Dipper Stick snapped in half

[DennisFolsom]

Great looking repair! It should last as long as the rest of the machine now.:thumbsup:

I'm pleased to see that you got it repaired so well, quickly, and at a reasonable price. If I lived in your part of the country and had some heavy welding to be done, I'd take it to Lew's for sure.

I've enjoyed reading this story and learned a good bit. Thanks for posting.

I hope both you and your Dad can continue to reshape the Earth for many years to come!

 

[k0ua]

Eddie I have followed this thread with eager anticipation since from the beginning, I did not add anything because I did not feel qualified to. But that looks like a great repair, and I am very glad you got it going again for a good price. I showed the break originally to my wife and she is glad you got it fixed too.:thumbsup: Hope you and your Dad get many more hours out of the machine.

James K0UA

 

[Scooby074]

You made the proper decision.

Getting the stick squared up on a table gave the best results.

$600 is a great price, considering the insane cost of steel and consumables now; not to mention labour.

Id gouge out and repair the cracks on the boom though, before they spread.

 

[TRR]

Back at post #136 was a method to locate cracks:

An old timer said while it is still warm spray the crack with penetrating oil. Let it sit. Clean it with brake clean, and sprinkle talcum powder on it. if the wet bleeds out it is a crack. I have never tried it

On a welding forum there has been discussion about using brake cleaner then welding. It is considered to be highly dangerous - just a small amount of fumes can kill. Here's the referenced article from welding web on brake cleaner: Brake Cleaner = Phosgene Article

Be safe.

 

[Ford tractor]

I could be mistaken but I do believe Dads 1960's Ford 4500 has 1" lines running to ALL of the stick cylinders. And I could be wrong, But I was not aware that valve had a PR in it. Either way, we arent going to chain anything to the hoe and tow with the tractor. If it is chained to the hoe, the hoes own hydraulics will move it, if not, we will chain to a solid point on the tractor.

Not to raise a fuss, but you are mistaken. The hoses are measured by ID and not OD. A 1" hydraulic pressure hose is like 2" across.

IMO, those are not in need of attention at this time, you could watch them but I doubt there would be any failure there.

I'm curious what others will recommend, but that's how I feel.

If you were gonna weld it I don't think drilling would be required either, just grind it and lay a hot penetrating bead in there.

JB.

JB, Those cracks are like your pants fly. When they are just open a little bit, they stay that way for a long time. But they get more and more open until all at once zipppp!. The dipper stick probably didn't look much different the day before it broke...

Lew's called and said the Dipper was ready to be picked up. Cost will be $600

I'll post pics when I pick it up in the morning.

Eddie

Good looking repair. Probably worth it if you are concerned about your welding. But, given your other abilities you would probably have done fine. The money spent was all in the prep work they did. The pro's know what to do and don't mess around where us farm boys take longer and waste weld!

Do you know if they also put an internal support in place? I would have, even if it was just 3"x3/8" angle in the inside corners.


I would just hand Dad the keys and let him rip any way he wants. The repair cost is under $100 a year -- why worry about that? You can't get a helper that does as much as he does for that kind of money!

 

[mjncad]

Eddie:

You did dam good to get such a good repair for $600. :thumbsup:

 

[MikeD74T]

Darn good looking welds, like a stack of nickels. :drool:

On a welding site that would be considered somewhat of a putdown, now a stack of dimes is a different story! Considering that this was bench work at a professional shop I'd have expected prettier welds but overall the repair should outlast the rest of the machine. I would however be happy if my welding looked that good. MikeD74T

 

[North West Farmer]

Eddie,

I am new to this group of forums, but I have followed this thread from your first post down to this point. It is nearly a novel, reads like the beginnings of a book.

My sons and I have made and/or been involved in many repairs for over 40 years, many of those were involving heavy machinery and numerous times the goal was just to get back on the job. When we were doing it the right way, it was done like your dip stick repair.

The greatest lessons I am reminded of at this point are the importance of doing your home work, carefully evaluating all of the advice you are offered and then with deliberation and most of all safety in mind, plan the project fully and follow up to assure the best possible outcome. Always thank the people that have taken of their time to offer advice and assistance.

You have done a great job in all of the areas I mentioned. Take pride in the quality of the final repair. You now can have confidence that things like the broken dip stick are no big deal, just overcome these bumps in the road and Look forward to You and your Dad tackling those projects that are so dang much fun.

Nick, North West Farmer

 

[LD1]

Not to raise a fuss, but you are mistaken. The hoses are measured by ID and not OD. A 1" hydraulic pressure hose is like 2" across.

I DID say that I could be mistaken. They ARE 3/4" hoses NOT 1". -12 on the fittings. But the point is moot anyhow. They are not cheap lines to replace.

 

[JB4310]

JB, Those cracks are like your pants fly. When they are just open a little bit, they stay that way for a long time. But they get more and more open until all at once zipppp!. The dipper stick probably didn't look much different the day before it broke...

It would be so simple to grind them out and reweld. don't think you would gain much except peace of mind, but since he already had a catastrophic failure that might be well worth it.

It's not really a crack, it's a separation of the edge of a weld, may of been the 3rd pass? (As mentioned might only be the paint) I know it's still a crack I guess, but different from a crack across a structural member like the dipper must of shown evidence of before it let go.

I'd probably zap it just for peace of mind, but I wouldn't get crazy just grind out the edge of the weld till there was no more evidence of the crack.

JB.