Box blade repair

[killdozerd11]

Here is an update on this project. We cut the two flat bars off holding the scarifiers. The bars were 1/2 " thick and the bracers holding the scarifiers that the welds were failing on are 3/4" plates.
Attachment 1685860
The scarifiers were bolted on, making them very hard to change out.
We were left with stubs that had to be cut down again.
Attachment 1685861
The following pic is poor quality but it shows an angle grinder on the right and a reciprocating saw on the left. The angle grinder could not get in flat, it had to be angled but the reciprocating saw could slice it almost smooth with very little metal that had to be ground. It was very slow using a fine tooth blade, but on the second one I used a carbide tipped saw meant for thick metal with plenty of cutting oil and it went faster, though still it was quite slow. We considered using a torch but were afraid it would gouge into the plate since it would have to be angled. Would anyone use a torch for this? If so how do you avoid cutting into the plate if you want to cut it close with little left to grind?
Attachment 1685863
I appreciate the advice from all, but I decided to go with the advice from killerdozerd11 and picked up the heavy 3/8 " square tubing. I was able to find a supplier in Dallas, metals4you, that sells metal online and will cut it in smaller pieces. I was able to pick it up and avoid the very high shipping charges. I bought 7 feet so I could have some extra material to practice on. This will also allow me to add a 6th ripper blade. The old design had only 5 and 6 seems standard for a 6 foot box blade. The tubing with my fingers is shown below to show how heavy duty this will be.
Attachment 1685862
I will use a torch to cut holes on top and bottom for the scarifiers (ripper blades) to fit through.
I followed the advice of Hobbytime and went to tractor supply and looked at their box blades. They use tubing, but it is much thinner than 3/8" and they use angle iron on either side of the holes to place the pins for securing the scarifiers, so I bought some 1/4" thick angle iron for that.
We will be welding 3/8" thick square tubing to 3/8" thick plate.
I have a 240 volt, 200 amp D/C stick welder that we plan to use. The metal will be cleaned to bright shiny metal with no rust anywhere. What type of welding rod(s) should be used, how many passes do I need and what amperage would be good for this weld? I also have a 120 volt Lincoln wire feed welder and can run it as Mig or flux core. I have 75%argon/25% CO2 gas. Would anyone use this welder over stick, or would it not be strong enough.

Hang on don't cut the holes in it yet for the rippers ...I will send you a photo of a better idea that does not cut those holes in that tubing which will be your main strength on your box scraper


Since that piece is what holds it all together.If you cut un reinforced holes in it that will weaken it i will discuss how that can be done later ...But for an easy way to do that i will have to wait until daylight to get pics so you can see a simple way to do the project

I am deep in a repair project of my own outside the house right now on my 7 ft flail mower that tore up the housing when the bearing went bye-bye after hitting a tree stump in the weeds i was mowing
so i will get that posted tomorrow and show you what to do with those bumps in steel so next time you will know

And yes you will have to do stick welds on that the little wire feed will not cut it doing that piece of 3/8

[killdozerd11]

Okay i took these pics at first light and now WW is giving me problems with trying to upload them to post

keeps telling me upload failed

[killdozerd11]

If you use this design it will not weaken the main tube by cutting holes in it...ok ...It's also a simpler design ...So brush up on your SMAW skill with some 7018 rod as you will need to use that to weld on 3/8 and the 1/4 angle iron welds ...You didn't say if that buzz box was AC or AC - DC capable ..buy the correct rod if AC only though you can run the dc type rods on AC it is spattery though

Now if you were to do the cut through style you would have to get more rectangular tubing that would fit over the shank and cut the holes to the OD of that tubeing and cut the length to the OD of the main tube and weld into the main 3x3 tube making a reinforced hole in the main tube so as to not weaken it then weld on the angle pieces to both sides of the holes for the retainer pins

That is what is done on most pieces of equipment that i run ....But face it we are not talking D10's here are even D6's here we are talking about standard tractors of less than 50 HP

You can see the shank tubes on this JD 550 slope dozer that i run ...Those are actually welded to the back of the draw bar tube in this design..but on most designs they are welded into the main drawbar tubing

[killdozerd11]

Oh and as far as those nubs go ..Nothing will get them all the way washed off that like a plasma cutter with a gouge setup or an Arcair K4000
But if you have an O/A torch of the pro variety ...Victor or Smith etc you can get a Gouge tip that is angled That will work for you with some practice you can cut a seized bearing race from a spindle and not even mare the spindle surface... it's just a matter of practice and getting to know when to hit the O2 jet and the right amount and the proper amount of heat in the right place

Just grind those off with a course grinding disc ...you want to grind clean the area you will be welding that tubing anyway as 7018 is not a rust buster type rod and welds better on clean surfaces
For doing rusty,cruddy, painted type welding nothing beats 6010/7010 or 6011 type rods ...6011 is an AC version of 6010 ...those rods go deep into the base metal but are spattery but do what they are intended to do with the jetting action they create...Hence why they are wip rods because they will cut through the base metal if you don't know how to use them

Just always remember fit up is 2/3 of welding which is the easy part..especially if the fit up is done correctly ...like beveling the ends of that 3/8 thick tubing

Good luck with your project ...i need to get going on mine

[MinnesotaDave]

+1 on all that stuff killdozerd said.

I did similar on a subsoiler I made - mostly because then I could use the drill press on the side plates.

Layout and welding was easy that way too.

[JGPenfield]

Thanks for the advice. Can you tell me the thickness of that bottom plate and the angle iron? It looks like the bottom plate was cut to accommodate the ripper blades and is welded to the bottom of the square tubing.
I prefer to duplicate what you show in the pics instead of cutting holes in the square tubing to place rectangular tubing. For this project, I prefer more welding and less cutting.

[Hobbytime]

Okay i took these pics at first light and now WW is giving me problems with trying to upload them to post

keeps telling me upload failed

I like that way better than what tractor supply does, if I ever bend up the bar ill replace it that way..

[walker]

I have had several iterations of the slotted tube with the rippers through it, and all have their problems. This one that Killdozer posted looks great. If I ever need to remake my current one that is the way I would do it.

To the OP, where are you? If you were near me I would just cut out those bottom plates on my plasma machine.

[JGPenfield]

I am close to Terrell, TX which is east of Dallas.


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[killdozerd11]

Kind of busy with things of my own..But at least i got called to do some work for tomorrow

The angle is i believe 2x2x1/4 and bottom pieces are 2x1/2

You will have to do dimensions according to the size of shanks you are using. Hopefully all matching shanks ...It makes things easier if they do

Practice with that stick welder and you need to do a bit of horizontal up ...Unless you are going to reposition it for those welds ...Loaders are a great help in doing things like that

Have fun with your project ... If you run into problems there are lots of folks here on WW that can help you ... Feel free to PM me needed or post as i do drop in once in a while just to make sure what some of these guys are up to