Stove crack- Anatomy of a repair in PICs - REVISED with all pics

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woodjack

Minister of Fire
Jan 10, 2008
502
Woodstock, NY
My initial post was : STOVE CRACKED. Now what?

This is a follow-up post.
The stove cracked just above the area where the door latch closes.
I got excellent advice from my hearth.com brothers: drill a hole to stop the crack and weld it.

I thought about doing it myself, but decided to get an experienced welder. It was a good idea. He did a better job than I could have - and much quicker.
I posted an ad on craigslist looking for a welder to repair my stove crack. About eight replies ranging from $30 - $300 (yes $30. all he wanted was gas and lunch money and claims he had a lot of backyard welding experience). I settled on a retired pro who told me it was his first side job ever from craigslist. I think he just wanted an excuse to get out of the house. He asked $100. Gave him $125. He acted professional, came with fire blankets and a fire extinguisher. Not only did he repair the crack, but he repaired it so it would not happen again. I hope.
I asked if I can take photos so I could post it on hearth.com. He said sure, and kept telling me he wanted to do a really good job because it was on the internet and maybe someone would see it on youtube.
 

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Did you sand it smooth with a Tiger wheel and paint it, with a pic, too? :)

I see your welder used a wire feed MIG process.
 
Frostbit said:
Did you sand it smooth with a Tiger wheel and paint it, with a pic, too? :)

I see your welder used a wire feed MIG process.


You know your welding. Yes, MIG wire feed.

I don't know what a Tiger wheel is. Is it a wire wheel? Can I use a wire wheel on my drill to smooth it down? Any ideas on how to get it a bit more finished before painting.
 
Glad that worked out. Looks like a solid repair. Serious overkill on the inside, but I suppose that's what you'd like as opposed to underdoing it. Fair price for adding years to the life of your stove.

It looks like a rough grind with a regular disc on an angle grinder? A wire wheel won't remove the scratches, just make them really shiny. You might try a regular palm sander and 120 grit or so.
 
If your going to use a grinder I suggest a 60 or 80 grit flap wheel. A regular grinding wheel won't leave as nice of finish.
 
madrone said:
Glad that worked out. Looks like a solid repair. Serious overkill on the inside, but I suppose that's what you'd like as opposed to underdoing it. Fair price for adding years to the life of your stove.

It looks like a rough grind with a regular disc on an angle grinder? A wire wheel won't remove the scratches, just make them really shiny. You might try a regular palm sander and 120 grit or so.

I'm glad he over built the inside because that's where the problem originated. He showed me how it was missing a vertical weld that would have prevented the crack from happening. He welded a small piece of metal inside.

Should I use regular sand paper or emery to smooth it? Also, another welder suggested I use gun black liquid. Ever here of this instead of high heat paint?
 
Aha. That explains it. It sure never hurts to reinforce while you're in there.
Gun bluing is a different type of finish. It looks great, but it probably wouldn't match the existing finish very well it it was originally painted. I'd go for a can of stove spray paint.
The suggestion of a flap wheel disc on an angle grinder is good, but if you don't have one a power palm sander will do. Regular sand paper is fine for a smaller area like that. It wears out, but you're not refinishing the whole stove.
 
A Tiger wheel is a flap wheel, specifically a 4 1/2" disc that is multiple layers of fabric with grit on them. It sands metal like no tomorrow, but used with deft hands it will take out those grinding wheel marks I see in your pic. You can "layer" the repair back into the area of the stove that was not worked on. Just the ticket to finish the repair before applying paint.
 
i been a journey man welder for 16 yrs and too much welding sometimes is worse then not enough because the heat effected zone any questions please ask ...wade
 
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