The Worst Casting I Have EVER Welded

Very admirable of you not to charge. Will be hitting Like to help you out!

I had the same issue with a thermostat of an old camper, customer couldn’t find a replacement anywhere, I didn’t want to charge as I was on it for way longer than I should have been and I thought the layered welding looked a mess, turns out customer was over the moon and give me what I originally quoted even after I said there was no charge thankyou for sharing

I was a welder for the government. We did all aluminum TIG. They made the awesome choice to purchase castings from China. The irony to find out they would put all types of garbage in the casts. I’ve had everything from the sand missiles to fiberglass. And it would just keep floating in the puddle. The money saved on cost was spent in additional grinding and leak repairs. I’ve been a master welder for 18 years and I appreciate the solid content ! Keep it up!

That’s a craftsman and business man that cares about his reputation more than just a few bucks. Knowing it wasn’t a rock solid repair and letting your customer know you couldn’t put your name behind it so won’t put a bill on it speaks volumes! Good stuff!

Samurai t cases are very prone to cracking at these mounts especially when people put lower range gearing in them. They make aftermarket cradles that hold the t case by the bolt pattern instead of the factory 4 bolt mounts. If the customer puts one of these on, then they will never crack at that same spot again

Walking away and not having the problem staring back at you is often times the beginning of the solution.

I was a field service engineer for GM. At one of our training sessions the guys from the plant informed us that they were adding iron powder to the aluminum used in casting transmission case halves, because aluminum has an affinity to the ferrous based molds, which was transferring material to the molds, which caused a lot of work to clean them more often than they would like, eventually ruining the molds, at a cost of over $650k per half. Adding the iron powder to the molten aluminum made the issue much less of a problem. When I earned this the light went on and then I realized why I was having so much trouble welding these castings, just like you are in this demo. Knowing this also made me understand why some of the castings I was seeing were very smooth, and others were not, and that;s because of the aluminum skin being pulled off and attaching to the molds. That's mt story and I'm sticking to it.

That's a very respectable thing that you did. :) When I was younger, I thought I needed to make money fast. But, as I grew older and got my head straight about the fact that my passion is my joy, I started to charge my customers humbly. And guess what? Volume of my clients increased and I just get to keep on working. :) Metal working is a very rewarding passion and I am proud to have learned a lot from you <3

i just started a welding company over here in the UK because of your informative videos, we are currently doing very well. Best of luck for the future!

Boss, I teach at a college. Have my own shop. Have been welding for 40 yrs. There are some casting that just suck. Lol

It’s so comforting to know the struggles I have with cast parts is not necessarily my lack of skill. Good video

6:10 OH YES!! I can tell you that short sentence is soooo important. I made so many stupid mistakes in the last year just because i got frustrated (i am trying to start a small woodworking business) and i lost so much time and money to those mistakes.... at one point it got so bad that i didnt go into my workshop for like a whole month. I came back and for about 3 weeks i didnt have any problem because i was so chill. I learned to take breaks und just think about my problems for several hours while doing other stuff. This is also helping my sleep more than you can imagine.

You’ve gotta be one of the humblest guys out there. Thank you brotha keep up the great work.

Being a hobby welder you just empowered me with so much quality information and backed it up with images and descriptions. Thank you so much from taking "welding cast aluminium is dirty" to why and how it that way. Demystifying the art of welding cast aluminium. Respect!!!

With all due respect, I've had the same thing happen to me and I remember my instructors in welding school telling me that if you can't get the parosity or the junk out then you simply have to lay down more metal because a weld that holds will impress the customer more even though it may not look good. Functionality over good looks always wins. Good job!

I ran into the same issue with a customer's cast patio table leg that had broken off. I went in thinking "well this will be some easy money". It was my first time messing with cast aluminum and I almost promised it would be my last. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong or my machine was malfunctioning. Just chasing junk, losing gas coverage, and cleaning soot over and over. Had a couple of short hotness issues where I almost lost a chunk of the part while trying to lay down a bead smoothly. Finally got it done, and regretted the whole process. Now after watching this video, I understand just how dirty some casts can be and I don't feel so bad. Thank you!

Just remember, hey, if it was easy everybody would be doing it...

Is absolutely love that honesty. "Smash that like button so I can make a few bucks back, After doing this part for free" I'd be glad to sir

Not charging your customer, yet still doing a damn good job is something rare today! Definitely a great thing and that's what keeps customers coming back or brining ya new ones. Keep up the amazing work! You've helped me out with welding things up a ton!!

This is awesome! I'm a new CNC machinist, have been in the field for about 2 years and I've been wanting to start learning about welding forever but can never find the time! So glad I found this channel, your a great teacher☺️