Precision Sterndrive Relies on Hobart® MaxalTig® 4943 for Quality, Strength and Safety
In the offshore racing industry, the sterndrives must be able to withstand rough conditions. With the Hobart® MaxalTig® 4943 cut-lengths, Warren Berg, owner of Precision Sterndrive, can create high-quality welds necessary for success and safety. The 4943 cut-lengths allow Warren to post-weld heat treat the completed welds, making them stronger, and they provide him with a tight-structured weld that prevents oil or gas leaks.
Video Transcript
My name is Warren Berg. I’m the owner of Precision Sterndrive. I specialize in building the sterndrives specifically for the offshore racing industry. My main niche is the Bravo and IMCO sterndrives, Super V Light classes, and the Bracket classes that use that particular sterndrive.
I’ve been working with Warren for 20 years, roughly, and he fabricates and welds for me. When it comes to offshore racing, we can break anything, so it has to be as strong as it possibly can be. You can’t win a race if you can’t finish, so we have special guidelines that I use that I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t work. I basically custom make a drive for each individual boat. So many things could happen, and you don’t want anybody to get hurt, so you can’t have anything but the best quality weld. You want to get it done as fast as you possibly can, but with this new particular 4943 rod, it allows me to heat treat my welds and repairs where they’re much stronger than what they were to begin with. I need a weld that is strong, first of all, but it’ll also have to be oil tight or gas tight, so I need a very good tight structured weld, and this is what the 4943 gives me.
I run a bearing carrier, and the bearing carrier has worn out its bearings. The bearings actually hammer the aluminum housing, and what we were able to do, utilizing the new welding rod from Hobart, the weld was able to be built up and then machined back down, and then, after the process, harden so that we could have a harder surface for the bearing to push against, and it hasn’t worn out since. The other rods that I have tried just cause a leak. By using the 4943, I can go and clean the area that needs to be welded. The grain of the rod, not only is it stronger, but it’s a much finer, tighter grade, and I don’t have the problems with the parts coming back two months later, or something like that, all wore out. But I can make one pass with it, and it’s done. A four hour job turns into a less than one hour job for me. I’m using less metal because of it, and then the more I use 4943, I find myself grabbing that more than I do any other rod combined. As a matter of fact, it’ll probably outdo all my other metals. What can I say? It’s just outstanding in every way.