Bale Mover

[farmersamm]

Caps turned out ok. I really like this way of doing it.

There's a lot of locked up stress in the brackets. I believe 7018 has greater heat input than some wire processes. Ten separate welds in a tight area. Lotta heat that tends to create distortion.

Straightening had to be done at every step. Sometimes with "back beading" as above.

Sometimes "heat shrinking"..........running a dull red strip(or multiple strips), then using water to cool it rapidly. Causes the metal to shrink where it's been heated, which pulls the curve out of it.

 

[farmersamm]

Welding the lift arm pin brackets to the tool bar/beam bent it like a banana. (see the air gap below the brackets.....they don't rest on the bottom piece of tubing)

Today we're getting into the Black Arts.........................

The beam is analyzed to see where the bends occurred. In this case, they occurred at each weld point. 3 different places. Blocks are placed beneath the beam. Two to act as a reference, and one to act as an anvil to restrain the heat shrink bend. The middle block is the anvil.

Like I said, the middle block is the anvil. This block will prevent the beam from over shrinking when heated/cooled. The bend will stop exactly at the top of this block, and go no further.

Next, we add a force point to provide restraint when the metal is heated. The clamps prevent the metal from simply heating and expanding, and then simply going back to its original shape without relieving the bend. THESE CLAMPS ARE NOT BENDING THE BEAM.

The beam is heated at the APEX of the bend. Clear across the flange, and to the neutral axis on the web. This is a wedge heat.

Heating is to the dull red state (1200* F). Then quenched with water. I might note.........quenching of mild steel does nothing to alter its mechanical/chemical properties.

After quenching, the clamps are removed.............and we have perfection. The gap is closed, and this section of the beam is straight once again.

This is done another 2 times at different places...................................................

The beam is flipped over to check the work against a known straightedge.

We's in business!!!

This will be repeated after the next round of welding. I straighten everything as I progress. It's the only way to assure a straight build. If the steel is straight, as designed, it will better be able to resist any forces encountered when in service. And, it just plain looks better

I hate seeing sloppy work that looks like a bent noodle after welding.

 

[farmersamm]

Before I get outta here for the day, lemme explain some of the mechanics for those who aren't familiar.

Welding involves heat. We all know this.

A weld contracts when it cools, and exerts force on the surrounding metal.

If welds are one one side of a beam, they're in a state of imbalance. If identical welds are on both sides of a beam, they cancel out the distortion caused by the first weld. It's an equilibrium thing.

Mild steel has a yield point..............the point at which it bends, and does not come back to the original shape. This point is between 36Ksi to 50Ksi. That's a lot of strength. 50,000 pounds per square inch at the max.

A cooling weld will exert this kind of force. It's amazing actually. This force is what bends the metal. It's caused it to yield.

When metal is bent by this force, the apex(outside) of the bend has stretched. It's yielded. It's no longer in the intended shape it was as it came out of the mill.

To get the metal straight again, we have to correct that stretch. We need to put the genie back in the bottle.

How do you correct stretched metal? You need to shrink it.

Heating a small area causes the metal to expand. BUT IF YOU PREVENT IT FROM EXPANDING BY THE USE OF FORCE, OR THE WEIGHT OF THE STEEL......................it cannot expand. It causes "upset". The metal actually moves above the surface of the surrounding area because it has nowhere to go. When the heated area is cooled, it shrinks..........pulling the surrounding metal back into shape. It's like a very powerful mini come along.

Heating a small area, to move a larger area.

For another explanation see....................................

https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/pubs/hif23003.pdf

I discovered this in a reference in "The Bible" about 30 years ago...................... The Bible is the "Lincoln Procedure of Arc welding".

Procedure Handbook ''Fourteenth Edition''

www.jflf.org

I'm self taught...............welding, and machining. There are a large number of good references out there. But for welding............The Bible is the King. For machining............Machinery's Handbook

Machinery's Handbook - Industrial Press

Machinery's Handbook, 32nd Edition, Print & Digital (also see Combination Packages below) 32nd Edition Companion Guides & Original 1914

books.industrialpress.com

It's all out there, if you take the time to read it.

edited for spelling

 

[used red MN]

Ya gotta start somewhereView attachment 162340


View attachment 162339

Maybe fab up an ashtray! Sorry, nonsmoker here. Maybe I would consider an occasional puff if it could make my welds look anywhere as pretty as yours.

 

[farmersamm]

The CWI was on site today, and signed off on the job. The NDT guys should show up later this morning.

 

[farmersamm]

Passed X-Ray

............................

Flipped to straighten AGAIN

DRONE VIEW

​

 

[farmersamm]

Ya know...........I have the other fender sittin' out in the yard. It was starting to crack, and I took it off so it wouldn't get damaged.

I've got this feeling that K'kins will prop that fender up against the tractor for my estate sale. Been near on 20yrs since I pulled it off the tractor. ROFLMAO

 

[Jimylee in VA]

Passed X-RayView attachment 164330............................

View attachment 164331
Flipped to straighten AGAIN

View attachment 164332

DRONE VIEW

View attachment 164333​

View attachment 164334

Awesome job!! Thanks for sharing the fabrication of it. Have you considered that the box tubing may twist from the weight of the bales over time? Carrying two bales like that may have a tendency to twist it.

 

[wh]

Looks good but I would want the same tubing you used connecting the top part of center bale spike tube to center link tube. Going to be a lot of stress on those points.

 

[farmersamm]

Guys..................I had the same thoughts yesterday. You don't think so good when you get old, and I didn't think this one out right.

I got to looking at fulcrum points on the lift arms, and what I thought would be inadequate resistance when slamming into a bale. I wasn't too pleased.

Boxing it in made the beam rigid, and transferred half of the slamming load to the top link........which wasn't taking any of this load prior to boxing it in.

Catching my mistake was sort of a blessing in disguise.

At my age, I get uncontrollable shoulder tremors when I weld freehand. Right shoulder jerks so bad that I can't run butt welds like I used to. The rod literally will start slamming the joint, making it a nightmare to control the puddle.

I decided to figure out a way to do these welds braced (elbow braced on the steel). Prior to this, I've always done these welds freehand, with no bracing. I look at the puddle from behind the rod as I'm dragging the puddle towards me. My hands/elbows not braced.............just hanging out there in space.

I had to re-learn the process today, which was good. I'm now braced against the steel, looking at the puddle from a 90* angle........which is quite a change, which I'm not real thrilled with.

It's a bit awkward for me, but was able to figure it out after a few welds (5). My inspector signed off on it. (Bribed him with Milkbone)

It's not near as pretty as what I was able to do back in my early 60's.................but you gotta roll with what life hands ya I guess.

Used to lay down a very nnalert butt weld............ah well...............

 

[farmersamm]

s-e-x-y Stupid censorship software.

 

[farmersamm]

I work a ton with tubing, seems most farm implements are made of the stuff.

Anyways............a heads-up on butt welds on this stuff.

You ALWAYS want to tie the knife edge of the adjoining tubing COMPLETELY to the web of the other piece of tubing. You can't simply fill the bevel joint, you have to carry the puddle clear out to where the shoulder meets the flat portion of the tubing (the web). These walls have to be tied together. Envision a straight line from flat piece to flat piece. Anything less, and you've compromised the strength.

 

[wh]

Ahhh much better. As a “just because” measure you could fish plate where the vertices tubes butt to the bottom tube. By plating the front/ back area you would remove a lot of stress at joint and therefore any risk of vertical tube tearing out of bottom tube

 

[farmersamm]

Ahhh much better. As a “just because” measure you could fish plate where the vertices tubes butt to the bottom tube. By plating the front/ back area you would remove a lot of stress at joint and therefore any risk of vertical tube tearing out of bottom tube

I use cover plates on quite a bit of stuff, but figure this ought to be ok now that the load is split between the two horizontal pieces of tubing.

As an example...............this is a tree/brush grapple I put together about 15yrs ago. The cover plates are on the bottom tines which take the bulk of the load............and they're only on the side of the beam which is in tension. Cover plates can hugely reinforce the top flange on a beam.

Not a very thick plate...............1/4", but once welded on, it will double the strength of the top flange at this point.........where it will want to bend downward.

This only goes so far though. You can still have problems with local buckling. The real solution (and sometimes not practical/economical is increasing the depth of the web)