Run whut ya brung..some very basic metalworking

[Brad Buchanan]

Hey folks.

I had a backblade I need for snow removal this year and the unit had a badly worn pivot plate and I decided to replace it and thought some might be interested in the process.

I have limited tools to complete the job and had to use what I have!

I laid out the job with a carbide scribe marking an X to center the 4 1/2" hole and then centerpunching it.

Then, using a compass I went from the center and marked an arc on each side for the pin holes, again centerpunching each position for the holes.

I then cut the 8 holes for the pins with a rotary broach and plenty of cutting oil (which kept freezing).

Next came the 4 1/2" center hole which I cut on a drill press with a bi-metal hole saw and again plenty of cutting oil.

The part was then cut out with a metal cutting circular saw (stock was 3/8 mild steel) and the corners trimmed on an abrasive chop saw.

After some deburring and cleanup with a flapdisk the part was welded onto the pivoting shaft with 6011 rod.

The project came out well with all parts lining up quite well.

As always all comments pro or con are welcomed.


Brad Buchanan

 

[300jk]

Looks good to me !

 

[FLOLDFORD]

Looks like a fine piece of metal working to me

 

[Adirondack case guy]

My tool arsenal is the same as yours. You don't need to be a master machinist with expensive tools to do a professional job. You did good, and it will last as long as the manufactured piece that it replaces.
Loren

 

[Jon Erickson]

Well done. Looks real good.

 

[big tee]

GOOD JOB!---Tee

 

[Oliver 500 Wa]

Nice work! Basic tools and a fair bit of skill and ingenuity go a long way to making something nice.

 

[SDE]

Just a little 20/20 vision here.(hind sight) Wouldn't it have been a little quicker to weld the two bad holes shut and then re drill them? You did do a good job, and I may have chosen to make the new part also. Just wondering is all.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

ME 2

 

[Geo-TH,In]

ME 2, good job

 

[dr sportster]

Sure you could have fixed the old part but that is much nicer and brand new !

 

[Brad Buchanan]

Hey SDE.

I thought about welding up the holes and fixing the plate however the plate is quite badly deformed and due to the fact that the tube that the plate rides on was badly wallowed out (had to fix that too) I figured that making a new part was the most time and cost effective.

Also...I kinda like to only fix things once, if at all possible and I have been doing nothing but fixing broken vehicles and such for the past year and really liked the idea of doing some fabrication, which I love.

Brad Buchanan

 

[jon f mn]

That's real nice work!

 

[fixerupper]

Good job.

 

[Texasmark1]

Nice as others have said. You aren't all that handicapped with lack of tools, nor abilities....mental and physical. Grin. I owe my survivability to "tools make the job". At 77 I can finally say that I have most everything I need to do what needs to be done, working alone, around here. The last item was a HF 5 ton pump and 20 ton short wedge to get in a 3" slot under one side of my house to jack it up after settling. Did the job.

On tools, you mentioned a "flap disc" (now I know they have a name) and noticed one on your drill. I bought one recently and use it primarily for polishing rusted things before welding (MIG) or painting. Is that their primary use? How far do you wear them down????? Well past where you can tell they are made from numerous pieces of abrasives?

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Dale in WV]

good project! Brother in law has one with "wallowed out" holes -- he was thinking of getting a bigger drop pin and drilling out all the holes a bit larger to match the larger pin.

 

[C.Amick]

That must be a rally good hole saw. Not sure the one I have could do that.

 

[Mike M]

Looks good to me too. But I'd of used thicker steel to help prevent what happened to the last one.

 

[Brad Buchanan]

Hi TM.

Flap discs are really handy for deburring and generally for cleaning up parts without removing too much stock.

I find that as they wear you need to apply more pressure but they continue to cut well.

They will remove excess slag and weld spatter without grinding up that nice bead you worked so hard to achieve!

Brad Buchanan

 

[Texasmark1]

"They will remove excess slag and weld spatter without grinding up that nice bead you worked so hard to achieve!".......er ah "luck into" in my case.....one out of 10 might be not bragging rights but good enough to own up to having done it. Grin.

Thanks