Welding on a Cylinder

[Taylortractornut]

I worked as a machinist in a hydraulics shop building and modifying cylinders. To weld and eye or mount on them Usual practice would be to pull the piston and rod to the opposite end of the cylinder and weld it. this was done as well as whn we shortened one by turning the weld out of the cap. Also when we put new fittings on them. Most rods are fairly easy to cut, they are a good grade of steel, but the top coat of chrome is case hardened about the first .007 to .010 deep. We cut most of ours with a Rockwell hot saw, or a Bandsaw. Putting a new busing on the end of a rod we center drilled/reamed and then pressed in a dowel pin. Then located the center of the eye in a mill or jig borer and drilled reamed it and pressed it onto the rod for welding. Alot of the tim when we cut a rod off in the lathe a little stub was left by the parting tool. Sometimes we just drilled the eyed to fit it if it wasnt a precise application then used that to line it. One thing on welding a fitting to the side of a cylinder is not to use a large weld. The bigger the bead the more it will draw. We had a customer weld a nice pass then put a gorilla weld for good measure on top of it and it drew the tube down enought that the piston would get stuck.