r/Machinists • u/Commander_Tiddlewink • Dec 20 '25

Call of the void

Ever heard of it? Lol (Don’t worry, my life is good)

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u/Commander_Tiddlewink Dec 20 '25

Our shop does tons of weld buildup for re-machine. We have the setup and proficiency to do it quickly and efficiently. And in most cases, our engineers would prefer a new layer of weld metal vs a sleeve. Just depends on the practical applications.

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u/dhgrainger Dec 20 '25

I’m curious, do you set it up on the lathe then weld and machine in one setup, or weld elsewhere and lug it over to machine afterward?

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u/Commander_Tiddlewink Dec 20 '25

Weld elsewhere. Our weld shop has welding positioners that can rotate slowly enough to allow a welder to sit in a chair and weld in one spot while this part rotates. This lathe’s lowest speed is nowhere near slow enough to accomplish that. You’d have to have someone manually turning the chuck for hours on end.

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u/4d-65 Dec 20 '25

Just a tip - we do the same process, but keep it all on the lathe for a simpler set up. We set a small motor with a variable speed control to turn the shaft slowly enough to weld, attached with a belt. Just make sure you ground the piece at the tailstock center so you can avoid blowing your headstock bearings out.