Keyway shaft chipped on d19 axle

Took the stock hubs and tires off this weekend.   ON the right side axle, there is about an 1/8" chip on the backside of the keyway most of the length of the shaft where the center was.   I was taking off the stock wheel centers and was going to put M and W clamp on 9 bolt centers and some 18.4 x 38's on dished rims.   So now instead of a keyway that is 6-7 inches long, I have two pieces on the clamp on hub that are 2" thick with a keyway built into them, but it doesn't go all the way down into the keyway shaft, it's up about a lite 1/8".   

Yep, they worked.   Thanks Bob.   On to the next problem!!  LOL

I've never done a axle shaft before but I have welded up key ways even worse than that one and ground and filed back to shape. It's not fun, but I would try it if it was mine.

I would say you will be fine, if you are as confident in you weld as you seem

I don't know, But a fellow welded a bead around the axel on his tractor that was larger shaft then this one and it snapped off right at the weld... Being you only welded one side, Might not be an issue. What rod did you use, 7018, 8018?

If you could get the axle to a milling machine a better alternative would have been to have cut a new keyway between 90 and 180 degrees from the old one and abandon the old keyway.

Gerald J.

Welding on axles is a terrible idea! Many axles break that way. My uncle welded on one on a 1486. Snapped off while disking, broke right at the weld.

Edited by Carl(NWWI) - 20 Feb 2012 at 12:25pm

Carl(NWWI) wrote: Welding on axles is a terrible idea! Many axles break that way. My uncle welded on one on a 1486. Snapped off while disking, broke right at the weld.

It is a terrible idea if you don't know how to go about it. Shop I worked in has welded crankshafts for big presses and all kinds of different parts made from different materials. If the part in question has been heat treated it should be pre-heated, kept at a working temp, then post heated. I doubt Chucks axle had enough heat to it to bother it.

Chuck:  Use a piece of copper flashing to make a dam along the keyway to keep the weld out of the groove.  Use a piece of steel behind it to wedge it in place.  A piece of square carbon rod will also work good.  A piece of bronze keystock would be ideal too.  What size is the groove?

Well, this is what I did.   I didn't have a big piece of copper, so I flattened a piece of copper pipe in the vise and then put that in the keyway on the one side with the chip.   I then put a small piece of round stock behind it to wedge it in place.    I used my stick welder and put one pass down where the chipped out area was.   I cleaned the weld up and made one other small pass where it wasn't high enough.  Took the round stock and the copper out and grabbed a file and went to work on it.   It was warm where I welded it, but not really hot.   I used a 7018 rod.    I talked to my brother and he didn't think it would be an issue, so thats why I did it before I put it back together.