sound and the frame cracked:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2768312...7635013299389/

No way will I admit using a cheater bar and even if I did I barely
leaned on it. Anyway...Can this be repaired or is this thing done for?
My understanding of welding cast iron is that it is not a free lunch.

Thanks,

Michael Koblic,
Campbell River, BC
Greetings Michael,
I have experience with this type of repair that worked well. At wotk
someone pounded on the large vise and it broke through the ram that
encloses the screw. I was taking a welding class at the time so I
brought it into class to fix it. I built an open top "oven" out of
firebrick and set the vise part into it. I then heated the veed out
part to nearly red heat with a big torch. Using flux and brazing rod I
wetted the cast iron vee with the brazing rod. Once I had the surfaces
completely wetted I just filled with brazing rod. I did this repair in
about 1.5 hours and used a lot of welding gasses. This repair was done
over 20 years ago and I still use the vise. Frankly, I did the repair
for the experience, your press may not be worth it. It may just crack
somewhere else.
Eric