Welding on a Cylinder

[woodlandfarms]

So I may have to order a cylinder from surplus center, cut the ends and weld on my own connectors.

As these are new, I hate the idea of taking them apart. The rod is 16" and the cylinder is around 18" or so (guessing, don't have them yet).

Can I just extend the cylinder and cut and weld, or is the risk of heat too great and I should just take them apart? It is both ends (Cylinder and Rod) that will need new connectors.

Thanks for the advice....

Carl

 

[dfkrug]

That's what I do, Carl. And I have done it with cyls with as little
as 8" stroke. In that case, I used wet rags on the rod. I have
done 7 or 8 by now, I would guess.

I have also welded on tie rod cyls, but I avoid those now.

 

[kennyd]

It's no problem...cover the rods with wet rags like already suggested and keep the heat away from the seals.

 

[Cami]

Make sure things are properly aligned. We used to have the machinist prepare the rod and ends; complete with centre-drilled holes and an alignment pin.

Regarding anti-spatter: Use whatever you can find; we would paint on a heavy coat of anti-seize.

Regarding heat when welding: Take your time and watch your interpass temperatures. I've never done any welding on an assembled cylinder so; they were always disassembled.

Regarding the cutting of hard chromed rod: We would just blue the section of rod to be cut with a torch and use the shop bandsaw.

 

[Low Bucket]

Like already suggested use wet rags.

Also don't weld too long.- Let the cylinder cool down before putting the heat back to it.

 

[radman1]

What kind of end are you welding on the ends? Swivel? If it is swivel, then the perfect alignment is not critical. If not, then you need to the alignment very near perfect or could try welding/tacking the ends on place on the machine. I had a cylinder company modify 2 cylinders this year with tang ends because the alignment had to be perfect.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Yeah, it is swivel ends...

So, Cami, You brought up my next question. How do I chop these ends off? These rods are generally hardened? So a chop saw or angle grinder sounds like a bad idea to me.....

 

[Cami]

Well, woodlandfarms, I was taught to blue the rods where the cut was to be made then use a bandsaw to cut it. I have no idea about the heat treatment, hardness, or even composition of the rods. The machinist said to do it that way, so I did.

I don't necessarily see any problem with using an abrasive cutting wheel to cut it. If you go that way you wouldn't need to put a torch to the rod. Wet rags are good for weld spatter, but for protecting work that you're cutting with an abrasive wheel, wrap the whole thing up with masking tape and cut right through it; this way you can protect it right up to the cut line. This will protect the rod's finish from sparks and as a bonus, with this method, you can draw a cut line on the tape if you like.

For welding the ends, I've only ever used 7018. I'm not saying it's the only way, but just what I was taught. The included angle of the joint was pretty narrow so the cylinder wouldn't be longer than necessary and this made welding it up tricky. With the narrow joint, it was too easy to screw up...poor fusion, slag inclusions, and undercut on the cap was unacceptable.

Consider a professional welder if you're not sure. These might not be the boom cylinders on a 100000# excavator, but you want to be able to count on them.

 

[JB4310]

I cut the extra threads off my TSC cylinder rod with a sawsall, no problem.

 

[Low Bucket]

A chop-saw or a grinder with a thin cut-off wheel should cut it.- Just take your time and don't put a lot of pressure during the cut.