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Hardfacing Questions

JohnMartin

Hot Rolled
Joined
Jul 8, 2006
Location
Cumberland, Maine
I have a couple of skid shoes for the snow plow on a two-wheel tractor that are pretty badly worn, and I’d like to build them back up.

The shoes are 3/8” x 2” steel. The area that contacts the ground or pavement is an arc of about 6” radius, and is worn over a length of about 4” down to 1/8” thick in the middle of the worn section.

I thought of building them up with hardfacing rod, or with plain welding rod, or with plain rod with a top layer of hardfacing. I’ve got O/A and a Lincoln AC/DC tombstone. Which method and material should I be considering? I had thought of peening the surface after each pass to stretch it out and bring it back to the original curve. Can I peen a hardface deposit, or should I do this just on regular rod passes?

Finally, will I be able to rough dress a hardface deposit with a carbide face mill or end mill, or should I plan on grinding only?

Thanks,

John
 
Whole bunch of questions there. Build them up with rod first. This is a good place for 6013, but there are BU rods specifically for this job. You lay different lengths of bead to rebuild the original contour. Weld beads always pull, so you will probably have to re-arch your shoes. Then lay a final layer of hard facing on the shoe. Down the road re-hardface before the old layer is completely gone. Yes, you can peen hardface. It annoys the hardface and wears out your hammer. Why do you want to grind the surface? The ground (or sidewalk or parking lot) will do a fine job of that.
 
How long did the original ones last ?

I would just weld and hammer a new plate on top, maybe 1/4" thick.
 
Yeah, this sounds the best from a easy/fast standpoint. Maybe go 3/8" or 1/2" and never worry about it again.

WHAT !

From YOU !

Where's the "mill in slots, and braze in carbide, or glue in some w-700 ceramic" ?
:D
 
I’ve had great results from cutting a section of leaf spring, welding in place, and shaping with flame before running beads all the way around. Cost is next to nothing!

Buildup would probably be a waste of resources IMHO. Just slap a plate over it

Another good option would be old section of wear bar / cutting edge from a bucket.

Local yard here carries AR remnants for almost scrap price. Great for odd jobs.
 
I'm in the ''don't put too much in to it'' camp, cos it just ain't worth it, .............at the end of the day it's gonna be dragged along the road, and all sorts of fancy dancy hard facing will make very little difference.
 
I’ve had great results from cutting a section of leaf spring, welding in place, and shaping with flame before running beads all the way around. Cost is next to nothing!

Buildup would probably be a waste of resources IMHO. Just slap a plate over it

Another good option would be old section of wear bar / cutting edge from a bucket.

Local yard here carries AR remnants for almost scrap price. Great for odd jobs.

What precautions are you using to weld leaf springs ?
 
I used to weld them on subsoiler ** shanks with Eutectic 680

**Those subsoilers were working over 20" deep to get through the clay & flint in to the chalk layer, so had a really hard time

If that shank (or the leaf spring) cracks off, leaving a sharp in the soil
or the snow, it will ruin a perfectly good tire.....Just sayin'.
As you said, no need for fancy steel (or weld rod) in the OP's case.

FWIW our DOT & local townships run carbide skegs. They lost one a few years back, I picked it up
out of the road (took awhile to find which plow group it came from)
It was a block 2" thick x 6" wide x 18" long.
With 1/2" wide x 1/4" deep slots in the bottom, carbide pieces brazed in.

Nothing you'd like to hit in the dark with a tire.

If you follow behind them at night, you can see the sparks coming off
as they drive down the road.
Surprising how large and hot the sparks are, they make it about 3/4 back under the truck before going out, even in the snow.
 
If that shank (or the leaf spring) cracks off, leaving a sharp in the soil

I know of a lot of stuff that has broken off in the soil. If its been turned it will have broken steel in it. I don't know of a ruined tire from any. On the other hand, those G@d D@mned deer antlers are a real hazard and have claimed quite a few tires.
 
You might think about using this. 3/8" x 2-3/8" Chrome Subsoiler Cap | Agri Supply 46752
They are really abraision resistant I tried to make ditcher teeth out of them they are too brittle and snap off. A salesman told me to only weld them on two sides, if welded on 4 sides they will crack. They can be cut easily with a chop saw standing on edge.
I still have some I will send you a couple for postage.
 
If that shank (or the leaf spring) cracks off, leaving a sharp in the soil
or the snow, it will ruin a perfectly good tire.....Just sayin'.

As you said, no need for fancy steel (or weld rod) in the OP's case.

FWIW our DOT & local townships run carbide skegs. They lost one a few years back, I picked it up
out of the road (took awhile to find which plow group it came from)
It was a block 2" thick x 6" wide x 18" long.
With 1/2" wide x 1/4" deep slots in the bottom, carbide pieces brazed in.

Nothing you'd like to hit in the dark with a tire.

If you follow behind them at night, you can see the sparks coming off
as they drive down the road.
Surprising how large and hot the sparks are, they make it about 3/4 back under the truck before going out, even in the snow.


Digger, we had plenty of punctures from tines and the like .....but as far as I can recall, never a subsoiler shank or wear plate, always cultivator & triple K tines (and of course flints)

Why? Those old pattern straight leg Lemken subsoiler shanks were 35mm thick x <> 7'' at their narrowest point, and were shear bolt protected.

The shanks were either wear plated with truck springs from new or after they were built up, and there was a constant supply of spares in the implement sheds with it only being an at the most 10 minute job to change a leg out, .and woe betide any tractor driver that left the shed with badly worn or loose wear plates, .........or feet and wings.
 
That's maybe cuz it isn't a word :) Past tense is just "shed". Gerundive should be the same.


Golly. And a few "gosh" thrown in for good measure. I think you need to contact these fellows, who have the misapprehension that "shedded" is all that:

"verb
past tense: shedded; past participle: shedded

park (a vehicle) in a depot.
"the buses were temporarily shedded in that depot"

Origin
late 15th century: apparently a variant of the noun shade.
Translate shedded to
Use over time for: shedded
Definitions from Oxford Languages"

So, my usage makes perfect sense. The tires were shredded while being shedded. Damn deer chose the worst places to drop those things...
 








 
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