Posted by Don-Wi on May 22, 2011 at 21:40:18 from (75.207.88.104):
I went to the farm early today to work on the spreader. I made up some fish plates for whre I spliced in some channel on the sides to help support the weight of the loads, and then welded the hitch to the frame of the spreader. It was tweaked a little bit even though I fabed it up on a nice heavy flat welding table, but I got the front welded in place and then use dthe loader to push down on it while I welded the back of the hitch to the spreaders frame. We painted what would be difficult to get at while it was still upside down before flipping it over again.
I did screw up one area though that I need to fix. When I measured where the slots need to go for the tensioners on the front, I must have been standing on my head when I cut them because I was 1" too low (or 1" too high- it was upside down), so the apron slats bind underneath now when they get to the tensioners. I'll just cut another slot (drill out both sides and slit with a cutting disc on the angle grinder) where they need to be. I should have figured something was up when the holes I had previously drilled in the front cross member at work didn't line up with the tensioners when in the slot.
Not a big deal, just frustrating. I managed to get all of the welding done before the rain & hail came, and now it's a waiting game until the fields are dry enough to get out there again. Got about 1/2" yesterday and probably 1" tonight.
I also fixed the PTO sheild that was missing the back 1/2. We had it, but couldn't get it to stay on the snap ring anymore. We had a newer peice of plastic shield in the rafters in the shop from something else we fixed that only had 1/2, so I scarfed the internals fron another that was too big and cut the smaller one down to length, modified the plastic ring and put it on the spreader's 1/2. Now it slides inside the metal sheild on the front, both are free to spin, and that's one more peice out of the shop that otherwise could have been there for a very, very long time. (think it's been up there for 10 or more years already...)
Go to work tomorrow, and maybe stop by the farm tomorrow evening to reslot the channel for the tensioners and reinstall them. If I'm lucky, it'll dry enough I can haul a load with it too.
Getting it in place-
Can see my incorrect slot by the grinder. Put a fish plate over the splice, hopefully it'll hold for the rest of the life of this spreader now. I used a peice of the old toungue to do the splice, where it was too rotted to weld new steel to.
The PTO support-
Back on it's feet again-
PTO support back in place-
Close up of the front of the hitch-
Jack brace to keep it from folding with a load-
I should add- I welded up the hitch at work with a MillerMatic 200 and a Miller 350P, and did a little work with the plasma cutter to cut my angles where the channels meet. Cut the fish plates on a verticle band saw.
At home I used our Miller Thunderbolt to do the welding with 6011 and 7014 rods, and our Arc One 110v wire welder to do some of the tacking to hold things in place for fitting.
It's been a fun & challenging project, and hopefully it'll haul it's first load without any problems.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
2022 John Deere 5045E, 4wd, front end loader and 3rd function with grapple. 120 hrs, 55k new, must sell
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.