Hardfacing Skid Shoes

[bob 59912]

I'm making larger area skid shoes for my snow blower and V-plow, since the ground still isn't frozen this year and I use them on a gravel driveway and road.

I'm thinking of hard facing the skid shoes in a waffle pattern, using either stick or Mig welding. Any suggestions on vendor and type of 1/8 rod or wire to use (up to 0.045") for this application?

Also I'm not very good at making straight weld lines on flat plate. Soapstone hasn't worked well for me and I haven't tried the Silver-Streak or Red-Riter welding pencils. I plan to use an aluminum straight edge, if I go MIG, or make a ceramic straight edge from tile, if I use Stick welding, to keep the hard facing pattern somewhat consistent. Thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks

 

[RickB]

I'd say the rough surface created by the hard surfacing process would cause more unwanted disruption of the gravel surface than the benefit of increased wear life would yield. Either build the shoes with a sacrificial bottom plate that can be replaced without too much fuss, or buy AR (abrasion Resistant) plate steel for the shoe bottom, or both. For single-driveway use, mild steel will probably last longer than you expect.

 

[gwdixon]

The waffle pattern is great for dirt because it packs the dirt in the waffle area and the skids ride on dirt instead of the welds.

Gravel is altogether different. It will wear in the waffle area if crushed and around roll like crazy if round (or pea).

Although welding straight lines is not your forte, it may be the best pattern for what you want to do. A weld on each edge and a weld or two down the middle (depending on the width of the shoe) will slide over the gravel easier. Use a strong halogen light close to the surface and it should help seeing the edges and to line up with previous welds.

I use Stoody 31 for the application you are proposing but there are tungsten powder rods available (although very expensive).

The idea by RickB to weld on a sacrificial slide plate has a lot of merit. Just run a few short 7014 or 6013 beads down the both sides in a stitch pattern. They are low penetration rods. Once one of the weld beads wears through, grind off the others and what remains of the sacrificial plate should drop right off. Then weld on new plates.

 

[yomax4]

People I know that have done this simply used a front to back bead pattern laying the beads right next to each other. Single layer only. With Wire you can get a nice flat bead running CO2. Not sure that the waffle pattern would help any but no matter what pattern you use, they will last a lot longer. I made some boat shaped shoes for my atv plow when the stock ones wore out in 2 seasons. I just used Spray Powder with carbide and that was 8 years ago. I have a heavy Boss V plow on my plow truck and did the shoes with Stoody 1105 but 21-31or 35 would work. Some hard surface brands have very little alloy in them so if it's cheap, Could be lower in alloy. Probably only take a pound or so of stick to do the job. I'm not sure what the shoes would cost to replace but if they are cheap, maybe that's best.

 

[PILOON]

Guess I got lucky as I had purchased a cutting edge for a friend's bulldozer and it was about 8" too long.
Being the hoarder that I am I had the perfect materiel for new shoes.
Cutting in half lengthwise made perfect shoes for my gravel drive.
I added regular steel to the ends to form the 'ski tips' leaving the harden steel to contact the gravel roadway.
That cutting edge material is so tough that I still barely notice wear after 3 years of usage.
The finished shoes are about 2.5" wide X 8" long, just perfect for my blower.

 

[yomax4]

Guess I got lucky as I had purchased a cutting edge for a friend's bulldozer and it was about 8" too long.
Being the hoarder that I am I had the perfect materiel for new shoes.
Cutting in half lengthwise made perfect shoes for my gravel drive.
I added regular steel to the ends to form the 'ski tips' leaving the harden steel to contact the gravel roadway.
That cutting edge material is so tough that I still barely notice wear after 3 years of usage.
The finished shoes are about 2.5" wide X 8" long, just perfect for my blower.

I did the same for the back blade on my tractor. I just wanted it to move snow and remove all my gravel. Been good for 5 years or more.

 

[muddstopper]

I dont know the best rods to use or best pattern to use, but at work on plow bladed that dont see nothing but big gravel, they use a diamond tic-tac-toe pattern with spacing between the beads. I can get 2 or 3 years wear out of a set of those blades, and they are in gravel pulling rock every single day.

 

[Mysfyt]

FWIW, my neighbor owns a dragline and has tried everything including Stoody to protect his buckets. He swears he gets the best life out of stainless and it is also cheaper than the hard facing products. I don't remember what type he used, but if you're interested in trying this I will find out for you.

 

[Stimw]

Why not use pieces of a leaf spring for the wear area?
Old leaf springs are easy to get from a junk yard.

 

[PILOON]

Why not use pieces of a leaf spring for the wear area?
Old leaf springs are easy to get from a junk yard.

I wanted some spring stock to re-blade my lever type shear,
Trucks use as wide as 3" and 1/2" thick material.
A local truck suspension shop sold me short lengths at scrap prices.
Springs can be drilled as well ,just go slow and use quality bits and cutting oil.