[TheForge] Welding Tool Steel

[Bruce Freeman]

You've probably figured it out. Weldors often underestimate the strength of brazing.  I wouldn't be surprized if the guy TIG welds the surface just because the customer expects the part to be welded back together.  The braze alone might do the job.
One reason brazing might work better than welding is related to what your die makers said about the big V.  If a good weld is backed up by a nonwelded crack, it's something like a cold shut - a point at which cracking can happen again.
On the other hand, don't underestimate the skill needed to correctly braze a joint.  I'd suggest you get the guy to train you how to do what he's doing, and pay him appropriately for the knowledge.  That way he's compensated for the loss of business, and you don't have to worry about his passing away and leaving you in the lurch.
Bruce
NJ

>>> trollkeep at gmail.com 1/24/2007 10:26 AM >>>
I have a work problem I am hoping someone here knows about.  I work in
a stamping plant and sometimes (Maybe often) we break die blocks and
have to weld them back together.  Usually they break again.  We had a
welder in Indianapolis who could weld things we could not and his
welded blocks never broke again.  He has been welding tool steel for
45 years and now only works sometimes and has too much to do.  I think
that he has been flowing brass through the broken places and then TIG
welding the surface.  He does no finish work but his welds are narrow
and take no time to clean up, better than anything my welders can do.
My die makers say you need a big "V" and then fill it up to get a
strong weld.  It dows not look like the old outside welder does more
than break sharp edges and his welds never break.  I had a block he
welded break across his weld and there was something not steel behind
his weld and the new break did not follow the old break at all.

How does he do this?

David Childress
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