life goes on friends, also when a rear differential axle of our green motoretta breaks…i hope the welded repair will keep up…has someone done this work?
14 Likes
I have. Beveling both sides of the shaft for complete penetration, but never got one perfectly straight or true even with elaborate hold down fixtures. Let us know how yours works out. Miracles do happen.
11 Likes
I have never had it done, but my impression was, it was hard to get it perfectly centered and square, it needs to be balanced and welding can introduce brittleness. It may or may not make a difference for your motoretta. You will know if you feel vibrations which is also bad for bearings.
11 Likes
what do you tie them up with? They look good!
12 Likes
I did this when I narrowed a van axle for my powered cart. One axle came out perfect and the other had a very tiny bind. Not enough to make any difference at the speeds I travel. A car axle would be a totally different situation. I had of course the luxury of having a length of axle on either side of the weld.
17 Likes
Hi @don_mannes . You may see those zinc plated helicaly twisted bars as primary support. It hold stems upright without need to tie them. Unfortunately, they are not strong enough to bare the weight of fruits so I use straight green sticks to support them. Usually, the stick is plugged between the stem and the twisted bar and it holds without any tie.
13 Likes
also mine comes out not really straight by weld bending, at the end is 1 mm out of line…i connected the two broken pieces with a screw clamp in lenght, than i made welding points around, than cutted with the angle grinder down to the center, welded the split, than cutting out on the opposite part, welded out, than on the remaining parts the same work…hope it will keep up…spare parts difficult to find…and if , is expensive…
11 Likes
we have here a plant called broom, this is ideal for binding tomatoe plants ecc…keeps strong enough and in autumn no plastic trash remains…
for the sticks we use 12 mm steel rod from the kind what is used for concrete
10 Likes
Coppiced willow is great for stakes
8 Likes
Yes that’s a danger. I welded mine in tiny increments and always rotating the axle for each weld, then letting it cool between welds before removing the clamps and repositioning. The axle that has a little bind in it was the second one I welded after getting a little impatient and rushing a little faster than I should have. 
9 Likes