NEW ROLLER & SHEEPS FOOT - ON THE WAY

[crash325]

That high speed "snail" better get a move on. I'm moving along and may catch him. :laughing:

Got old bridle removed and thin end of tank cut off. Now just stub axle on that end. Red line is where new gussets or a spider will be added.

Got the gussets welded in on the bridle stubs. Have the cross piece pretty well figured out. Found another piece of 2x3x1/4" angle iron that is a little too short. But with the "new" plan that is just about perfect.

A real smart person (never been accused of that.) would have planned their build and got all the correct material rounded up before starting. Maybe next build, Naaawww no fun in that. :thumbsup:

 

[crash325]

The high speed snails pace is moving right along. May step it up and go after the turtle next.

First off today is correct a mistake. One of the connecting rods journal was undersize. Find one the right size, grind 1 off and weld 1 on.

Take the last piece of 2x3x1/4", cut in half and weld to the front stubs of the bridal. Scab some heavy plate on the inside and some more on the outside of the splice. Picture shows 1 more scab to be welded on.

2" Section gets cut out of the front cross member for the tongue to go through and get welded in place. On the inside a 1/2"x 1.5" steel strap gets welded that spans from splice to splice. That will go under the tongue and maybe a shorter piece on the top of it.

2" Water pipe is just about 1/8" larger than the axles, it also is just a tiny bit to big for the connecting rods. Will cut 2 pieces about 1.5" long and split them and close up enough to just barely fit the rod ends. Not like a real bearing, but should last a lot longer than I do.

The Saga of "What Not to Do" continues. :laughing: But the end is in sight. Without too many more mistakes, it should be ready to test in a couple of days. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Called 2 propane company's and ask about old tanks. 1 Says it sometimes has a tank (not good for gas.) to sell, other one says they just keep fixing them up. Man at the Metal Yard was going to look for a tank for me and set it aside. Hope to go in Tuesday, get a tank and some metal to build the roller out of. That's if the "Check is in the Mail". :laughing:

 

[hddnis]

Looks like it is coming along. I like the way you're using what you have on hand as much as possible; saves a lot of out of pocket cash on a project no doubt.



Mr. HE

 

[crash325]

Looks like it is coming along. I like the way you're using what you have on hand as much as possible; saves a lot of out of pocket cash on a project no doubt.

Mr. HE

Hi Mr. HE, - Nice to hear from you. Thanks for looking.

Made some progress today. Took a lot longer than I thought to prop up, clamp up, line up and square up all that scrap iron . Seamed like it would be an easy thing to do. Still some more welding to do and gussets to be added. But it is nailed solid and within 1/4" of being square. Think that can be trued up when the reinforcing bar is added.

Had a couple of good sized welds and wanted to use some 3/16" rod. Only had 7018 in 3/16". BAH HUM BUG Even at 220 amps, hard to light and could not maintain an arc. Used 1/8" 6011 and welds came out pretty good.

Pictures tell the story.

Left to do, bearings, water fill fitting, Gussets & more welding. Then some kind of receiver or mount for the Pintle hitch.

Almost out of use able scrap iron. Hope to go to metal yard Wednesday, see what kind of Fine Scrap they have and if forced, even buy some new stuff. So far other than welding rod and cut off wheels, everything has come out of the treasure pile. :thumbsup:

 

[crash325]

Got lazy and took yesterday off. Did make some progress today, before the sun got me.

Had some aluminum pipe that was close to the right size for the bearings. Got them cut out and 1 loosely installed. May not last a long time, but worth a try.

Started on the spider (barely) today. All it needs to do is take some strain off the butt weld on the stub axles.

A couple of gussets and the bridle is done. 1/2x1.5" steel strap is welded in place. Maybe a little touch up welding needs to be done.

May be able to start dragging it around tomorrow or the next day.

 

[crash325]

A little more progress today. Pretty much on home stretch now.

Spider is just tack welded and a few stobs need a little more welding. Got the bearing in, greased and tight ( A little 2 Tight )

Found 1 leak at a bad weld on 1 of the stobs. May have another 1 or 2 after it gets a work out.

Finish welds, fix hole, and mount pintle hitch on tractor. Maybe on the FEL, but think it will go on the pallet forks back plate. Forks lift right off.

 

[crash325]

Real progress today. Anxious to drag that hunk of scrap iron around. Took a couple of short cuts that created some minor problems.

First of was to weld up the leak, after rolling around it still had a minor leak. Another stob also had a tiny leak. Both just enough let things get damp. The minerals in the water will seal up those tiny seeps.

Got the Pintle mounted on the pallet forks backing plate. Mounting plate only 3/16", 1/2 as thick as the original. Added a reinforcing bar to the back side. No sign of strain, welds still have the flux on them.

Jerked the thing around pretty hard and fast, none of the stobs bent or broke. I thought that a few would, but all held and many still have the welding flux on them.

Now the minor problems. If as planned spacers between bearing and spiders things would have been a little better. Way too much side to side movement of the bridle and it spit 1 bearing out.

Next stupid trick, see if it can be picked up while full of water. That pulled the ring out of the tongue. Have a plan so that can not happen again.

Some little changes on the way as well. Tongue needs to be a little longer. Got to slow down the turn rate when pushing. Needs constant attention when pushing.

Going to add more weight, not even able to see a track on the hard part of the drive way.. Have some real heavy RR plates and maybe the small water tank shown in an earlier post.

Guess the fun :laughing: of this build is almost over. :thumbsup:

 

[crash325]

Now its time for 26 coats of hand rubbed paint, pin striping, flames, chrome wheels and upholstery. :thumbsup:

OH, wait a minuet this thing was built to play in the dirt with. :laughing:

Well the actual building is done. Some welds will need another pass and maybe add a gusset or 2. With around 400 welds and almost 20 pounds of rod, some of them have to be bad.

Yes, you folks have shamed me into painting things. But that will not turn this into a thing of beauty.

1 Foot was added to the tongue, still keeps you busy when pushing, just a tad slower turning than before. Side play taken out of the bridle and 1 bearing replaced.

Gave it a pretty good work out today. Back and forth around my yard several times. Then down the north drive way to the weed patch. Around an hour & 1/2 of pushing & pulling.

In another post I will get into the "Good, Bad & Ugly". Lots of what not to do if you build something similar.

Maybe next week will get started on the Roller. Got to get some more welding rod and scrap iron. Used up most all the good stuff on this guy.

 

[crash325]

Forgot the tongue extension picture yesterday.

Tuesday or Wednesday its off to the metal yard and see what can be found. Maybe a tank for the roller, some 2x3" "C" channel, some 2" square 1/4" wall tubing and some 1/2x1/5" strap iron.

 

[sandman2234]

Nice use of acquired inventory! (scrap steel)
I noticed the mention you were going to grind off the galvanized coating where the welding was going to be done, and thought I might add a little "safety police" statement.
Hot dipped galvanize is not a coating, but rather a process that allows zinc to chemically bond with the existing steel, forming several layers of protection. This process is hard to remove without actually removing all of the layers, which if done correctly is significant in the amount of steel you have to remove. The more you remove, the better your welds are going to look, giving you the feeling that you must have gotten it all. Since I build most of my projects from the same source as you, I can't say "don't do it", but prefer to mention that zinc posioning is nasty and that even though you ground off the galvanized coating, you really aren't getting all of it.
SO..., whenever welding, cutting, or subjecting galvanized metal to any sort of heat, be sure to have good ventilation, even if you are welding outside. Those fumes in large amounts will make you sick really quick, and in smaller doses, make you sick in the long run.
Rant off, just trying to make sure everyone is aware...
David from jax