Abstract:
Crack-free welds of jet engine components formed essentially of a heat resistant nickel-base alloy having a tendency to be weldcrack sensitive are produced by abutting selected surface of at least a pair of structural elements of said nickel-base alloy, the elements being assembled in welding relationship with an iron-base shim therebetween, the elements being electron beam welded together into a unitary structure by melting the iron-base shim at the interface of the abutting surfaces, whereby the resulting weld which is an alloy of the iron-base shim and the nickel-base alloy is crack-free.