Lengthen a pto shaft

[Soundguy]

In my limited experience at welding.. it's that statement 'stronger than parent metal / breaks somewhere else/' that becomes a problem.. and if not welde dperfectly.. you see breaks right after the bead where the strength changes.

Soundguy

 

[Farmwithjunk]

In my limited experience at welding.. it's that statement 'stronger than parent metal / breaks somewhere else/' that becomes a problem.. and if not welde dperfectly.. you see breaks right after the bead where the strength changes.

Soundguy

110% correct. Also, a shipyard building carriers for the USN would no doubt have at their disposal, any and all resources, equipment, technicians, welders, and conditions to weld PERFECTLY. Average Joe, even with a reasonabley equipped home shop won't have what Newport News ship yard does.

The entire issue is spending hours using a many bucks worth of equipment to fix something that doesn't cost that much anyway. And when you're done, there's still that chance your repair is less than it should be.

 

[Slamfire]

I remember an inspector tellin' me that one weld on a hydro electric plant penstock failed inspection over 12 times. He was gettin' worried about havin' to replace the whole section of pipe.

 

[gemini5362]

ok guys as this thread goes on my memory is starting to work better. I interviewd a lot of years ago with a company that did pipe welding. They wanted someone that could work on the electronics of an automated pipe welder. Now if my memory is correct that welder was a ring with three electrodes that fit on the end of a pipe. The pipe was ground to a 45 degree angle. they fitted another pipe next to it with a 45 degree angle then the ring spun through a 120 degree circle so that the three welds made a pass all the way around the pipe. Now if i am looking at it correctly that was a butt weld. These were 80 feet of 12 inch pipe which was welded together then lowered to the ocean floor. Now if they can butt weld something together that has that kind of weight and has to sit on the ocean floor would that not work for a driveshaft ? They did not have tons of equipment and they were welding on a barge a long ways out in the ocean with all the salt spray etc.

 

[Soundguy]

No one gets killed when an undersea pipe weld fails... people -MAY- get killed.. and are at very least, 'in danger' if a cob job patch weld on a drive shaft fails.

I would think you would have a hard tiome getting a insured welding shop to weld a patcjh int he middle, or to extend and end on a drive shaft.. much the same way as they probably would'nt touch a rops.. liability...

Soundguy

 

[gemini5362]

I did a quick search I saw where people get killed on a regular basis from doing something with a Front End Loader. I have seen lots of instances where a tractor rolled over and killed someone. I have not seen anything about anyone being killed from a broken driveshaft that was welded together. Has anyone going any actual stories or is this just a worry that it could happen

 

[Soundguy]

Driveline injuries can and do happen often.. I imagine a cob-job patched up welded up driveline would just be an agravating factor.... That is to say.. a good condition driveline can be dangerous enough by itself ( with poor operator technique ).. the repaired / patched one just adds another variable to the list of failure modes that can happen.. thus making it a potentially more dangerous situation, vs a new driveline.. etc.

Go into a welding shop with a cracked brake drum or disc and ask for it to be welded up and turned down so you can hurry up and get back out on the highway... Or ask them to braze up a cracked brake line... See how many licensed and insured shops step up and say they will do the repair.

Some items you just don't repair.. you replace.. it's a safety issue, and a liability issue.. some more than others.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[TractorTodd]

There is something missing here. Did anyone mention SAFETY SHIELD? Does the driveline in question currently have a SAFETY SHIELD? If so will it fit the driveline after it is lengthened?

 

[gemini5362]

That is a good point about the safety shield although I am not sure what that is.

 

[Soundguy]

He is either refering to the plastic ;sheath; around the driveline.. or a mounted / flip down metal shield / shroud, covering the pto stub area on the tractor.

And let me add.. IMHO...a missing plastic sheath would be the absolute -LEAST- of my worries if i had a driveline that was scabbed and welded up... That little plastic shield will do nill when/if that driveline detonated under hi load at full rated pto rpm...

Soundguy