My CLIMAX boring machine and auto bore welder are where versatility and ruggedness meet quality and performance.

After months of continued use, the back hoe’s boom had 14 sets of pin & bushing holes (ranging in size from 70 mm to 120 mm) that were loose and out of round and in need of a complete rework.

The repairs needed to be made as quickly as possible because the loss of the back hoe impacted production and rail car loadings.

Midwest Bore Repair (MBR) was called for the job because of our reputation for bore repairs and the caliber of the tooling we own that enable us to get jobs done on schedule. We moved the back hoe to a local shop and assessed the tools needed to weld and remachine the holes.

Inspection and disassembly of the back hoe showed that although most holes had varying degrees of damage, both the bucket pin hole that was at the far end of the stick and the boom pin hole closest to the cab were extremely damaged – almost to the point of being unrepairable.

Even more challenging, the area where the boom pins to the mainframe was approximately 4 ft. across. This meant that the welding machine would need to reach through the first hole and then span 54 inches to the other boom pin hole to weld the second hole. We chose the Climax BW3000 AutoBoreWelder because of the tool’s 60-inch span. This allowed the BoreWelder’s torch into the hole, and eliminated the need to remove the cab to weld that hole which saved considerable time. In addition, the drive motor and rotational drive unit on all the Climax portable boring machines can be repositioned anywhere along the bar, making it easy to set up and use in tight spaces such as on the back hoe.

We used the BW3000 in the welding and the BB5000 in the machining phases of the repair. First, we produced precise, uniform welds, building up 1.750 inches of material in the pie mode on the bucket pin hole and smaller amounts of filler metal on others. Next, we attached a Climax boring machine — which adapt to the automated welding system using the same mounting fixtures — and bored out the holes back to OEM specifications. Finally, each side of the stick was faced using a facing attachment that mounted right on Climax’s BB5000.

The repair was very high quality, because the Climax machines and attachments produced consistent welds and removed metal with high precision. The time-savings were equally significant. Hand welding and machining could have taken countless more days to repair the back hoe. We completed repair to all 14 sets of holes – including disassembly, reassembly and various other repairs — within the allotted 20 day window and to the customer’s complete satisfaction.

In head-to-head bidding situations for repair projects against my biggest competitors, I’ve often been asked by customers if we have the equipment to do the job. I just look them in the eye and say, ‘I have the best!! I have Climax’s boring and welding equipment.’

These machines are far superior to what my competitors use and my customers can immediately see the difference.