Fixing bucket, straightening bent cutting edge and welding on a new one.

[Aczlan]

Picked up a 6' bucket for cheap a couple weeks ago, the reason it was cheap was that the cutting edge is not exactly straight:



The new cutting edge:

The cutting edge is a 6"x5/8"x84" one from Titan.

The reason I got the bucket was that the mounting brackets bolt on so I can adjust them to fit my David Brown project that came with forks, but no bucket:


The plan is to set the brackets up for the David Brown, then set the bucket over a chunk of ibeam and use a bottle jack to push the middle back up, then weld the new cutting edge on and either cut off the extra cutting edge and weld it back on vertically (for the sides). or see if I can heat it up enough with the torch to bend it.

Aaron Z

 

[Aczlan]

Project #2 for the David Brown will be cutting off the forks:
View attachment 745

And replacing them with a pair of 3000# rated bale spikes:


Aaron Z

 

[Yomax4]

Great Projects !

 

[Aczlan]

Great Projects !

Thanks, just need to find more time among the other 500 projects that need to happen.

Aaron Z

 

[PILOON]

I often wonder as to how well using heat and cold water would work to straighten curved metal.
You all know heat will create a curve like when I welded up my tooth bar did.
That was simply as all the teeth were welded on one side only of the bar leaving a nice curve.
OK, so I pounded it onto my FEL bucket to fit.
LOL, now with sand and grit it won't come off, but that's OK.
BUT, had I heated the other side and cooled rapidly would I have re straightened the bar?

 

[CA_Bgrwldr]

I often wonder as to how well using heat and cold water would work to straighten curved metal.
You all know heat will create a curve like when I welded up my tooth bar did.
That was simply as all the teeth were welded on one side only of the bar leaving a nice curve.
OK, so I pounded it onto my FEL bucket to fit.
LOL, now with sand and grit it won't come off, but that's OK.
BUT, had I heated the other side and cooled rapidly would I have re straightened the bar?

Yes, heat and water is one way of straightening out steel. Might even be useful in getting the tooth bar back out from the slight shrinkage that will occur from the cooling the steel down.

 

[barts]

BUT, had I heated the other side and cooled rapidly would I have re straightened the bar?

Yes, indeed. You don't need to quench it; the surrounding metal will cool the weld very nicely. If you weld on one side and it bends (because the metal shrinks after it hardens), weld about the same amount on the other side to reverse the effect.

- Bart

 

[Aczlan]

Would probbaly work, I think its concentrated enough though that it will be easier to just use pressure. If that doesnt work, that is plan B.

Aaron Z

 

[Aczlan]

Got the bucket brackets moved to fit the David Brown:



6011 first, hit with a chipping hammer and wirebrush, then a pass with 7018AC on top.

Next up will probbaly be the forks, then straightening the bucket.

Aaron Z

 

[SIO]

Project #2 for the David Brown will be cutting off the forks:
View attachment 745

And replacing them with a pair of 3000# rated bale spikes:
View attachment 746

Aaron Z

Forks are really useful to have around. Is there a way you could do it without cutting them off?

 

[coupman35]

yes forks are the att.. I use the most happy to have does

 

[Gary Fowler]

You need to grind all that weld off and start over. I would be very attentive of that since it holds all the force applied to the bucket. You need to increase the amps by about double and go slower when welding so the puddle flows to each side.

 

[Aczlan]

Forks are really useful to have around. Is there a way you could do it without cutting them off?

The bale spears will be spaced like forks so they can be used as such, one fork is bent and the other is welded in place, so they arent overly useful as-is.

Aaron Z

 

[Aczlan]

You need to grind all that weld off and start over. I would be very attentive of that since it holds all the force applied to the bucket. You need to increase the amps by about double and go slower when welding so the puddle flows to each side.

That was at 130 amps DCEP with 1/8" rods which is at the top end of what Miller recommends for 6011 and around the middle of what they recommend for 7018 at: https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators/stick-welding-calculator. Could go up to 200 amps, but that is the top end of what my welder will handle.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

That was at 130 amps DCEP with 1/8" rods which is at the top end of what Miller recommends for 6011 and around the middle of what they recommend for 7018 at: https://www.millerwelds.com/resources/weld-setting-calculators/stick-welding-calculator. Could go up to 200 amps, but that is the top end of what my welder will handle.

Aaron Z

Take the recommendations with a grain of salt. They are just the starting point for each rod, adjust the welder so that it welds smooth, ties in to both sides but doesnt undercut of produce a lot of splatter.
If it is lumpy and not tied in as in your photo, then increase the amps. I would say that you need at least 20 more amps to start. I seriously doubt that the machine was actually producing 130 amps since that amperage should weld really well for a 1/8" 6011 or 6010 rod. You can easily weld with a 1/8" rod up to 150 amps on a fillet weld so it burns in well. Cap pass would maybe need to turn down to 125 or so so it doesnt undercut the top edge.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Got any more progress photos Aczlan? How did the straightening go? I had to do a little straightening on my FEL bucket. IT was bowed in the middle a bit. I just set it on a piece of 4x4 steel, lowered the FEL till the front wheels were off the ground then heated a diamond shape at the center of the bow. I then cooled it with water and it took almost all of the bow out. I didnt heat it red hot either since I was almost out of acetylene and using a rosebud pulls a lot of gas on an almost empty tank. I think it is less than 1/4" bow left in it.

 

[Aczlan]

No progress yet, welded a couple loops of half inch rod in bottom of the bucket and use that hold the bottom two legs of a 3 point hitch bale spear into the bucket to stack round bales.
Ended up making 21 5 x 5 or 4 x 5 round bales, all stacked up in the barn out of the weather.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

Did you up the amps? If so how much did it take to smooth out the weld.

 

[Aczlan]

Haven't gotten back to smoothing out the welds. Had 10 bales put away before I posted the pictures on this thread, looked and saw not an iota of movement, so I didn't re-weld it before doing the other 11 bales as I had more pressing things happening (driveway was getting paved, big project at work and a bunch of other stuff).
Haven't gotten back to it and it has had little use other than moving the 20 bales and unloading a light weight trailer that was stuffed onto another trailer (pickup bed trailer with 2 flat tires and the rims had about 2" of clearance to the rails of the trailer).
Hopefully I will have time soon.

Aaron Z

 

[Gary Fowler]

If one side of that breaks under heavy , you could really twist up your FEL. Take the time to put more weld on it before something breaks.