I just bought this Fleco rock rake and found a couple cracks in the upper bar where the teeth bolt through. I believe the rake is made from T-1 steel. I'm going to carbon arc gouge the cracks first then plate the top bar with 5/8" T-1. I'm planning on preheating to 400 degrees and using 1/4 11018 stick rod since Lincoln doesn't spec a Flux cored wire for T-1. Any suggestions would be appreciated
Yair . . . Mccahilldozing . In my opinion (for what it is worth) I believe something like a rake frame needs to have a bit of flex . . . I would just plate it with mild steel. Any Fleco or Rome rakes I ever saw developed cracks. Our shop built mild steel 28 and 35 footers with weld on Assab teeth never had those problems. Cheers.
http://www.esabna.com/us/en/products_catalog.cfm?Product_ID=265 http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...lded-Pipeliner-Pipeliner111M(LincolnElectric) http://www.lincolnelectric.com/en-u...etalshield-MetalshieldMC-110(LincolnElectric) The last one is metal cored wire better than flux core or dual shield.
The old man said: Use ur squirt gun to fab new; always use 7018 stick rod to repair. All about impact properties and heat input vs weld size (I presume).
I'm with Scrub. Use mild steel or something like Hardox 400 if you really want some abrasion/impact resistance. To go 11018 to me is going the opposite way to what I'd regard as logical. Sure you get the 110k pounds tensile but with a resulting very "stiff" weld that doesn't resist flexing too well. On structures that "warp" (no not the Starship Enterprise..!) I usually go for a 5% nickel electrode such as Eutectic Nucleotec 2222 or the corresponding wire. It gives a weld joint that has more than enough tensile strength but one that you can almost bend double before it cracks.
The only thing I remember being other than mild steel on a Fleco was the tines. All we ever welded the frames with was 7018.
Agree John C. I would gouge out as needed then glue back with 7018's Looks like a nice rake overall. Good luck with it.
Nucleotec 2222 will give much better elasticity characteristics than 7018 which I why I suggested it, especiailly if re-cracking is perceived to be a problem. As the name suggests it was originally conceived for welding nuclear pressure vessels but now has a much wider scope especially in repair welding which this is.
Nige, Do you think that Lincoln NR 311ni will do the trick? I can see places on the rake where it has been patched with 7018 rod and that is starting to stress crack as well. I have had really good luck running 5/64 NR 311ni wire in the flat position. The last cracks I fixed with NR 311ni have been holding really well. I looked at Nucleotec's website and I dont see a dealer near me in California. My plan is to plate the entire top plate with 5/8 steel. I will have to drill out new holes and buy a little longer bolts but I think in the long run it will pay off.
I would say yes, but with the caveat I've never used it myself or seen it used. Maybe do some of the repair with that and some with 7018 or the equivalent wire and see how they compare.