Welding advice

Nissan11

Nissan11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Location
Marston, NC
Can anyone give me some advice on fixxing this bush hog?

Here is what broke....


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Here is what I THOUGHT would work....



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I welded this side then grinded it smooth to fit tight up against the support the plate.



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This is the inside...




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The steel is very thick, between 1/2" and 3/4". Is it just too big a job for my welder? Does it look like I welded too fast?


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It broke right down the center of my weld.



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Lack of penetration. First bevel the crack. Weld one side up. Bevel out the otherside of the crack down to good metal ie.(the weld you just did on the other side. Weld this side up now. Grind flush to fit. Hollar if that dont work I can come by after work and fix it. I weld for a living and my welder is on my truck. I will do it no charge.
 
rock-lucky said:
Lack of penetration. First bevel the crack. Weld one side up. Bevel out the otherside of the crack down to good metal ie.(the weld you just did on the other side. Weld this side up now. Grind flush to fit. Hollar if that dont work I can come by after work and fix it. I weld for a living and my welder is on my truck. I will do it no charge.
Click to expand...

I bevelled the crack like you said and welded it again but even slower this time since I had more space to fill. I hooked up to the tractor and drove around with it for a bit and it seems to be holding good. I dropped it on the ground and bumped it in to some trees and so far so good. Tomorrow I am going to be mowing a lot of grass with it and I will report back with an update. Thanks again!
 
I'd bet money that it will break again, not bashing your welding...it's just in a bad spot and for some reason I've seen a lot of welds break on brush cutters. Buy some 3/16 or 1/4" x 2" wide strap, cut off a 4" piece, drill the proper sized hole, then weld that over your previous weld.
 
Get some thick fender washers & after you weld it up again put one on each side & weld around them.
 
My g-paw welded on tractors all his life. I can remember watching him. High stress points like this are hard to fix permanently without extra material. That is what he always told the guys that insisted it would hold without it. Then when they came back in 2 months, he would add the extra steel and problem solved.

Good luck. Oh, by the way, it isn't cast you are welding is it? It doesn't look like it, but just wanted to be sure.
 
If it breaks again tomorrow I am going to weld it again and weld washers on both sides. If I do that I will have to buy a longer pin, though, which I hope isnt too hard to find. If that breaks Im going to let rock lucky come fix it.
 
1/2 in cold roll steel on the outer edge is the best fix.

no matter what you weld on the sides you have to transfer the stress away from the original hole. I welded for CAT service for years....a 8 or 10 inch piece on each edge welded where the ar the more you work the same spot the more brittle it will get. just take it for what its worth...lol
the brackets are your steel. the o's are the cold roll..weld where the v's are on each side.
v v
O{{{{{{{{{}}}}}}O
^ ^
 
^^ did you fix all cat stuff like that?
 
Ive been cutting with it for about 2 hours and so far it has not cracked again on either side. Ive got another couple hours to go.
 
another thing to consider for next time, looks like you have your welder plugged into an extension cord, my 110v experiences severe voltage drop if plugged into a cord. If you can plug it directly into the wall, do it
 
89Pathy94 said:
another thing to consider for next time, looks like you have your welder plugged into an extension cord, my 110v experiences severe voltage drop if plugged into a cord. If you can plug it directly into the wall, do it
Click to expand...

Thanks, Ill keep that it mind next time.


I beat on the bush hog by cutting a few more acres of bumpy field and it still has not cracked again. I did, however, find a yellow jacket nest.
 
Nissan11 said:
Thanks, Ill keep that it mind next time.
I beat on the bush hog by cutting a few more acres of bumpy field and it still has not cracked again. I did, however, find a yellow jacket nest.
Click to expand...
I HATE YELLOW JACKETS. That is all. That, and how they can miraculously distinguish between warm skin, warm tire, and warm motor.
 
I hold a special place in my heart for yellow jackets. Nothing defines a nice summer night like burning out a yellow jacket "hole". Add a gallon or two of gasoline after dark, light, dig, and enjoy a yellow jacket free environment. The all should burn IMO.
 
I used to own a landscape business. I've been stung so many times it's not funny. I hate them with a passion. BTW you don't need to light the gas to get rid of the nest. We just fill a 2 liter coke bottle with gas. Go out at night and jam it in the hole. Leave it until morning. No problems.

anyway I agree with the add more steel to the brush hog. It'll break again eventually.
 
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