How to weld repair these wheelsI?

bob 59912 · Sep 6, 2019

I'm restoring a Jari sickle bar mower that I bought used with a broken frame to mow my fence line. I've sucessfully welded that and everything else now works, except the wheels. I need some suggestion on how the fix / weld them.

The wheel axle tube has bushings at either end. It is no longer attached to the sheet metal that makes up the rest of the wheel.

The wheel attaches to a spindle welded to the frame. The wheel is held in place by a cup welded to the spindle on the inside and removable cup held in place by a bolt, with a a zerk fitting, on the outside. No thrust bearings just felt washers that fits over the bushing.

Wheel assemblies no longer available. Ideas on how to fix this? Suggestions?

I was thinking of cutting out the bushings, since there was nothing to pull against as they are loose and I may need to use the wheel sheet metal as a template. Some how get access to the axle tube, remove it and weld a reinforcing ring on the inside to it. Weld sheet metal to it. Make another piece of sheet metal that overlaps, drill holes through one layer and spot weld it all together so it fits the original spindle dimensions. Or maybe fabricate a new axle tube, with thicker material, and new bushings. Then mess with attaching it to the sheet metal of the wheel.

Is there an easier way?

RNeumann · Sep 6, 2019

I’d press a sleeve into the existing bushing that is the right diameter

metalbender · Sep 6, 2019

Method of repair depends on tools available. With a lathe, a couple of new caps with bronze bushings would be easy.

jaxs · Sep 6, 2019

metalbender said:
Method of repair depends on tools available. With a lathe, a couple of new caps with bronze bushings would be easy.

:number1:That

Topzide · Sep 6, 2019

Tools make the difference. What about enlarging the hole to sleeve with a piece of pipe and the fit a bronze bushing into that to fit shaft and inside of pipe. Pipe could be tig welded without filler if tight fit. JM2C.

fidowanttobe · Sep 6, 2019

Subscribed as we have the same issue. Sad that Jari made such a weak link on these solid mowers.

bob 59912 · Sep 7, 2019

A clarification, the point of failure was not the bushing themselves, rather the axle tube where it connects to the sheet metal of the wheel. It is to the point seen in the 2nd image where the axle tube has rounded out the sheet metal at least a 1/4" beyond the axle tube radius on both sides. The only thing keeping the axle housing and bushings in the wheel are the washers under the flanged bushings on both side.

The flange bushing may be a press fit into the axle tube and originally captured the sheet metal wheel halves before they welded them together. Either that or the weld from the sheet metal to the axle tube conveniently broke at both ends of the axle tubes on both wheels.

Whatever the diameter of the rounded out hole, I don't want to repair them more than once.

I can find the center of the wheel and cut out a round hole in the wheel that will accept a new axle tube with a circular flange welded to it. Since the flange is on the inside, then it doesn't increase the face to face length of the axle housing with bushing, yet gives much more area to weld to the sheet metal.

The difficulty of this approach is that I need to make a larger hole on the other side of the wheel to fit this flanged axle tube inside and then figure out how to close up that side.

If I go the sleeved approach, for the enlarged hole on both sides, does it make sense to make it protrude out 1/8" on each end (current flange bushing, flange height is 1/4") and make a fillet weld for more strength to the sheet metal. McMaster Carr has a wide variety of flange bushing with different flange height or it would be simple to lathe the flange height down.

The 1/8" protrusion could also be used to weld a "washer" to the axle tube and then the edge of the washer to the sheet metal around the washer edge and through holes drilled in the "washer". Having a protrusion would mean replacing the felt in the spindle cups with a low friction disk about 1/8" thick. Or maybe finding larger spindle cups to capture the diameter of the "washer". On Monday I'll check an industrial bearing store to see if there are alternatives to the spindle cups.