Gate Repair

[farmersamm]

This is a 25ish yr old commercial gate panel. It's seen better days. Couldn't even think of fixing it until I got the other cataract done.

This is the bottom hinge. The top hinges on these gates are bolt on, not welded like the bottom.

The only thing close to the tubing the fence is made out of, is some exhaust tubing I have laying around. These gates are pretty flimsy, so I figure this is the best I can do, being as I don't have any thicker stuff laying around. It's about a perfect match as far as wall thickness, but it's too large in diameter.

After the first slot, an additional bit of material was taken out to compensate for the too-large-diameter.

I don't have four hands, so it had to be taped to the existing tubing, then the clamps taped, then finally the C clamps attached.

Tape removed, so it won't interfere with tacking.............and one more clamp added to further squeeze it to roughly the size it needs to be.

One small gap..........but it's such a cheeeeeeezie repair, it won't matter. A weld will fill it.

Speaking of the welding. I am set up for the occasional bit of MIG welding. Not something I do more than maybe every other year, or so. I should be able to rig a blanket to stop the breeze from blowing the gas away.

Get after finishing it tomorrow. We have heavy rain coming in AGAIN. But don't expect it to be pretty..............MIG ain't my thing. And this stuff is thin as paper.

 

[Ray,IN]

The price of farm gates today is outrageous IMO; good repair job.

 

[Tgrasher]

Sometimes you can only go a short distance ie. spot weld on thin metal. It may not be as pretty as you would like but it will do the same job with out the aggravation of burning through. Nice way to repair. It's amazing how easy it is for a cow to reshape one of these gates.

 

[wh]

Just run a simple stitch pattern. Maybe 1/4 inch and trigger off then instantly on again. Give it a ripple effect. Machine hot enough to melt in. 030 or 035 wire would be fine.

 

[muleboss]

why not just get a top hinge and put on it?

 

[PJH]

Sometimes you can only go a short distance ie. spot weld on thin metal. It may not be as pretty as you would like but it will do the same job with out the aggravation of burning through. Nice way to repair. It's amazing how easy it is for a cow to reshape one of these gates.

"It's amazing how easy it is for a cow to reshape one of these gates."

ONE of these gates?? I once had a fat steer totally wreck THREE gates in about three minutes.

If I had had a gun. . .

When we left with the rest of the load, he was running south down the road to the Shawnee Forest.

The next morning I found that he had wrecked another fourth gate jumping BACK into the lot.

 

[farmersamm]

why not just get a top hinge and put on it?

Actually, that's not a bad idea.

1.75 in. Hinge (Galvanized) - Tarter USA

tarterusa.com

I'd still have to patch the ripped out side of the existing tubing though.............so, we're right back where we started. (sigh)

 

[farmersamm]

I know it's doable.............and I knew I had some pics from last time I MIG welded. It was for a new stack for the second Allis 190 XT.

This, according to the file, was done back in 2015.

The settings for the weld (I'm always documenting stuff)

A nice continuous weld, like it ought to be. I figure it's an old set of pics, besides the file date.........because I was still running my old old HH135 welder. They were pretty good welders........but like all small MIG's, including my newer HH190......suffer from pretty fragile control boards.

I was a better hand 10yrs ago.......not so sure anymore

Anyways........... This was done with a no-longer-available wire. J.W Harris Twenty Gauge MIG wire. It was marketed as a "no burn through" wire.

I still have a small roll of the stuff. Probably 20yrs old. As you can see,, it's some strange looking MIG wire. Not copper colored, but black in color. It's NOT a flux core wire, even though it looks like it. Runs on 75/25 gas. And, you don't have to pulse/stitch weld with the stuff. Although, I'm pretty sure I've run the copper colored stuff on a continuous bead on identical pipe in the past(shrug). I'll have to practice before I go at it tomorrow, so I'll compare the traditional stuff to the Twenty Gauge.

Here's a link to an OLD discussion about the wire, and it's unavailability even at that time.

https://www.hotrodders.com/threads/harris-20-gauge-welding-wire.101002/

 

[Tgrasher]

ONE of these gates?? I once had a fat steer totally wreck THREE gates in about three minutes.

If I had had a gun. . .

When we left with the rest of the load, he was running south down the road to the Shawnee Forest.

The next morning I found that he had wrecked another fourth gate jumping BACK into the lot.

There are cows running loose/wild south of Pomona, loggers dropped trees across a guys fence, didn't tell him, and 20 some cows are out wandering the forest.

 

[TomA in CA]

That hinge you are making is the best way to go. I won't buy gates with those clamp on hinges anymore. My cows have made spaghetti out of most of my Tarter gates and panels. I guess they are all the same no matter who makes them.

 

[DRussell]

Speaking of the welding. I am set up for the occasional bit of MIG welding. Not something I do more than maybe every other year, or so. I should be able to rig a blanket to stop the breeze from blowing the gas away.

Get after finishing it tomorrow. We have heavy rain coming in AGAIN. But don't expect it to be pretty..............MIG ain't my thing. And this stuff is thin as paper

I've always thought of wire welding as "MIG" whether using gas or flux cored wire.

 

[farmersamm]

I must say...........with BRUTAL HONESTY..................it ain't goin' so well this morning

 

[wh]

carefully sand the galvanized coating off the new piece where you are welding

 

[kencombs]

I've always thought of wire welding as "MIG" whether using gas or flux cored wire.

Lots of folks do that, but after all it's Metal Inert Gas, so only accurate use when doing that. And I forget what the real term for flux core is.

FCAW, I looked it up. Doesn't really roll of the tongue . And that's why we use MIG or MAG instead of Gas Metal Arc Welding.


Discussions here cause me to look up a bunch of stuff I knew and forgot.

 

[farmersamm]

My self esteem is in the twa-lett

I can hardly bear to look at this fiasco................. Pics later I guess(sigh)

 

[farmersamm]

Took one look at it after it was done..............and figured that if I went up in the house, and came back in the morning, it might get better.

Well...................time doesn't heal all wounds

Some of the worst work I've ever done. I mean THE WORST!!!!!!!!

I couldn't, at the time, find my Harris wire, so I used this stuff.

Don't get me wrong..........THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THE LINCOLN WIRE. This disaster is all on ME.
I believe I got the parameters set up correctly. The wire ran with a hissing noise, with a constant ball of molten wire above/touching the puddle. It didn't sound like short circuit welding I'm used to. But it seems to lay a smooth bead.

I'm a stick, and flux core guy. I'm used to dragging, not pushing. With solid wire, you have to push.......meaning the arc is running ahead of the puddle......the gun angled forward away from the puddle. With flux core, you drag the gun........like stick welding.

So, I'm trying to follow the itty bitty seam on the lap joints, while guessing what's goin' on behind the nozzle as I'm going. There are millions of guys very good at this..........I'm not.

So........................I did fine a brand new roll of the Twenty Gauge after I was done. Back of a drawer containing angle plates for the mill. THREE ROLLS.

I was wrong...........it IS a cored wire. This might be why I liked running it in the past. You can probably drag it. I honestly can't remember, it's been so long. Now that I found it, I'll use it on the next gate. (yes, there are more)

Just to be sure what I was dealing with, I put a caliper on the tubing. It's 18ga(so is the exhaust pipe). Which is pretty impressive for the MIG wire.
I did switch back to my old flux core to weld the hinge clip on. I just couldn't take the solid wire anymore. I still like flux core.........point it at the heavier metal, and let it build up against the 18ga exhaust pipe.

For S&G's, I tried some of my regular flux core on the cutoff exhaust tubing. Runs pretty good actually. Coulda used it in the first place.

K'kins is on a roll................she's found another 2 gates that need fixing. So, it looks like I'll get another couple of shots at getting this right.

I did stop on the way back out of town this afternoon, and get another pair of glasses to fine tune my focal length. My lens implants are set from 2 1/2ish feet to infinity. I need readers for any close work.

From left right. 1.25X, 2X, and 2.5X. The 1.25's are ok for flux core larger welds on larger joints(and probably stick welds). I figure the 2.0's will bring me a bit closer for the tiny lap joints. The 2.5's are mostly useless since I got the other eye done......brings my beak within 6" of the puddle.

So..................... If you like to show your good work..............you better be doggone ready to show your failures. Is what it is.