Burning small holes:

Jay4200 · Jun 8, 2011

Rather than poach the 'big hole' thread, I figured I'd ask in my own...

I have an old plow blade that I plan to make into a new cutting edge for my exceedingly beat up HD bucket on my Kubota L4200. The old cutting edge is welded on and very well worn - probably down to close to an inch wide on one side, and maybe two on the other, and is 1/4" or maybe 3/8" thick. The plow blade is a bolt on from a 9' town plow blade, and is ~5" wide and 3/4" thick - I cut it down to bucket length (~5.5'). I was going to weld the new edge under the old one, but was talked out of trying to weld the hardened blade. What I'd really like to do is cut holes through what's left of the old blade, and bolt on the new one - the plow blade has square holes in it already. I'd want to drill something in the 9/16" range. I don't like the idea of trying to drill though the old blade though - I could see it taking hours and going though a half dozen bits, although I've done pretty well lately using step-drill bits. I don't have torches, but I am intrigued at the prospect of burning through the metal with welding rods, at least to get the holes started. I've heard that soaking a stick in water makes it into a cutter for some reason, and I've been dying to try it. I have a Lincoln AC 225 tombstone welder with my tractor. Advice?

JayC

Iplayfarmer · Jun 8, 2011

I burned a few holes with my AC welder before I got a torch. I don't know what the water does for the rod, but I've burned holes fine without it.

My advice... Crank the welder up as high as it goes, use a deep penetration rod (6011), and keep your arc lenghth a little longer than usual. A slight sawing motion helps a little. Practice on scrap until you feel like you can control it.

I actually bought some rods that were specifically designed for gouging, but I never found them any better than a regular rod. They made a spectacular shower of sparks and a lot of noise, but the cut wasn't any better or any easier.

I kind of had to resist the urge to beat my chest and grunt after the first hole I bored with a welding rod. YMMV.

Haywire · Jun 8, 2011

I cut the center out of a tire rim last week with 5/32" 6011 and 185 amps. It worked great. I've been told that if you crank the amps too high for the rod, it just melts instead of gouging.

Ian

ramzee1 · Jun 8, 2011

I think you will want the amps turned up. As soon as the metal starts to turn red try to push the rod through the metal, with the amps turned up it won't try to stick on you. The quicker you burn through the smaller the hole you can make. If the hole turns out to small simply fire the rod back up and gouge around the edges of the hole, you'll need to go pretty quick. To smooth out the rough edges I like to take a long taperd punch and say a 2lb hammer and hit the punch in the hole while its still red. With a little practice you can make a hole look to be drilled.

Jay4200 · Jun 9, 2011

ramzee1 said:
I think you will want the amps turned up. As soon as the metal starts to turn red try to push the rod through the metal, with the amps turned up it won't try to stick on you. The quicker you burn through the smaller the hole you can make. If the hole turns out to small simply fire the rod back up and gouge around the edges of the hole, you'll need to go pretty quick. To smooth out the rough edges I like to take a long taperd punch and say a 2lb hammer and hit the punch in the hole while its still red. With a little practice you can make a hole look to be drilled.

So, I want to strike the arc, then basically stuff the rod through the metal while it's zapping? Do I use the same kind of motion to do the 'gouging'?

Good tip - I was thinking something different. Now I'm really excited to try it...

JayC

ramzee1 · Jun 9, 2011

Yes and Yes the same motion will work. I just use 6010 or 6011 whatever is around at the time. Good luck

Soundguy · Jun 9, 2011

hiugh amps.. and for this.. I'd squander a few bucks on a cheap pack of chamfer rods.. though i guess the 6011 will work decently

forget the drill on the hard blade. do it all with the torch.

use plow bolts ( square and recessed head ).. and ten use appropriate washer and nut behind the old blade. perfect hole not needed.

I guess to save the 'other' thread posters some time.. i'll say their 'spring loaded' bit for them.

" You really should go out and buy a few hundred or thousand dollars of quality tools much more suited for this task that will last many years in order to do this 1 job, even though you have a viable cheap / free alternative for a 1 shot deal "

hmm.. did I capture the overtone correctly?

soundguy