Welding repair to Bush Hog question ????

[Reverser]

I do just enough to get by if it works. Oh and my work looks like the effort I put into it. No brag, just fact. But most of my stuff is half a century old and I wouldn't want the repair to outshine the implement. Grin

Mark

Same here, Mark.
A lot of my equipment is old and sure wouldn't win any beauty contest. But nobody see's it but me, so I don't put any extra effort or time into it.
When I bend something I don't worry about it unless it affects the working ability of it. If I need to, I heat and beat it back with a sledge hammer, come-a-long, jack, or whatever else it takes. Or if I break something, I'll usually just stick some weld on it or maybe a patch, and may even put a dab of paint on it and let er go. But I'm usually not going to go to a lot of extra effort just to make it purty.

As they say, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It'd only end up looking like a diamond in a cow patty. :laughing:

 

[Texasmark]

Same here, Mark.
A lot of my equipment is old and sure wouldn't win any beauty contest. But nobody see's it but me, so I don't put any extra effort or time into it.
When I bend something I don't worry about it unless it affects the working ability of it. If I need to, I heat and beat it back with a sledge hammer, come-a-long, jack, or whatever else it takes. Or if I break something, I'll usually just stick some weld on it or maybe a patch, and may even put a dab of paint on it and let er go. But I'm usually not going to go to a lot of extra effort just to make it purty.

As they say, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. It'd only end up looking like a diamond in a cow patty. :laughing:

Amen Bro!

 

[brin]

OK - here are the pictures of the splits on each side of the bush hog deck...worse than I remembered...not just a slim split like I thought...so I heated each side up and pounded each down and into place, however , there is not a gap between the metal on each side of the split....they are right up against each other...so do you think I should cut a slot between each split and bevel then weld or just weld a small piece of 1/8 th plate over each area...???? Thanks...I wanted to ask before I did any more....you know measure twice..cut once..or weld once...

 

[Arc weld]

Get it as straight and flat as you can and weld it up on top and bottom. You should get close to full penetration without having to grind a groove or bevel it. Then grind the top flat and put a reinforcing plate over it. I'd use thicker than 1/8" material and make the 90 deg. corner but curve the part that's welded on the deck. Kind of like a tear drop shape extending about an 1 1/2" past where it was cracked.

 

[brin]

Get it as straight and flat as you can and weld it up on top and bottom. You should get close to full penetration without having to grind a groove or bevel it. Then grind the top flat and put a reinforcing plate over it. I'd use thicker than 1/8" material and make the 90 deg. corner but curve the part that's welded on the deck. Kind of like a tear drop shape extending about an 1 1/2" past where it was cracked.

OK - Thanks Arc weld...I will pick up some 1/4 inch plate and do as you instructed....tear drop...rounded 1&1/2 in. past where it was cracked...Thanks again...

 

[SPYDERLK]

Get it as straight and flat as you can and weld it up on top and bottom. You should get close to full penetration without having to grind a groove or bevel it. Then grind the top flat and put a reinforcing plate over it. I'd use thicker than 1/8" material and make the 90 deg. corner but curve the part that's welded on the deck. Kind of like a tear drop shape extending about an 1 1/2" past where it was cracked.

Using a reinforcing plate thicker than the deck is not a good idea because it is so much stiffer, causing a stress riser. Due to this it is more likely that cracks will form in the thinner metal of the deck at the boundary between the stiff overlay patch and the thinner deck.
larry

 

[PoorPlowboy]

I don't think it has been mentioned, but I would disconnect the battery at the terminals before welding.

 

[Arc weld]

Using a reinforcing plate thicker than the deck is not a good idea because it is so much stiffer, causing a stress riser. Due to this it is more likely that cracks will form in the thinner metal of the deck at the boundary between the stiff overlay patch and the thinner deck.
larry

It broke in the corners, possibly from the corners digging in or hitting something. Maybe just the corners weren't designed strong enough? 1/8" is pretty thin for a reinforcing plate. Having it say 3/16" will add quite a bit more strength to the corner and it would be welded the same as if it was 1/8". If it was going to crack again, it probably would regardless of how thick the reinforcing plate was. The rounded end on the deck wouldn't have a corner for a crack to start

 

[Brad_Blazer]

I agree it looks like the corner sheared apart and needs some reinforcement. What does it look like from the outside of the corner i.e. how is the corner constructed? Can you describe the impact event that caused the damage?

Is it a squealer? http://www.bushhog.com/images/stories/documents/manuals/SQ160.pdf I'm just comparing your pictures to the construction of the mower and trying to see the mechanism of failure.

Don't forget to drill a hole at the end of the crack however you fix it.

 

[Texasmark]

Just a thought about a scab plate. I would think mild steel would deform before it would shear from an impact. However, if there was a resonance in the deck, over time a crack could/would develop due to metal fatigue. Adding a plate over the crack, not only provides an improved (for me anyway) weld but changes the resonant frequency of that area and if the cracking does repeat it will be elsewhere.

Mark