Welding Projects

[4x4American]

I wasn't sure exactly where to put it but I figured that since it's welding for my sawmill or sawmill support equipment it could fit in the sawmill section.  Mods feel free to move it if you so desire, I won't lose any sleep over it!


So...whatcha welding?


Yesterday's project started when I got my hydraulic cylinders back from the local hyd./machine shop after I had bent em.  He bought new ones and then hacked off my old pin bosses and welded em on to the new cylinders.  Well I had to do some repairing to the loader tractor.


Before:



After: (Kinda hard to tell I plated it too, and no I'm not buying JD Green paint :D just use what I got)



Then I noticed this:



I just grount it down using a die grinder with the little carbide burr bits and welded it cold so that the weld didn't burn through to the inside of the pin boss.


So next I mounted the pallet forks and noticed that now the barrel is a little bit bigger, and the barrel would hit the loader arm before the cylinder would retract all the way.  The forks never did tilt back enough, because whoever cobbed them up didn't spend much time on them.  You would almost think that they had a truck coming for a delivery that needed pallets unloaded and they built em on the spot.  Anyways, so I decided that if I moved the bottom pivot point it would tilt back further and cylinder should now be able to retract all the way without hitting. 


Before:



15/16 of the way done:



I ran out of welding rods, and don't have any shielding gas for my MIG, so alot of the welding I did towards the end on the gussets was done using little nubs of 7018 I had previously tossed on the ground with very low life left.  It took awhile, but I got it to where I believe I have enough.  I also finally cut out some notches for the forks to lock in place, and I cut out notches for the forks to slide the whole run of the plate, before, they only slid in from one side until they hit the mounts, the guy had notched hacked out one side but not the other.  I still need to weld on little locks for the pins and then paint it.  That I'll do tomorrow morning before I get to sawing some walnut.

[4x4American]

This one I posted awhile ago but it's a peavy that wouldn't bite.  I kinda tried making it into a cant/peavy hook:


Roller dragback table I did a few weeks back:









Still need to finish it up, just a couple more things to do yet.

[Kbeitz]

Just finished up a box mover... All arc welded with my vintage Seras welder.
Anyone tried the new ac welding rods. I think they work pretty good.



 



 



 

[valley ranch]

That's the same stick welder I have, got it from Sears years ago!

[Kbeitz]

That's the same stick welder I have, got it from Sears years ago!

Thats back when they made them good with real copper wire inside.
Not like the cheap alum wound junk sold today.

[4x4American]

yup thats what I used was ac rod.  Works great

[fishfighter]

Was clearing some land yesterday with my backhoe. Of course I busted a pin on the hoe bucket. Pulled it, a little grinding and welded it back together. ;D No place around to buy a new pin on Saturdays. ;D

Bad think is that I'm not suppose to weld anymore do to having a pacemaker. One of these days welding, I going to get one shock of a life time from the CRT-D and that ain't no fun. Been there and done that a few times.

[Kbeitz]

The only time I get shocked welding is when I try welding  it in the rain.
I have learned to put the new rod under my arm when reloading, not in my hand.

[fishfighter]

It's not the welding that will shock me. It's the pacemaker. It's a CRT-D. That D stands for defibulator. And yes, it has knocked me out a few times already. Then again, I'm not suppose to use a chainsaw too! But I do. ;D

[snowshoveler]

Hello 4x4American, and anyone else that has 1.
That peavey with the little pointy nub that you welded on.
How does it work for you. I have a half dozen peavy's and can't hooks, but none have that little nub.
How does it work for you now.
Sometimes on certain sized logs I find myself trying 1 or 3 different peavy's to get 1 that will take a hold of the log.
That little modification looks like it would help me quite a bit.
Thanks
Chris

[sealark37]

Is that the better part of a Cletrac that I see in the picture of your log arch?  Cletracs are getting scarce in these parts.  Regards, Clark

[beenthere]

Hello 4x4American, and anyone else that has 1.
That peavey with the little pointy nub that you welded on.
How does it work for you. I have a half dozen peavy's and can't hooks, but none have that little nub.
How does it work for you now.
Sometimes on certain sized logs I find myself trying 1 or 3 different peavy's to get 1 that will take a hold of the log.
That little modification looks like it would help me quite a bit.
Thanks
Chris

At your first opportunity, get a Logrite and enjoy the new benefits that overcome the frustration you are having with the old.  Many others already have done that.

[Kbeitz]

Is that the better part of a Cletrac that I see in the picture of your log arch?  Cletracs are getting scarce in these parts.  Regards, Clark

Yep.... Here is a link to that project.

https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,86981.0.html

[Den-Den]

I have a Lincoln 225 AC machine, tried some of the "80TAC Plus" rods recently and really like them (I had asked for 7018 AC but they were out).  I may never buy 7018 AC again.

[Ljohnsaw]

I have an old (1987 vintage) Lincoln 225 - assuming AC as it doesn't have a DC setting  :-\  Learned to weld with 6013 (and 6011) on old steel.  Riding BART one day, sat next to a young man who turns out was a very accomplished welder.  He talked me into trying 7018 - told me to stick with it until I "got it".  Well, took some time.  I tried various diameters and amps but finally figured it out.  Its expensive here -about $2.50 to $3.00/pound.  Picked up a 50 pound box off of CraigsList for $40 and its working pretty well.

So tell me more about the 80TAC.  How does it compare, welding-wise, to 7018?  I still have difficulty starting an arc every once in a while, especially if the flux splits off the end a little.  I find I need to have a little higher amps than I like to get a good bead going.  Even with swirling, I get a little undercutting.  Is the 80TAC better at a little lower amps?

Some of my projects:

 

Four Five Six in one (this picture is sort of a "where's Waldo" search...):  On the left is a little 4x5 trailer I made mainly for my ATV but licensed it for road use.  I can fit my son's little ATV in it with my big one in the truck.  Behind it is a set of grey Ts (actually capital Is but you can't see the bottom).  These are scaffolding uprights made from lightweight structural C channel scrap.  Next is the log arch that I need to get a better winch on it.  The 6' bucket is used on my SkyTrak, though I have mangled it again for like the 5th time.  Off on the right is a boat trailer that I added structural channel (3") to make it a flat bed.  Recently added some tie down points.  Sitting on the tail of the trailer is a little 42" skid steer bucket that I mounted on the SkyTrak first and crumpled it up a couple of times :-\

The log arch before:

 

My Band Mill:

 

Thumb addition to my Davis Little Monster :

 

[Den-Den]

I have an old (1987 vintage) Lincoln 225 - assuming AC as it doesn't have a DC setting  :-\  Learned to weld with 6013 (and 6011) on old steel.  Riding BART one day, sat next to a young man who turns out was a very accomplished welder.  He talked me into trying 7018 - told me to stick with it until I "got it".  Well, took some time.  I tried various diameters and amps but finally figured it out.  Its expensive here -about $2.50 to $3.00/pound.  Picked up a 50 pound box off of CraigsList for $40 and its working pretty well.

So tell me more about the 80TAC.  How does it compare, welding-wise, to 7018?  I still have difficulty starting an arc every once in a while, especially if the flux splits off the end a little.  I find I need to have a little higher amps than I like to get a good bead going.  Even with swirling, I get a little undercutting.  Is the 80TAC better at a little lower amps?

My Lincoln machine is even older than yours (early 70s) but they seem to last forever.
I will continue to use 6011 for most work - better penetration, metal does not have to be as clean and lower cost.
In the past, I used 7018 for welding high carbon steel as the 6011 is subject to brittleness when used on high carbon steel.  The 80TAC is slightly higher strength.  They seemed to get better penetration than 7018 and are easier to re-strike.  They have less flux, making them easier to use on vertical welds.  I don't do a lot of welding so only bought a small box - they are not cheap but neither are 7018 AC.  Considering total project cost, a few dollars on welding rods is not really a big deal.

[Ljohnsaw]

My Lincoln machine is even older than yours (early 70s) but they seem to last forever.
I will continue to use 6011 for most work - better penetration, metal does not have to be as clean and lower cost.
In the past, I used 7018 for welding high carbon steel as the 6011 is subject to brittleness when used on high carbon steel.  The 80TAC is slightly higher strength.  They seemed to get better penetration than 7018 and are easier to re-strike.  They have less flux, making them easier to use on vertical welds.  I don't do a lot of welding so only bought a small box - they are not cheap but neither are 7018 AC.  Considering total project cost, a few dollars on welding rods is not really a big deal.

True, but I went through 4 or 5 ten pound boxes (over $100 worth) using down to tiny stubs to get my money's worth.  When i came across the 50# box for $40, I was in heaven!  I don't seem to have a problem with the penetration - I'm running pretty high amps to get it to run smoothly.

I had picked up an OLD 10# tube of some sort of military issue rod, 1/8" 347-15 ??? I tried it years ago but couldn't get it to go.  I tried it again, now that I can do 7018, and found I could make it work.  I was welding some thin wall (1/16") square tube and my 5/32" 7018 wasn't cutting it.  This 1/8" stuff was working good for that application at a much lower amp setting.  Started actually welding instead of melting :

[Kbeitz]

If you want to talk about $$$$$ try some Nicads. Last ones I bought was $4.00 per 1/8" rod.
Used for cast iron and works good for things like spring steel or powdered metals.
In the last 10 years I think I used around 400lbs of Nicad rods.

[4x4American]

Hello 4x4American, and anyone else that has 1.
That peavey with the little pointy nub that you welded on.
How does it work for you. I have a half dozen peavy's and can't hooks, but none have that little nub.
How does it work for you now.
Sometimes on certain sized logs I find myself trying 1 or 3 different peavy's to get 1 that will take a hold of the log.
That little modification looks like it would help me quite a bit.
Thanks
Chris

It is definitely worth a shot.  This peavy is pretty much garbage, I got it years back off Baileys, and I never should have bought it lol.  This definitely helped, but the whole hook part is wrong.  I got a 60" Logrite PV and have never looked back.  Works great, and the owners are great too.  I also have a stubby logrite cant hook and it also works great.  It's not a mill special but it's close.

[Gerald Rowell]

Been welding for 35 years. Always use 7014 rods. They strike easy and burn smooth. Vertical welding , I use 6011s. Thanks

[Larry]

If you want to talk about $$$$$ try some Nicads. Last ones I bought was $4.00 per 1/8" rod.
Used for cast iron and works good for things like spring steel or powdered metals.
In the last 10 years I think I used around 400lbs of Nicad rods.

I haven't used nicad in years.  The welds always made me think cold and ugly.  Maybe my technique was poor.

I do braze a lot of cast iron with great success.  A little gear I did a few years ago out of an old machine.  It got two steel threaded implants than built up the rest with braze.



Anybody have suggestions what to use for welding O-1 drill rod to low carbon steel?  After the welding the assembly is heat treated to really hard.  I'm making wood lathe tool rests similar to Robust models, with a hardened top rail. 

[Gumneck]

  How does it compare, welding-wise, to 7018?  I still have difficulty starting an arc every once in a while, especially if the flux splits off the end a little.

If you have trouble starting an arc with 7018, you might try just before you go to weld scratching your electrode tip along the concrete just a short bit to get it bright and shiny. Seems to work for me.

[kelLOGg]

Righto about 7018. I always use a small  grinder to resurface the tip when I lose the arc - which is often.
Bob

[4x4American]

You also need to keep your 7018 dry.  To be proper about it, you are supposed to store them in an oven.  I have about 10 pounds of 7018 that I found behind the seat of my old 89 Dodge, it got too wet, can hardly strike an arc or get it to burn properly.  For welding vertical, you want to be pushing with a heavy angle, and if you can I find it's easier to watch the arc come towards me or above and to the side a bit.  Hold it there for longer than you might think.  The stuff falling is just slag, don't pay it no nevermind, watch the puddle directly behind the rod, keep that heavy push angle, and go slower than you would if you were welding horizontal.

[4x4American]

Nice job on that gear Larry