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Ben Massey
06-11-2006 18:51:40
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Awhile back I asked the members here if they knew anyone who excelled in cast iron repair. My MH 55 manifold had numerous cracks that needed repair. As many of you know welding cast is an art, not just any one can do it. I got various recommendations, Fred Wolfe mentioned someone in Hudson, WI. I should have listened to Fred. However, I decided to send it to Kidwells Machine Shop in West Virginia. I picked them because they advertise in one of the antique tractor magazines I get. I figured if they were in there they must be good, right? Boy, was I ever wrong. I don't like bad mouthing people, especially on the internet but want to let people know and they can make their own judgement. To make a long and very expensive story short, the manifold was repaired and sent to JET-HOT in Mississippi for coating. I asked the owner of Kidwell's if this would be OK, and he stated yes. I won't say want he charged but believe me it was outrageous. When the manifold came back from JET-HOT it was cracked in the same places with a couple more. I talked with both companies but got the same BS, "We did a good job." I found Crow's Custom Welding Company in Hudson WI. on the internet, the one Fred mentioned. I called and talked to Buck and he told me to send it to him. He said "if its metal I can weld it". Boy, was he right. He fixed all the cracks, recoated the repairs with hot temp. coating and you can't tell where it been fixed. Buck said that the repair Kidwells did were not appropriate for a manifold. The best part is he is extremetly reasonable for what he did. I would not hesitate to tell anyone to send a hard to repair cast item there for repair. Steer clear of Kidwells, he is a rip-off. Thats OK, what comes around, goes around. Ben
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