Tractor hinge for farm gate

[wroughtn_harv]

Yeah, I know. I do things differently

The four inch EMT gate is done but I don't know whether I'll go up to Oklahoma to install it or if my bud will have a local install it. So I made some tractor hinges for it just in case.

1/4 X 2" bar stack cut one foot long. Using my Riley McMillen handy dandy Hossfield imitation bender that fits in the hitch receivers in the back corners of the truck bed I bent two four inch U's.

I welded two three point hitch pieces to the two four inch 1/4 by two U's.

This way the gate can be blocked up in place. The U's can be welded to the gate and the pins can be welded to the posts.

I love these hinges. No grease needed, just a little oil on occasions keeps them alive for a long time. Another thing that's neat is if the weldor is off a little bit in the fit up of the hinge and pin this system self aligns, bind is something for others to enjoy. I also like to use them on gravity hinges, again for the self and or variable alignment reasons.

Besides the beauty of the heim or rod end bearing there is the ease of installation with this system. One of the problems with light weight material like the fourteen gauge used in the gate frame is it offers little strength for a welded on hinge. The 1/4 by two inch bar stock takes care of that.

The hinges are located and welded up along the arc of the pipe. At that point the two pound adjusting tool is used to continue the arc of the bar stock around the pipe. So slick it can make WD 40 look like glue.

 

[dcyrilc]

Nice idea. You have me thinking of another use for that.

 

[Jim in ICT]

Can we get a picture when your bud hangs the gates?

 

[bdog]

Slick setup. Bought me a couple Heim joints just like that at tractor supply and pins to use for my gate. I went with the Cat 2 for a approx 250 lb gate. I still have not decided exactly how I am going to attach the pins and joints. I was thinking of welding the joints on to the post and putting the pins sticking out of ends of the gate - one up one down.

I like the way you fabbed up those joints for the gate - how were you going to attach the pins to the post? 1/2" plate welded to post with hole in it to bolt pin to?

 

[mjncad]

Harv, one suggestion for the rookies who may not know this; welding galvanized/zinc plated metal creates poisonous fumes they need to be aware of; especially if they decide to make a gate or other object with a lot of EMT or similar material.

 

[Redneck in training]

With hinges like that it could be easier to make the gate self closing.

 

[orezok]

There are a number of computer programs which allow you to print coping templates from your printer. The good thing about them is that they allow any angle and any combination of tube sizes and create a perfect joint.

Here are a couple that I use.

Tube Coping Calculator

Derivation of Dan Hopper's TUBEFIT Algorithm

SNiP Sawing Notch in Pipe

 

[UpToNoGood]

What kind of pin would you hang it from? I would like to see the other half of the hinge that mounts to the in-ground pipe.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

What kind of pin would you hang it from? I would like to see the other half of the hinge that mounts to the in-ground pipe.

The pins would be standard three point tractor pins you can buy at any tractor supply or hardware store.

Weld plates to the pins and then weld the plates to the posts.

You asked in another post about the cost of such a gate. The labor is four hundred and the material costs depends. That particular gate I purchased the materials for a buck twenty a foot because they were considered seconds because of the poor galvanizing, not an issue on a painted gate. I got the last of their material that day. I'm not sure if they have any more available. If I have to buy it at an electrical wholesale house it's about five times as much per foot.

The beauty in that material is it looks just as intimidating as schedule forty pipe but weighs a fraction of that. As it iis it's a two man job hanging that gate most days. One out of schedule forty pipe at a fence supply would take a tractor for sure plus you're dealing with a heckuva post to carry it.

If you liked that gate you will love this one. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/111160-other-32.html

There's a couple of gates in there you will probably like if you start at the beginning of that thread and go through to the end.

 

[UpToNoGood]

Thanks for the reply and the cost. I am still on the fence to build or pay to have one built so I have looked at a lot for gates.

What do you think about this hinge?

Barrel Hinges Weld-On - Weld-on Hinges - Welding Hinges | HardwareSource.com

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Thanks for the reply and the cost. I am still on the fence to build or pay to have one built so I have looked at a lot for gates.

What do you think about this hinge?

Barrel Hinges Weld-On - Weld-on Hinges - Welding Hinges | HardwareSource.com

I won't use them.

The first reason is most folks put them on wrong so they fail earlier than they fail when they're properly installed.

The problem with them is they are a tight fit and that is great if they're used daily and greased often. But if they aren't used daily and well greased they freeze up because of the tight fit.

I had a thing going on for awhile replacing them on Lowes garden centers. It was money in the bank. I would change them out, grease the bejeezuz out of them. Then six months later I would be back because they had only been opened up once or twice and never re-greased.

The tractor pin hinge will outlive the barrel hinge. It's just a little bit more expensive and will handle a lot more weight and abuse.

If you are going to use the barrel hinges consider instead the weld on hinges at Kings with the brass pins. They won't rust up because of the brass pin.

Barrel hinges should be installed always with the zert up. So the bottom hinge the male is welded to the post and the female to the gate. The top hinge has the male welded to the gate and the female to the post. This keeps the zerts up and it prevents removal of the gate by lifting it off the hinges. Most of the time you see guys welding the top hinge upside down to prevent the lifting off of the gate. This puts the zert down plus it looks like a rookie did it.

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harv, one suggestion for the rookies who may not know this; welding galvanized/zinc plated metal creates poisonous fumes they need to be aware of; especially if they decide to make a gate or other object with a lot of EMT or similar material.

The fumes aren't toxic just noxious.

It's basically zinc fumes which is processed by the body. In fact a lot of your common cold remedies have zinc in them which you eat.

I urge anyone that hasn't been around welding of galvanized material to take precautions because of allergic reactions. And even if you're like myself and have welded it for almost forty years we still keep our head out of the fume cloud and ventilate the heck out of the area.

Zinc fume disease is something you can get from inhaling the fumes. It's usually only a couple of hours of discomfort not unlike body flue. Then you're fine again and much wiser for the experience. For me that wisdom is cumulative. ; > )

 

[4shorts]

The fumes aren't toxic just noxious.

It's basically zinc fumes which is processed by the body. In fact a lot of your common cold remedies have zinc in them which you eat.

I urge anyone that hasn't been around welding of galvanized material to take precautions because of allergic reactions. And even if you're like myself and have welded it for almost forty years we still keep our head out of the fume cloud and ventilate the heck out of the area.

Zinc fume disease is something you can get from inhaling the fumes. It's usually only a couple of hours of discomfort not unlike body flue. Then you're fine again and much wiser for the experience. For me that wisdom is cumulative. ; > )

Sir I can tell you with great certainty that breathing zinc fumes can cause you much more than some discomfort. It can put you in the hospital and possibility even kill you.
Just because you have worked with it for over forty years don't make it any safer for you or anyone else. Most welding shops around these parts won't even bring anything zinc coated through there doors due to the health issues that derive from it.

Ten years ago my older brother was welding some material that was zinc plated. He spent a few hours in his shop welding the stuff and all was going well right up until that evening when he became so Ill he had to be rushed to the hospital where he stayed for three days.

He had the shakes so bad it's was frightening plus the fact he couldn't breath. The doctors said the zinc attacked his central nervous system and that he was very lucky he came out if it.
For anyone reading these threads and especially this topic PLEASE if you MUST weld anything that's zinc coated do so at the utmost care. Clean as much of that crap(zinc) off as you possibly can, weld it in a well ventilated area and wear a mask that supplies a fresh air supply. Just because one person has done it doesn't mean he won't feel the affects later on in life.
This stuff is nasty. Just because someone gas gotten away with it as long as the above poster has it doesn't mean it's safe. Be careful out there!

 

[4shorts]

This is a MUST read:

http://www.ehow.com/i/#article_5306156

 

[4shorts]

This is a MUST read:

http://www.ehow.com/i/#article_5306156

And this:


RIP Jim "Paw Paw" Wilson - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions

 

[wroughtn_harv]

This is a MUST read:

http://www.ehow.com/i/#article_5306156

Link doesn't work

 

[wroughtn_harv]

And this:


RIP Jim "Paw Paw" Wilson - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions

I've discussed this before. Paw Paw was one an ace of a guy and a great source of knowledge on the internet when it came to working metal, especially with heat. We interacted together back in the day when THE blacksmithing site came out of Seattle, I can't remember the name but it was the greatest thing for its day and since.

I feel the blacksmithing community has done itself and metal working a disservice by using anecdotal evidence and passing it off as scientific.

Here's a scientific report. http://www.sperkoengineering.com/html/articles/WeldingGalvanized.pdf

Every individual is different. I've seen people get seriously sick for days after being where galavanized is welded. I've also seen the same thing happen around chemicals and even tobacco smoking.

I personally can't be around tobacco smoke or even wood fires without suffering some discomfort.

Some people are going to be more sensitive to fumes than others. Common sense should be used. But declaring the fumes are poisonous is inaccurate at best.

 

[4shorts]

I've discussed this before. Paw Paw was one an ace of a guy and a great source of knowledge on the internet when it came to working metal, especially with heat. We interacted together back in the day when THE blacksmithing site came out of Seattle, I can't remember the name but it was the greatest thing for its day and since.

I feel the blacksmithing community has done itself and metal working a disservice by using anecdotal evidence and passing it off as scientific.

Here's a scientific report. http://www.sperkoengineering.com/html/articles/WeldingGalvanized.pdf

Every individual is different. I've seen people get seriously sick for days after being where galavanized is welded. I've also seen the same thing happen around chemicals and even tobacco smoking.

I personally can't be around tobacco smoke or even wood fires without suffering some discomfort.

Some people are going to be more sensitive to fumes than others. Common sense should be used. But declaring the fumes are poisonous is inaccurate at best.

This is ridicules. Zinc sir is POISON. Even if you knew Paw Paw the link states Zinc killed him. As senior members of this forum we have a responsibility to inform other member of dangerous and hazardous goods and not base it on how "WE" handle breathing these fumes but how the average person reacts to them. You read the link I attached and read it right through. Some young welder/fabricators life may depend on it sometime and these young people depend on the likes of you and I to give them strong accurate information that will keep them healthy through out there working productive life.

Here's the link again. It states in the report and I quote from the article " Jim "Paw Paw" Wilson, a lifelong metalworking safety demonstrator, died while attempting to burn away the zinc from some galvanized metal. There were more fumes than available ventilation could handle, so Jim and his workers were exposed to toxic levels of vaporized zinc. Jim got his workers safely away, but lost his life two weeks later to chemical pneumonia caused by his exposure to zinc fumes.


http://www.ehow.com/i/#article_5306156

 

[weldingisfun]

Harv, do you think you will ever get to finish that gate? Is the reason you gave earlier for the delay near to being resolved?

 

[wroughtn_harv]

Harv, do you think you will ever get to finish that gate? Is the reason you gave earlier for the delay near to being resolved?

I was told the final will be next week. So probably early February if the weather gods are generous, southern Oklahoma ones.