Bending Thick Metal

[Gary Fowler]

Maybe everyone one has one close by, but one trip to their shop or worse still, one house visit and you could have paid for a used Lincoln buzzbox. That is not to mention that you wouldnt have to wait for them to get to your place OR take it to them (30min. travel, gas and wear and tear on your automobile + what ever the charge was @ likely $100 per hour + your wait for them to get to it or worse, have to come back later if they were busy) I much prefer to be prepared to do it myself on anything that I can do at home, this even includes haircuts.

 

[IslandTractor]

Maybe everyone one has one close by, but one trip to their shop or worse still, one house visit and you could have paid for a used Lincoln buzzbox. That is not to mention that you wouldnt have to wait for them to get to your place OR take it to them (30min. travel, gas and wear and tear on your automobile + what ever the charge was @ likely $100 per hour + your wait for them to get to it or worse, have to come back later if they were busy) I much prefer to be prepared to do it myself on anything that I can do at home, this even includes haircuts.

I generally agree that it is worth having a welder at home to fix stuff but for a novice welder to attempt a repair on a critical high strength part the best solution may be to call in the pros. In my area they charge about $70/hr with two hour minimum to show up in your driveway. Not too many welding/cutting jobs will last more than 2 hours so it is not a bad deal if you don't have either the equipment, skill, confidence or time/desire to do it yourself. With the construction industry in the doldrums it probably isn't hard to get a decent welder to come at a time convenient to you either.

 

[Gary Fowler]

I agree with critical stuff, you need to have good welding skills to fix them, however, most farm breaks are like that Bush Hog tail wheel, it isnt that critical, if it breaks just remove the old welds and weld it again. That is about the only way to get proficient is to keep trying. Welding on his chain hooks, he should get that done later after his skills improve as a break on that has the potential to cause a serious accident or even death. That being said, it wont take very much good weld to hold all that the average tractor will lift on a straight pull. I had a fitter once try to break one of my 1/4" tacks on a piece of angle right in the corner pulling straight down with a 5 ton come-a-long and he couldnt pull it off, but I could push it sideways with one finger and break it off once he removed his comealong. When you have 60-70K psi weld strength it doesnt take much weld metal to hold a couple thousand pounds. I just feel safer with a good weld rather than a poor one especially when I may be getting under or around something that is hanging off my FEL chain hooks.

 

[Danno1]

HF has their 50lb anvil on sale this month for $44. Not a bad deal.

According to the "real" blacksmiths, that's an ASO (pronounced asso). Anvil Shaped Object. :laughing:



.

 

[weldermike]

According to the "real" blacksmiths, that's an ASO (pronounced asso). Anvil Shaped Object. :laughing:

.

Anvil shaped object is the truth!!!! If people knew how to truly use an anvil and what there real worth is they would not be cutting them up to fit in a corner of their garage or be giving them away because theyre tired of walking around it.

 

[deereman75]

I have to agree with the good anvil. I used to have a 10 lb cast iron anvil that was useless. I have since made quite a nice 50lb anvil out of some rr track. For a home made anvil, it is good, and works well. But it is still not nearly as good as the old 400lb anvil in perfect condition in the blacksmith shop I often work in. If your going to be using a sledge hammer, you need a big, real anvil.

 

[IslandTractor]

According to the "real" blacksmiths, that's an ASO (pronounced asso). Anvil Shaped Object. :laughing:
.

Yeah, and I'm sure "real" farmers think any tractor under about 80hp is just a toy too.

No pro blacksmith is going to HF for an anvil. And no pro welder or mechanic would use anything from HF either. On the other side of the equation, if a $44 ASO can help shape some sheet metal using a $12 set of HF ball peen hammers then why spend $1500 for the "real" thing?

 

[deereman75]

Yeah, and I'm sure "real" farmers think any tractor under about 80hp is just a toy too.

No pro blacksmith is going to HF for an anvil. And no pro welder or mechanic would use anything from HF either. On the other side of the equation, if a $44 ASO can help shape some sheet metal using a $12 set of HF ball peen hammers then why spend $1500 for the "real" thing?

Because a cast iron anvil can snap with very light work. Sheet metal is about all you can do with it. If you try real forging, you will have a pile of iron chunks. (more likely pot metal)

 

[Shield Arc]

I agree with critical stuff, you need to have good welding skills to fix them, however, most farm breaks are like that Bush Hog tail wheel, it isnt that critical, if it breaks just remove the old welds and weld it again. That is about the only way to get proficient is to keep trying. Welding on his chain hooks, he should get that done later after his skills improve as a break on that has the potential to cause a serious accident or even death. That being said, it wont take very much good weld to hold all that the average tractor will lift on a straight pull. I had a fitter once try to break one of my 1/4" tacks on a piece of angle right in the corner pulling straight down with a 5 ton come-a-long and he couldnt pull it off, but I could push it sideways with one finger and break it off once he removed his comealong. When you have 60-70K psi weld strength it doesnt take much weld metal to hold a couple thousand pounds. I just feel safer with a good weld rather than a poor one especially when I may be getting under or around something that is hanging off my FEL chain hooks.

Years ago I was on a large concrete bridge project. They were using traveler forms like in this picture. Before the next section is poured the opposite side has to be loaded with counterweight blocks. Another contractor was loading the cantilevered section with counterweight blocks getting ready for the next concrete pour. They had a weldor that I had worked around before welding padeyes on these concrete counterweight blocks. The rigging crew was always waiting on this guy. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to what was going on, until I heard this very loud thud! One of the padeyes broke off the counterweight block while it was in the air being flown into place! Can you spell unemployment?:laughing:

 

[weldermike]

Yeah, and I'm sure "real" farmers think any tractor under about 80hp is just a toy too.

No pro blacksmith is going to HF for an anvil. And no pro welder or mechanic would use anything from HF either. On the other side of the equation, if a $44 ASO can help shape some sheet metal using a $12 set of HF ball peen hammers then why spend $1500 for the "real" thing?

Heres an anvil I made for my friends 15yr old son whos just getting his feet wet with the trade. He was estatic when I gave it to him. Cost







me $0, and an hours elbow grease. So for minimal money, even if you spent a couple bucks for the rail, you can avoid a sliver of cast iron stuck in yourself and possibility of someone else getting hurt watching you when that $44 harbor freighter starts coming apart