Subsoiler build

[Jim Timber]

Been sitting on the 1" thick chunk of AR400 for my shank for this for a while, and decided I'd build it as a project while running my STD production this week.

Yesterday I started by adding the eye tabs to the cross tube, and gusseting them.

Then today I started working on the upper section.

A buddy posted a mig bead on Fb with the whole stack of nickels look, so I had to take one of mine.

Then I discovered that these tabs aren't cut with 1" holes, but 1-1/16" holes. Grrrr Which bugged me enough to sleeve them.

To start that process, I brought them out to 1-1/8" to give a little more meat to the sleeves.

Then whipped up the inserts and welded them in.

Made some caps for the ends of the 4" tubes and welded those on (I did the bottom bracket last after taking the overview shot).

Then welded it all together.

Tomorrow I'll start working on the shank and the mounts for it to attach it to the frame.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

Looks great! What size MIG wire are you using?

 

[Jim Timber]

.035 wire is all I run for the most part. These being 1/2" plate tabs, I was running around 190A on the mig. I'm up around 166A on TIG doing the corner beads since the tube is 1/4 (cross bar) and 3/16 (top leg).

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Great job. You weld like a pro. One thing about the laser cut holes that always bugs me is that the metal surrounding the laser hole is compressed and somewhat hardened, so when I try to bore it, it gets tough on cutters.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

.035 wire is all I run for the most part. These being 1/2" plate tabs, I was running around 190A on the mig. I'm up around 166A on TIG doing the corner beads since the tube is 1/4 (cross bar) and 3/16 (top leg).

TIG on the outside corners? What is the advantage?

 

[Jim Timber]

TIG on the outside corners? What is the advantage?

Look at 'em. :laughing:

I weld tubes like this sealed shut so they don't rust out. If you have a pinhole leak from a cold lap on a mig bead, you end up trapping water inside and accelerating the rust process. By sealing them, only the free oxygen contained within the tube can react with the steel and it runs out of fuel in short order.

 

[Jim Timber]

Great job. You weld like a pro. One thing about the laser cut holes that always bugs me is that the metal surrounding the laser hole is compressed and somewhat hardened, so when I try to bore it, it gets tough on cutters.

Plasma's much worse for creating dross. I haven't noticed any significant edge hardening from this supplier (local steel yard). These tabs are a big time saver though. They cost between 2-5 bucks depending on size, so even if I have to open the holes (like I did on the bottom pin mounts), it's not that big of deal. This yard has a fabrication department and someone got the bright idea to use the laser to make stuff to offer in the yard to the retail customers. It's a great resource and they're generally reasonably priced with multiple size/thickness options.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Nice work. Thanks for the pics. Waiting to see the rest.

 

[dstig1]

Plasma's much worse for creating dross. I haven't noticed any significant edge hardening from this supplier (local steel yard). These tabs are a big time saver though. They cost between 2-5 bucks depending on size, so even if I have to open the holes (like I did on the bottom pin mounts), it's not that big of deal. This yard has a fabrication department and someone got the bright idea to use the laser to make stuff to offer in the yard to the retail customers. It's a great resource and they're generally reasonably priced with multiple size/thickness options.

Is that Discount Steel in Mpls?

Looking good!

 

[Jim Timber]

Yep, it's Discount. Discount is a misnomer though, they're one of the highest priced places to get materials. Used to be a lot cheaper, but they're only about 8 miles from my house and they have a good array of drops. Now that they've got it all inside, it's not rusty like it used to be when it was back in the corner of the yard - so it is what it is.

Before I start in on my flatbed for the f350, I'm going to make a trip down to McNeilus. I've heard all their less than bar length stuff is dirt cheap.

 

[dstig1]

I always thought they were decent price for drops. But never even think of ordering from the website. It seems they double prices on the web! I don't get there often (a bit of a drive and I don't use a ton of metal) but they always seemed like a good place. Their cut charges are pretty high, IMO. I have a small shop over in River Falls that is a satellite office of a bigger place out near Eau Claire that has been good to deal with. Doesn't seem as cheap since they don't do drops, they just do everything by the inch or pound (Steel Towne, if you are curious). They can do some basic work too like punching or shearing, too.

Where is McNeilus?

 

[Jim Timber]

Dodge Center McNeilus Steel, Inc.

Discount's gotten pretty good at having material in the 10' lengths available at regular per-lb pricing, and they'll chop a 10' once for free. Their prices went high when steel went up, and haven't come down now that it's much cheaper on the wholesale market. Used to pay .60/lb for cold rolled, now it's $1. They have far more to offer in small quantities than Garelicks so I'll keep dealing with them. They're also pretty good about getting you in and out, so that's another thing they have going for them. Some of their clearance stuff is a bargain. I got some aluminum diamond plate for like $1.25/lb and there's nothing wrong with it aside from being a smaller size drop.

 

[dstig1]

Thanks. That's quite a hike!

Ever try Metal Supermarket in Roseville? Just north of Rosedale. They did good by me on a couple small items I needed one time. Cut to suit and I didn't feel gouged. But again a bit of a drive for me.

 

[Jim Timber]

I had no idea we had 3 Metal Supermarkets in the area now. I've seen them online in the past and their prices were obscene then so I wrote them off. Just did a little spot check for giggles with Discount's online pricing. 1" 1018 round bar 60" long from MS is $32.12. Or, I can buy the whole 12' stick from Discount for $32.42 and they'll cut it to 5' for free.

 

[dstig1]

Ignore the online prices - call the store. They have the same issue Discount does - think web sites are there to increase prices :confused2: If you want to compare, call both Discount and MS directly.

 

[Jim Timber]

This morning I started in on the ripper shank.

These are the two points I got sitting on top of my 6x42x1" chunk of AR400.

Made the mole out of a section of 2x2x1/4" and a piece of 1/2x1.5" cold rolled.

Drilled my holes for attaching it.

Ok, that was just to prove a point. You can drill abrasion resistant steel without a mag drill or big drill press. It's slow. It's hard on drill bits (that's true regardless of what you're using to propel them). And it's generally not "fun" - but it's entirely do-able with a reasonably powerful handheld tool if you take your time and step them up to size. I piloted both holes and then took it over to the mill to bring them up to 5/8".

Then tacked up the mole to the shank, leaving a (bigger than I really needed) gap so I could get the weld way down in between the two pieces. This is 1" thick after all, and that much metal sucks a lot of heat out of the puddle. You can chamfer to get your weld down in between the two parts (ha! This stuff is grinder resistant), or you can leave a gap - I left a gap. I also added a little more angle to the mole by putting the nose down.

Now the fun begins - gotta bridge that canyon with liquid metal while running hot enough to get a good bite on the 1" side. Which happens to be a really good skill to have. Sometimes the fit-up of what needs welding has a gap that looks just like this.

And underneath it looks like this.

Being less worried about the weld falling out the bottom (since that's now sealed), it's a lot easier to run one in hot over the top of it.

With the root now filled in on both sides, I put a couple more passes down for good measure.

Time for lunch and to let that sucker cool down.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

The metal or the operator?

 

[Jim Timber]

The metal or the operator?

The red spot on the back of my left hand is getting smaller by the minute. :laughing:

You know you're dedicated when your skin is about to start smoking and your brain's going "suck it up sunshine, there's only 2" left!"

The 2x2 was at 450F when I was done, and the AR was at 250F where my hand was, and 136F 6" from the weld.

 

[Jim Timber]

Pretty sure the sheer bolt is going to break first. :laughing:

Needs paint.

 

[Mysfyt]

Nice build, Jim! Every welder knows about that 'suck it up for the last two inches' thing.

How do you embed those nice, large pictures in your replies?