Splitter repair

[bigfrank]

We have some hard wood out here in the West. Was splitting some oak the other day and heard a weird pop. Looked down and seen this...



Since I only have a small 120v wire feed welder, I called a buddy that has some better equipment. Since he just retired, and Is always up for some welding or just about anything else, I gave him a call. He tends to go a bit overboard, but mostly because he doesn't want to have things fail (crane operator for 40 years). The resulting repair should work...

 

[Al Smith]

If you look at the first"factory" weld you can see the non inclusion and evidently a puddle at the junction of the sides and ends of the metal .It creates a weak spot in the weld .If you look at the bottom flange of the cylinder anchor point , front corner the same thing .These are not considered to be the best welds .