I've tried that also with a $400 cymbal I broke and cried over... the welds didn't hold up long at all.
I had a cracked cymbal I inherited buying a cheap local kit.
I showed the cymbal I had that was cracked to my brother. It had a long crack along the bell and a short one at the end. He attempted to weld it and was successful. I may plan on dressing down the welds but first want to try it out once I get it back.
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I've tried that also with a $400 cymbal I broke and cried over... the welds didn't hold up long at all.
I realize this may be the case but this weld job looks amazing and is very fine. I know that heating up the cymbal from welding may mess with its structural integrity but hoping this fine job may be different.
That sure is some sweet welds. Nicely done. Hope it holds up.
Signature here
Hey, if it saves the cymbal, it's worth the risk. Very cool!
I wonder if some type of heat treatment might help preserve the integrity of the weld. It seems traditional heat treatment to harden may cause brittleness and a quick demise. I wonder if something akin to annealing may help. Heat the whole thing for an hour or two then cool it gradually to relieve any stresses and relax brittleness.......?
I worked at GE in Schenectady, NY in my early 20s and ran an annealing furnace. I would receive pallets of recently welded electric motor rotor and stator cores made by stacking and welding flat "punchings" The process consisted of three or four ovens connected by a conveyor and doors that ran on timers. The first oven was HOT as in many hundred degrees. the subsequent ovens were at lower and lower temps to slowly cool the cores. The entire reason for the process was to relieve stress in the core/punchings from the welding.
In this case it was for better electrical properties and function after the windings were installed and and the motors assembled... but it achieved that by relaxing the stored stresses from the welds and leaving a more consistently dense and shaped whole.
Now as I recall that first stage oven got the cores mildly red-hot so it was up there getting close to four digit temps but I can't help but wonder if "baking" your repaired cymbal in the oven at 450 for 45 min to an hour then gradually lowering the temp over the next couple hours would yield a cymbal more comfortable in its own skin so to speak.
It sounds crazy but what do you really have to loose? As it is the area (discolored) around the welds is tweaked with stored expansion/contraction stresses and can't wait to let go when shocked.
I would give it a try if it were my cymbal. the worst that could happen is... it will re-break at some point while being played.... and that's what's going to happen anyway...
I believe it may relieve the cymbals stresses but completely ruin the cymbals tone.
I going to try the welded cymbal first later today.
Last edited by Olimpass; 05-20-2021 at 01:34 PM.
I'll be waiting for some updates
I’m very pleased that I have walloped on this several times and it’s holding out so far.
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Last edited by Olimpass; 05-20-2021 at 08:09 PM.
Thank you noreastbob for your input on the matter. So far, this fine weld job is working out great for this cymbal. I do have experience working with metals, knowing a little about the heat treating, annealing process and even have done very many hardness tests myself. I’ve worked in a place where we had our own foundry, ovens and many hydraulic presses. I’ve used a thousand ton press to straighten castings that were annealed to specs within a few thousandths. My brother was the welder and we’ve worked on many castings, fitting and matching parting lines and the such also as mold makers.
I’m glad so far this weld job has been working on this.
My brother and I have attempted this many years ago and failed. It just kept popping while trying to weld. Many years later and much more experienced, my brother did it and it seems to be very good so far.
I’m glad we were optimistic in the attempt.
You were in the injection molding industry? So was I. Started as an operator between bands and worked through set-up, process tech, supervisor, production manager... then sick of human BS back to tech as a process engineer and there I happily remained until retirement in '17. I watched the industry develop from PRIMITIVE junky equipment flown by the seat of our pants...to the high tech super accurate repeatable machinery of today.
I found a video on YouTube of the welding method used. A silicon bronze rod material was used for the weld.
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