The dirtwork thread

[aigheadish]

Thanks for the picture! That looks like something I may want to look into doing for my backhoe, I'd never thought to just replace the teeth with a bolt on edge, though I've see stuff similarly done.

[PoginyHill]

Thanks for the picture! That looks like something I may want to look into doing for my backhoe, I'd never thought to just replace the teeth with a bolt on edge, though I've see stuff similarly done.

I use the same pins/bushing to secure this as the regular teeth use. But for this, I only pin the outboard teeth. No need to secure the inner ones. There is enough support with the teeth against the tooth holders that are attached to the bucket. I forgot I had a couple of pictures of it mounted. I welded it together on the bucket, so this was newly completed - not used yet.



 


 

[mike_belben]

Beauty  8)

[Resonator]

I like how you've got it set up to be removable, I've seen plenty of ex-utility company buckets where they welded flat bar across the teeth. Fine if you want to peel back sod or make a flat grade, but not so good if you have to break through hard material.

[aigheadish]

For real, I agree with Mike and Resonator, this is really good work! And it looks like it does the job very well! Thanks for the extra pictures too!

[Tom King]

When I was doing a basement waterproofing dig around a 1798 house, no one around here had a Grade-all, so I had the excavator owner weld some worn down bucket edge parts onto the teeth.

He did a clean job with that setup, and was having a great time running it.  About the time he had finished the drainaway, downhill ditches, the welds stopped holding, and the blades fell off.

It served its purpose perfectly.

The removable edge is a Great design though.

[aigheadish]

One day I hope to have the skills to throw something like this together.

[Tacotodd]

I hope to have a WELDER!

[mudfarmer]

Todd if you were closer I'd give you my little lincoln and buy a replacement. We have been together for 20 years next year and it has done more than anyone could ever ask of the poor thing. It should go to a good home where it would be treated better :D

[Tacotodd]

But I don't think that currently I have the "skill" to use one properly. Only to make bugger welds. But I do appreciate that offer. I've used a wire welder & stick. The wire I used did an "ok" job and with me and the stick it made a decent cutting torch, for BURN BARRELS :D

Plus, I don't (currently) have a place to keep them from the elements >:(

[HemlockKing]

But I don't think that currently I have the "skill" to use one properly. Only to make bugger welds. But I do appreciate that offer. I've used a wire welder & stick. The wire I used did an "ok" job and with me and the stick it made a decent cutting torch, for BURN BARRELS :D

Plus, I don't (currently) have a place to keep them from the elements >:(

The wire is pretty easy, make sure it's flux core because I assume you aren't running gas, you can weld
Anything almost with just a little welder, just gotta stack the welds and takes much longer. Make sure the areas you are welding are clean with just pure metal and no mill
Scale, wire wheel
Or flap disc on a grinder works good to clean up the metals

[mudfarmer]

110v lincoln wire feed, ran it with gas for most of its life fixing, modifying and restoring cars and trucks and other fab work. Like Hemlock says, if you gotta, it will do it.

Now I'm a farmer and required to use flux core, booger weld and splatter everything in a hurry to get going :D

If you want a clean weld you gotta have clean material is one of the earliest hard lessons I learned. THis is REALLY DIFFICULT in the land of rust and no $ for good steel, just a scrap pile. Flap discs are your friend.

Todd a little lunchbox mig like this would make a mighty fine foot stool in the living room

[Tacotodd]

Todd a little lunchbox mig like this would make a mighty fine foot stool in the living room

I'd still have to ok it with the CFO even if the price is right :. I DO know what I can get away with after all. I'll have to PM you once she gets home from work on this "lovely" :D day when she normally doesn't have to work. She's in SUCH a great mood on these kinds of days ;)

[mike_belben]

With a hot enough (big 220v) machine you can actually weld horribly rusty stuff without grinding.  It just needs a few scratches to get the first popcorn fart arcs going.  The rust will melt and form as slag on the puddle.  Youve gotta have the heat to really make a liquid puddle though.. Then you just advance that puddle.  A few passes with slag brushing in between can do it.  Learned this fixing stuff at the scrapyard where do it right was prohibited.


An oxyfuel preheat can burn the scale off too for corners you cant get with a grinder but there is a fire hazard. 

[HemlockKing]

I find much easier to weld dirty/rusty equipment with stick welder and I really do burn the Junk right out of er just be sure to not turn it into a a shade tree arc gouge lol 

[thecfarm]

There's a thread on welders here. Well at least one.  :D
Get a 220v, I had a 110v,  :. The duty time on that small one is not fun, if you are welding ¼" steel. Weld for 10 minutes, and wait 15 minutes for it to come back on.  :

[moodnacreek]

If you fabricate with ' what you can find' steel, hacksaw, file or peen first. Years ago I spent days making a fork conversion for my 310 Case loader for loading logs. Every weld broke. All that 3/4" plate I torch cut was hard steel.

[mike_belben]

A pneumatic needle scaler is a very good weld prep tool btw.. Especially for those rusty inside corners a grinder cant reach.  They peen pretty good between passes too actually. 

[barbender]

  As long as there is enough meat to the metal under the rust, there isn't much a Lincoln buzzbox and 6011 rods can't burn together. And if you have good steel and do your prep right, there aren't many people that can weld better than the machine can. A very useful tool, for how much they cost.

  Poginy, we always used to just weld flat stock to the teeth on an excavator for a flat cutting edge, but your's is a fine piece of fab work! 

[Resonator]

I'm not a welder, but from my experience hacking together projects with wire feed and stick, the main thing is to get the weld HOT enough. Grinder prep is important too, but the weld itself has to melt into the steel and puddle everything together. I've learned the hard way if it doesn't fuse solid, it will just be a scab on the surface and break.

[Don P]

I always figured if the entire rod was on fire it was about right. The welding instructor frowned on burning the base metal to a crisp  :D. There's a happy point in there somewhere.

[Tacotodd]

That's why I always thought of a welder as a hot glue gun on meth/crack  It goes WAY in, not just surface. I know "just enough" about welding to get me in trouble :(

[Resonator]

A boilermaker welder on you tube said if you don't burn the rod right down to the numbers, your wasting company money. ;D

[Ljohnsaw]

there isn't much a Lincoln buzzbox and 6011 rods can't burn together.

I always found 6013 to work better in rust.  But since I've picked up a couple 50lb cans of 7018, I've learned how to make it go on not-so-prime metal.  Plus it doesn't splatter nearly as much.

Back to our regularly scheduled program (Dirt works):

So, way up, there was the tire hoop road base posts.  Anyone get motivated enough to try that? (Mike Belben?)  Ive got about 150' of driveway that is on big rock (1 man up to 10 man rocks) lightly scattered in moon dust.  Turns to pancake batter if you try to traverse it wet.  Then I have 500' of a good slope that, someday, I'd like to be a decent road/great ATV trail.  I could get all the free tires I'd need off of CL - just have to fab up the side wall cutter.

[barbender]

I only claimed the 6011 will burn it together. I never said it would look nice😁 I've actually never tried 6013. 6011 and 7018 are the most commonly available and work well for me si that's basically all I've ever used.