Thread: OK steel workers, lets fix some steel on this excavator!

Originally Posted by huleo

Lets say I don't have boulders in my area, won't be beating on it with rock, and just want it tuned up. This has become more about what I should accept than the actual question.

Yes, I have been around heavy equipment for 30yrs and seen lots of damage but fortunately I worked around good companies that would not accept destroying machines as "part of the job". If you think running into my new Makino with a forklift is "part of the job", you will find out quickly where the paycheck ends. Spit in my cnc machine or excavator, and you will get the slip.

I have seen it too many times where the trees are 10ft apart but the machine is 12ft wide. "It will fit". That is usually someone who didn't buy the machine saying that.

I am just looking for thoughts on moving metal, that is all!

Then WHY did you BUY the machine in the first place ?....

Hey, the man is just looking on some advice on how to make his excavator look a little nicer, not how to live with it warts and all. Nothing wrong with that!

Unless you have the time and everything you need to try and pull out the dented areas, this is how I would approach it.

On Pic #3, I would just cut out the flat/face area and weld a new piece in place, then grind your welds and blend, bondo as needed. As for the first picture, I would look at a similar approach. I would leave the bottom bend only in place, where it is banged up and stitch welded to the frame then cut out the damage area above it. You might be able to straighten out the bottom bend some, once it is opened up and more accessible. Have someone bend a piece of matching metal, perhaps a tad taller and wider, so you can fit it in the field to match. Again weld, grind and blend and bondo as needed.

Bottom line is, I would try to approach the work from the outside of the machine where access is easier. It may not be as good as new, but with a little work it might look almost as good.

Find yourself a steel fabricator that fabricates heavy gauges of steel, if you don't know one already. Go see them face to face! Take a drawing and your pic's to show them what you are doing. The local company I have worked with has always been very reasonable when I need some heavy fab work done.

I agree with moonlight, if you can safely get it hot enough, some studs welded to it, or holes drilled in it and a slide hammer will pull it out enough for bondo

Originally Posted by digger doug

Then WHY did you BUY the machine in the first place ?....

Had a Ranch for over 20 years, had a dozer and backhoe. Never bought them new, even with miles of roads you couldn't justify the cost of new. Personally I never knew a rancher that bought new. I could justify an older used D5, but could get an even older, little rougher D7 that had plenty of life left in her. I would have really loved to have had a D9, but the only ones I found in my price range would have only been good for Yard-Art, Went with the D7 and over time I realized it was the right decision.

We all make decisions everyday and we hope that they are the right ones. While I may roll my eyes on a decision someone else makes, I haven't walked in their shoes.

I always remember the time when my brother bought a new Chevrolet pickup that had everything available on it in the 90's. He called me up one day about a month after he bought it to pick him up at the Chevrolet dealer while they worked on it. He hopped in my truck and we took off. I asked him how he was liking the new truck? He said he loved it. Well this went on for a few months that he would have me pick him up at the car dealer every week or two. Every time I asked him how he liked his new truck, his answer was always the same, "I love it". Finally one day I asked how could he love a truck that was always in the shop, his answer was simple, "I paid so much for it, that I have to love it".

Originally Posted by huleo

I know excavators and if it just needed cylinder rebuilds, pins, etc, I would not be here. Actually now questioning why I am here because there is little productive. Some things will never change on this site.

I know the mechanics of these VERY well and I have already fixed several things that the dealer gave up on. There is a reason I bought it.

F**k's sake....

Here yah go:

Window Valances, Cafe & Kitchen Curtains You'll Love in 2020 | Wayfair

TiG on a curtain rail, hang a friggin' mini-skirt around it ... and go use it for what it was intended for.

Works with used ladies when they are too old to lay eggs but can still cluck, what's under the bondo and skirt still functional....

Why not used machinery? You weren't expecting to raise a litter of kittens off it?


Or were yah?

My suggestion ...
drill and tap a few big studs on it, around M16 x 1.5 mm aka fine thread.
Maybe 3 at the affected area, and 1 each end about 1-2 ft apart.

Drill 1-2 mild steel flats about 12 mm / 0.5" thick for the studs, and slap them on, bolt the ends where the frame is "fair".
Maybe about 3-4 " wide, 2-3-4 feet long.
You put them one on top of the other, if needed.
This makes the former very stiff in the right direction.

Hard to say from the pics.
The flat steel pieces will naturally curve to the body in a fair curve.
Then just tighten the center 3 nuts prograssively, and they should pull the central metal in into a fair curve.

Boats are built like this, in wood.
Great cosmetic results are quickly done.

Should not take even a day for a pretty good job, and less than 2 hours to plug holes, if you want.
Alternatively just slap on anticorrosion or paint of choice, and put a short plug bolt in holes.
Wont look stock, but should look industrial and neat.

If the compound curves resist and buckle, perhaps slit them as appropriate, a bit, with a thin cutoff wheel.
When done, just weld them closed, ideally with mig.
Probably longitudinally, as a wag, and perhaps not even through.
Just allowing the metal to form with much less resistance.

The beauty of nuts pulling is that you can apply movement very gradually and adjust as You go, in about 0.02 / 0.001" increments..

Never done exactly this, but it´s how steel behaves, in general, imo, ime.
0.200" is thin and easily formed.

Originally Posted by digger doug

Then WHY did you BUY the machine in the first place ?....

Fast fix, repaint and resell ???

Originally Posted by Steven-Canada

Fast fix, repaint and resell ???

Pretty much, probably going for some "duraglass" to make it look "Real S-M-O-O-T-H"
Until it all falls off first time it get's smacked (after the cheque clears)

Bending it back certainly isn't going to make the steel stronger, and definitely won't help cracking concerns. The correct way to fix this is to cut out the damage areas and build new. If you aren't willing to do that, don't bother "fixing" it.

I'm with Moonlight on the places that it's appropriate. Rosebuds and slidehammers are wonderful tools.

For the places that need to be pulled out but have a strong horizontal component like the "rocker panel", cutting pie shaped pieces out, pulling into place and rewelding can work. It's all doable, just needs a customized approach to each dent.

Hang in there!

+ Another for pulling it.

We've bought a lot of ag/heavy equipment over the years used and banged up but I have always made an effort to fix them up the best I could. Just because I was on a budget doesn't mean I don't care about my stuff, and the once in awhile I bark something up myself I try to fix it right away.

You guys are just a bunch of fucking hacks

Originally Posted by neilho

I'm with Moonlight on the places that it's appropriate. Rosebuds and slidehammers are wonderful tools.

For the places that need to be pulled out but have a strong horizontal component like the "rocker panel", cutting pie shaped pieces out, pulling into place and rewelding can work. It's all doable, just needs a customized approach to each dent.

Hang in there!

But the OP stated "No access to the backside".
I've had my hands in a couple of these, and what's back there is:
1. hydraulic lines
2. electrical wires
3. hydraulic or fuel tank

None of which want anything to doo with any temp above ambient.
Not to cut out a plate, or to heat and bend.

Originally Posted by digger doug

But the OP stated "No access to the backside".
I've had my hands in a couple of these, and what's back there is:
1. hydraulic lines
2. electrical wires
3. hydraulic or fuel tank

None of which want anything to doo with any temp above ambient.
Not to cut out a plate, or to heat and bend.

Crap, I'm agreeing with DD again. The whole world's gone upside down!

Originally Posted by AJ H

+ Another for pulling it.

We've bought a lot of ag/heavy equipment over the years used and banged up but I have always made an effort to fix them up the best I could. Just because I was on a budget doesn't mean I don't care about my stuff, and the once in awhile I bark something up myself I try to fix it right away.

You guys are just a bunch of fucking hacks

EXACTLY! The site will never change and has a few Aholes that are determined to insult everyone. DD has proven just that, making wild ass assumptions that are completely off the mark but I am not going to feed it by offering more than the questions that were asked. I never said I don't have backside access, I said there is nothing to safely push against.

I don't really care what people think I "should" accept in terms of cosmetics. I always find that funny how people say that, but there is always a line of interested people when I decide to sell something because I like things clean and right and it shows in my equipment.

But just for the Aholes, let me give you just a small education. I wash and clean equipment. I demand that, even with heavy equipment. Why? Because I have seen this too many times where a layer of greasy crap build and builds, and hydro lines just get buried. How do you inspect those hoses? YOU DON'T! You ignore them until you are working a job and something fails! Clean machines get better visual inspection to catch small issues before they become big ones.

Anyone know the most common way an excavator gets totaled? FIRE! They pump over 100gal/min of oil at 5ksi. Spray the hot engine with that, game over!

Originally Posted by huleo

Lets say I don't have boulders in my area, won't be beating on it with rock, and just want it tuned up. This has become more about what I should accept than the actual question.

yeah, its the internet, but the price is right.

The answer for bent metal it is simple. Cut the old out, make a new one, weld, grind, paint.

Originally Posted by Milland

Crap, I'm agreeing with DD again. The whole world's gone upside down!

You doo know....That you don't have to agree with me.....

Yep, your options are limited. Heat and beat or cut and replace. Both will require a bit of work. Cut and replace will yield better results with the least amount of collateral damage. Don’t waste your time trying to re-use the pieces you cut out. Check around a couple scrap yards to see if they have a dead excavator you can cut the pieces out of. Or you can get some pipe with the radius you need and cut your patches out of that.
You may be able to consult your local auto-body shop if you want to try the heat and beat Option. Material that thick will not move easily when it’s cold. Cracking would not worry me, you can always weld over those after you get everything in place.

Beware of your expectations when asking questions on a forum. The best you will get is a few different ideas about your question, not magic. No one will actually be able to help you get it done. Implementation is in your court. Good luck!

Who's a "SteelWorker" ?....

My Grandfather was one...worked at J&L steel mill.
"Ironworkers" put up steel structures.
"Fabricators" doo the above mentioned repairs.

Dumb question - why not fabricate some 16 gauge cover panels and MIG them over the dents, then finish off the remaining ~1/8" or so with Bondo? Much easier to do that work than with the thicker plate, and a thin skim coat of filler won't be as likely to crack and fall off as trying to "used car" it with a full-fill of the depressions.

The relatively low heat of a few MIG beads won't compromise any hoses or whatnot behind the panels, and the patch can be repaired again if it gets a good prang at some point. Just make sure all the surfaces are primed and painted on inner areas to fend off rust.

Welp, show us what you came up with after you fix it then.