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<DIV> Hi JD</DIV>
<DIV> Agreed. Yes I'm familiar with the void issue. It seems like
the open face set ups are the most prone to this malady. I've repaired two
identical Victorian Weber's in this way. In there future I will simply
apply epoxy to fill the voids & thern set the plate right in and bolt it
donw. That out to solve the viod problem Especially with the addition of
one of the super strength epoxy fillers.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> Dale</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2>The last
Ibach I did that had a cracked metal frame was a 6-footer of <BR>about this
age, and what I discovered was that the wrestplank was not <BR>properly mated
with the frame (Am. 'plate') webbing. Since there was <BR>a hollow under
(at least one of) the screw holes, the webbing had <BR>been forced to bend as
the screw was tightened and great stress was <BR>introduced. Luckily I
noticed the crack and was able to alert the <BR>customer before de-stringing,
because when the tension came off the <BR>crack opened up right
through.<BR><BR>I had the frame
stitched<BR><http://www.locknstitch.com/Metal_Stitching.htm><BR><BR>
by Metalock<BR><http://www.metalock.co.uk/castingrepairs.asp><BR><BR>I'd
bet the cause of your crack is the same. There is no other <BR>obvious
reason why the casting should break at that point, since <BR>there is no
internal stress. Provided you work down the plank and/or <BR>fill up to
ensure close contact with the casting all along, there <BR>should be no
further problem.<BR><BR>JD</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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