Heavy equipment repair in Manchester, NH: we weld cracked booms, sticks, frames and loader arms on site. We come to the machine, but if a part isn't worth welding, you hear that before we start. Call (603) 660-2011 while the machine is still parked, or text a photo of where the crack runs.
On an excavator, the boom is the big arm that comes off the machine. The stick is the arm between the boom and the bucket. Loaders have lift arms instead, and every machine has a frame that carries the rest.
We weld cracks in all of them. On excavators, loaders and skid steers, it's the same steel work, whether the machine digs, lifts or pushes snow.
Cracks usually don't start in the middle of a plate. They start at an old weld, around a pin boss, or where thick steel meets thinner steel. The boss is the thick ring a pin runs through, and it loads up each time the joint moves. That's where the stress bunches up, so that's where the steel gives.
Farm loaders crack in the same spots. That's why this work sits right beside our welding on tractors and loaders.
Before any of it, the machine gets set down safely: bucket on the ground, engine off, nothing that can move.
A crack can't just be welded over. If any of it stays in the joint, it can carry on right through the new weld. So the repair starts by cleaning the area to bare metal and finding where the crack really ends.
Then the crack comes out.
We gouge it with carbon arc, which melts the steel along the crack and blows it out with air. We keep going until there's sound steel on both sides and a clean groove to fill.
Thick or high-strength steel gets warmed first when the steel calls for it. Warming slows the cooling, so the steel beside the weld is less likely to crack.
Then the groove gets welded back up with wire feed or stick, pass after pass, until it's full. It's ground smooth and checked, which means what's left is a joint, not a patch.
Machines have their own welding rulebook, too. AWS keeps a welding specification for machinery and equipment, which sets requirements for design, manufacture, quality and inspection. Repair is on that list as well, so it covers the machine after it breaks, not only when it's built.
The first thing an owner wants to know is simple: fix it, or buy a new one. There's no single rule for that, but the same few things decide it.
Where the crack sits comes first. A crack at a pin boss or a stressed corner is a harder call than one in flat plate. Its length matters too, and so does whether that spot was welded before.
Then look at what's left around it. If the steel around the crack is worn thin, the weld has little to grab, so replacing may win. The machine maker may also limit what can be repaired on that part.
Then there's the cost. A weld repair is set against a new part, plus the days the machine sits while that part ships. Often the weld wins that comparison.
A crack keeps growing every time the machine loads it. So a short crack is the cheaper fix, and waiting makes the call harder, not easier.
We look at it, from a photo or on site, and tell you plainly which way we'd go and why.
In winter the calls change. Landscapers run loaders and skid steers on snow. A breakdown holds up their snow removal while the storm keeps going. That's when the emergency calls come in.
Cold steel doesn't help.
Frozen ground and hard snowbanks hit a machine harder than soft dirt or loose gravel does in summer. So a crack that was already there can let go when it's cold.
Call on a Sunday night and the phone still gets answered. How that call runs is on the emergency welding repair page, and plows have a page of their own.
“Our family business has been using these guys for lots of recent projects and they are absolutely killing it!”
The crack decides most of it: where it is, how long it is, and how thick the steel is.
A boom crack gets gouged out and rewelded in passes, so thick steel takes longer. A crack on top of the boom is quick to reach. One under the frame may mean blocking up the machine first.
Fixing it where it sits saves hauling the machine to a shop. That belongs in the math when you weigh repair against replacing.
It can be, when the whole crack comes out and the groove is welded back full. That's why the gouging matters more than the bead you see on top. A crack left inside the joint will work its way back out through the weld. And if a spot has been welded too often, we'll say so instead of welding it again.
It varies with the crack, the steel and the weather, so there's no set number of hours. A short crack in easy reach is a different day from a long one behind covers. Thick steel takes more passes, and outdoor welding slows down in wind, rain and cold. Once we've seen a photo or the machine, we can tell you what your repair involves.
Often, yes, when the crack is in reach. Sometimes a guard or a cover has to come off so we can get at it. Hoses and seals near the crack have to be kept away from the heat, because welding heat ruins rubber fast. When the weld is done, it all goes back together.
Call (603) 660-2011 from the job site, with the machine and the crack in front of you. Or send a photo of the crack, so we can say if it's worth welding before anyone drives out. Free estimates: small repairs get a number on the phone, bigger ones get it in writing.
