Leaf Springs - suitable for cultivator tine tips?

[jbwilson]

I have a box grader with 3 tine (one piece) cultivators. The cultivator points are now blunted and I am thinking of welding on tips fabricated from an old vehicle leaf spring. Seems simpler than building up the blunt tines with weld metal. My thinking is that the steel used in leaf springs is fairly abrasion resistant - and probably more so than the steel in my cultivator tines. I will weld on the tips using 6013 electrodes because in Australia it is cheap and available everywhere and works very well for me. When the fabricated tips become blunt, I simply grind off the welds and replace with new fabricated tips. Does this idea seem sensible - are there other common (and cheap) steel products that may do the job better? Thank you.
John

 

[CNC Dan]

I have a box grader with 3 tine (one piece) cultivators. The cultivator points are now blunted and I am thinking of welding on tips fabricated from an old vehicle leaf spring. Seems simpler than building up the blunt tines with weld metal. My thinking is that the steel used in leaf springs is fairly abrasion resistant - and probably more so than the steel in my cultivator tines. I will weld on the tips using 6013 electrodes because in Australia it is cheap and available everywhere and works very well for me. When the fabricated tips become blunt, I simply grind off the welds and replace with new fabricated tips. Does this idea seem sensible - are there other common (and cheap) steel products that may do the job better? Thank you.
John

Spring steel isn't as abrasion resistant as hardfacing, but it's a lot cheaper, and it's better than most common low carbon steel.

Go ahead and use it. Worst case you end up back where you are now.

 

[ThomasH]

Leaf springs are typically good quality steel and the ones I have used were case hardened. I am wondering if you can drill the springs with a sharp drill bit? If so, I would be more inclined to bolt the tip in place rather than heat it up and remove any hardening that might be there. In other words, make a holder for the tip, maybe C shaped, to bolt the tip into.

 

[jbwilson]

Thank you all. I'll go looking for an old leaf spring in a field somewhere - and then to the wreckers if no luck. Making a tip holder sounds like fun for practising metal working skills.

John

 

[kydick]

over the years i have taken leaf springs and welded them onto plow points. just took a new one as a pattern and cut to length and weld on top of the point. works like new maybe last longer too. seems like a 6011 is my favorite rod. also have welded them onto my disc mower shoes. when they get worn down almost to the original shoe i just weld another spring on it. never had to buy a new shoe for my mowers in at least 20 years.

 

[jbwilson]

Thank you Kydick for your endorsement.

John

 

[jaotguy]

drilling spring steel .... lots of pressure, a VERY slow turning drill and water running on the drilling surface to keep things cool ....

 

[jbwilson]

Thank you jaotguy. Where possible I use my floor drill press whenever drilling in steel using new engine oil for cooling and lubricating. I just use enough oil to stick onto the metal scarfings and work piece without the oil dripping anywhere. I'm hopeless at using a hand held drill for steel - it takes forever, I can't exert enough pressure on the drill, the holes are anything but circular, and the drill bits end up blunt or broken.

John

 

[duanew1]

drilling spring steel .... lots of pressure, a VERY slow turning drill and water running on the drilling surface to keep things cool ....

Good tip. It took me dulling a few drill bits to learn to drill on my drill's slowest speed. Hand sharpening larger drill bits is actually pretty easy.

Also going slow on metal cutting blades help keep them sharp and not melt the teeth.

 

[Arc weld]

I'd use at least 7018 to weld spring steel and preferably something like a 312 stainless, Super Misslie weld, etc.

 

[Reverser]

I'd use at least 7018 to weld spring steel and preferably something like a 312 stainless, Super Misslie weld, etc.

I agree with Arc weld on this. 6013 is for mild steel, not high carbon steel such as springs.
I had a plowshare(high carbon) break in 4 pieces, years ago. I grabbed the nearest rod which was either 6011 or 6013 and welded them up. In less than a minute, every weld cracked with some little sharp "tink" "tink" noises when they started cooling down. I immediately realized I had used the wrong electrode and went back with 7018. I guess if 6013 is all you have it wouldn't hurt to give it a try and see, as long as it's non-critical.

 

[Shield Arc]

I grabbed the nearest rod which was either 6011 or 6013 and welded them up. In less than a minute, every weld cracked with some little sharp "tink" "tink" noises when they started cooling down.

Years ago I was involved in replacing a bunch of cracked welds in several low boy trailers. These trailers were made out of T-1. We would carbon arc out the cracked welds, grind clean. Preheat and reweld with 110-18. Wrap the weld in insulation, and move to the next cracked weld. In just a few minutes, we hear that awful sound, tink!

 

[dragoneggs]

Thank you jaotguy. Where possible I use my floor drill press whenever drilling in steel using new engine oil for cooling and lubricating. I just use enough oil to stick onto the metal scarfings and work piece without the oil dripping anywhere. I'm hopeless at using a hand held drill for steel - it takes forever, I can't exert enough pressure on the drill, the holes are anything but circular, and the drill bits end up blunt or broken.

John

Remember you are trying to take heat away from the cutting area. Using very little 'coolant' is not much better than dry. Create yourself a drip pan and apply a little shot frequently. When it is smoking you are too hot.

 

[Reverser]

Years ago I was involved in replacing a bunch of cracked welds in several low boy trailers. These trailers were made out of T-1. We would carbon arc out the cracked welds, grind clean. Preheat and reweld with 110-18. Wrap the weld in insulation, and move to the next cracked weld. In just a few minutes, we hear that awful sound, tink!

:laughing: How did you finally end up repairing those rascally trailer cracks? Sounds like you were doing all the right things, correct rod, pre-heat, etc.

 

[Shield Arc]

You know I don't remember! This was in the mid 1970s, not sure if I got pulled off to do something else or not. Maybe we just kept doing the same thing until the stars were in the correct alignment. These trailers carried the nuclear waste tanks we were building across the country. These tanks were 8-feet tall, and 8-feet in diameter. Some of the tanks had 7-inch thick lead walls. So they were fairly heavy.

 

[jbwilson]

Interesting to read about electrode selection for various tasks. I have never used anything stronger than a 70xx electrode - and even then I think someone donated it to me. Of course if I was asked to weld up some nuclear waste tanks, and I couldn't wriggle out of the job, I would use something like a 11018 - and then I would warn everyone within a 100 klm radius so that they knew I welded it and therefore had to refrain from drinking the local water for about 5 million years. My understanding though is that higher strength electrodes are much more prone to cold weld cracking than lower grade electrodes. I don't know if there is much difference between a 6013 and 7018 in that regard though. My preheat consists of leaving the piece(s) in the sun on a hot day. I rarely have a cold crack, but then I only do simple welding jobs involving low-medium carbon steels (and I have a well used grinder).

John

 

[jbwilson]

I misread Shield Arc's post - I wouldn't use 11018 electrodes for nuclear waste tanks because they're made of lead. Instead I would use soft solder on the tanks instead, and everyone would be safe. Phew!

John

 

[bigdeano]

For what it's worth, I've always used 308L stainless for welding high carbon steel. I've welded shortened axle shafts and grader blades. Never had a crack. They work good on 304 stainless too.

 

[Stache]

I misread Shield Arc's post - I wouldn't use 11018 electrodes for nuclear waste tanks because they're made of lead. Instead I would use soft solder on the tanks instead, and everyone would be safe. Phew!

John

Seems more like a job for J B Weld, so you don't risk those tanks into fishing sinkers. [ JB Weld is great stuff, not too expensive, comes in a little tube, doesn't hold anything, but it's not too expensive and comes in a little tube. ]

 

[olllotj]

A masonry bit makes easy work of drilling leaf springs.