Process of working imperfections or defects on generally thickwalled metal worked-pieces

Claim 1

A process of repairing imperfections or defects forming cavities in generally thick-walled, metal work-pieces comprising the steps of, machining the surface of the work-piece to remove therefrom metal contiguous to the defect cavity and thereby form a cavity having a smooth, continuous, rounded-off wall surface, introducing a selected quantity of slag powder in said cavity, resistance heating the slag powder in said cavity by the passage of an electric current from an electrode of non-consumable material extending partially into said slag powder to form a molten slag in said cavity having a depth of 30-50mm, maintaining said molten slag in the heated condition at a temperature above the melting temperature of the metal work-piece to permit the material of said cavity wall surface to reach its melting temperature and to preheat the metal of the work-piece in the vicinity of the cavity, quickly replacing the non-consumable electrode with an electrode of consumable material having the same composition as that of the work-piece, partially immersing said consumable electrode centrally within said molten slag and passing a current through said consumable electrode and said molten slag to said work-piece of an intensity for melting said consumable electrode so that the molten metal from said consumable electrode is deposited into said cavity through said molten slag to fill said cavity with a continuous, metallically equivalent transition between the molten metal deposited in said cavity and the cavity wall surface.