How much will it draw back as it cools?

[square1]

roughly?

My FEL frame had a cracked frame that someone had welded, Last week I heard a clicking sound while hauling logs and sure enough the weld (we won't say what kind of weld) had cracked. Got the tractor home from the woods and cleaned up the previous weld as best I could (tough area to get to), rolled out he PA 300 (Arr, Arr, Arr, Arrooo!) and made a pretty decent repair

Fast Forward 1 week: Yesterday while hauling logs I noticed the hose for the FEL lift cylinder on the repaired side was being pinched between the frame and loader arm and wearing the outer rubber cover off

I figure I have to put heat to the FEL frame opposite of the weld I did last week to draw the loader back on center.

How much past center should I go considering the material (~5/16" thick) will contract as it cools. If I need to gain an inch, should I go 1 1/4" and figure on the cool down drawing back 25% of what I gained?

Again, it's a FEL frame, not a high speed tubiine, so rough estimates should be fine.

TIA,
sq1

 

[Shield Arc]

Boy that's a tough one. I got to see it first, before I can say anything. Most of the time I have to touch it before I can really see too. Can you post a picture? Hard to believe the weld pulled the FEL an 1-inch out of line!:shocked:

 

[Arc weld]

Yea, I agree. It sounds more like the loader frame twisted when it cracked rather than twisted from the welding. Is there any way to put a clamp or a chain on the frame to pull it straight while you weld/heat it? If you can hold it in place till it cools would lessen the pulling when cooling off. You might be able to weld a brace or stiffener on too but a picture would really help to see what you have.

 

[square1]

Things are never what they seem at first are they? I shouldn't have been so hasty with last weeks repair

Had I looked more closely at the previous (failed) weld job I would have noticed they never lined things back up, just got it "close enough" and built a sleeve out of welding wire It hadn't completely cracked so I just ground it down the best I could (tight working quarters) and re-welded it. That probably pulled it the little bit it needed to start rubbing, not the entire inch. The major misalignment came from the initial repair and it's poor alignment.

Today I took everything apart so I could get to the area needing repair and do the job right. Cut everything, ground it all clean, prayed for a good weld, blocked/anchored/chained/comealonged, spit, swore, prayed again for a good weld, and put it all back together. I ended up a quarter inch out of true, lots of clearance on the hoses. I found the other side had started to crack too, so cleaned it up, veed it out, and welded it too. Not pretty, but feel confident that I have a good repair this time.

Just cause the pros do it: 1/4 mild steel, ran the first pass using 3/32" 6013 @ 60~65 amps, then two passes with 1/8" 7018 @ 120~125 amps

 

[Arc weld]

Use 6010/6011 for the first pass. Try to avoid 6013 unless you're welding sheet metal. 7018 is the best choice for strong repairs without getting into specialty rods.

 

[Gary Fowler]

If you had stayed with smaller 3/32" 7018 it would have limited the heat input and thus less warpage would have occurred. There was no need for 1/8 rods on such a thin material. Size your rods to the metal thickness and you will get better welds and the resulting work will be straighter.
6010 would have been much better for the first pass. I find the 6013 to trap slag easily and have little to no penetration.

 

[square1]

Use 6010/6011 for the first pass. Try to avoid 6013 unless you're welding sheet metal.

6010 would have been much better for the first pass. I find the 6013 to trap slag easily and have little to no penetration.

Okay, so now I'm a little less confident and leaning more toward hoping I have a good repair. If I have to do this a third time I'm not going to be happy Just shows to go you, I thought whoever did the first repair was a quack, guess there's a lot of that going around

 

[Mark @ Everlast]

As long as you feel like you got good penetration and the slag chipped off adequately, or it peeled off...6013 is fine, and sounds like it is better than what you had. Field repairs, or repairs like you've done aren't always going to be in ideal circumstances. The cracking is likely from a bad design or a weak point in the design and abuse. So likely the metal has been stressed all around it. If the weld is too strong all it will do is crack down beside the old weld. Then you begin to chase cracks. They use 6013 all the time outside of the US for root pass welds. It's pretty common in Europe and elsewhere. A lot is going to depend upon the amperage that you welded it with. It's no sin to weld with it. If you have it use it. I don't believe it is a "sheet metal" rod...although penetration can be lighter. It'll weld just like any other rod. Yes it has slag, but not all 6013's are the same. A 7018 and 7014 have slag too to deal with, and the 6013 has more in some respects but it isn't unmanageable if the amps are set right. (and arc force control ) I've used it to weld on new 3 point hitch "ball" replacement ends on the dog bones of Ford and Massey stuff when that is all the company I worked for supplied. Did beautiful, and held well. Just used multi passes and the slag literally fell off each pass. :2cents: Using 3/32 was a smart idea there though. However 1/4" steel imho isn't too thin to use 1/8" 7018 rods and isn't going to make much of a difference in whether it draws or not. I too would have used 1/8" on 1/4" for that.

I've welded on more than one front end loader in my life. Just keep an eye on it. IF possible, this is a good place for a fish plate. Grind the weld down flat first though. If you don't know what a fish plate is, google fish plate weld.

 

[Texasmark]

I too prefer the 7018 and 3/32 is what I use the most. Other thing I learned, through my limited, self taught, 35 year farming experience is that in a stress situation, a butt joint is prone to fail. Whereas if you get a good butt joint, grind the top smooth and put a cap of the same (close to the same) thickness material over it. The fillets between the cap and the frame provide more welded area, disperse the stress, and are stronger than a butt.

So if you can I'd put caps on both sides as you said the other side is an accident just waiting to happen.

HTH,
Mark

 

[Arc weld]

Too much build up can cause a notch effect at the edge of the weld. Usually about the thickness of a dime is ideal. Especially on a repair for something that has cracked 6013 is a poor choice of rod. It is not designed for welds under stress. 6010/7018 are. 6013 covered by 7018 isn't too bad.