Repair procedures differ in accordance with the equipment and its manufacturers; however, many things don't change.
Pay particular attention to the small details that make the critical difference on structural members. Know when to weld
and -when to bolt .members together. Take your time .and do the repair procedure right the first time without any come
backs. If you have any doubts on a repair and have no help, make a small model and try various methods of repair to find
the best method.
For the majority of minor stress cracking, users learn to live with the equipment and keep it in good repair. Some serious
stress cracks are cause for user alarm. Only a very few stress .cracks result in a disaster. For example, stress cracks in
a dump truck body pivot area are just signs of occasional overloadings jarring while dumping, or hitting a chuck hole at too
great a speed. It is the same as running over a nail with a tire and getting a flat. Stress cracks on the corners of a
scraper bowl between the cutting edge and the end bits are more serious and need repair as soon as possible. Stress
cracks on the second section of a crane boom on a telescoping hydraulic truck crane are as critical as you can get and
warrant immediate deadlining for repair. This time, it's the same as having a tire blow out at full load and at full speed.
To prevent stress cracking problems, limit overload or over speed of equipment and reduce exposure of your equipment
to abuse. If equipment, by its nature, must be overloaded, over speeded, and abused at times, then keep an expert eye
out for normal, serious, and critical stress cracks, and know what action to take to get them repaired correctly the first
time.
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