First off I am a novice welder. I can weld plate and structure pretty good but my primary job is heavy equipment and not welding. My boss asked me to weld a crack in a chain shackle.The shackle is 1 3/4" in diameter and about 10" long. Is welding this type of metal like plate welding or am l going to have to preheat first and then cool slow upon finishing? I have heard that even if the weld is sound it might crack again if not done properly.
Reply:If this is on the job? Don't touch it! Dont pay any attention to meIm just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Nice catch CEP. Tell the 'tard to get OSHA to come and weld it.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:Stay away you not qualified. Think the reverse if they wanted to put a decent welder in the chair of a operating engineer.I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:A shackle that big is almost guaranteed to be used for lifting or as a tie point for large loads. I wouldn't touch it as far as welding.Have you read about the guy who took measurements for the crane parts that failed in that New York crane collapse. He ended up pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide for doing what his boss told him to do when he wasn't qualified.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/ny...part.html?_r=0You have already publicly admitted you don't know what you are doing. If you weld this up and some one tries to lift something and it fails, guess what. You are on the hook if some one gets hurt. Rigging gear is something that really shouldn't be repaired unless you really know what you are doing. Even then, replacements are better as it limits your liability should something go wrong..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Screw liability, i don't want to be the reason someone was hurt or killed.GravelThe difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
Reply:I've spun a few shackle pins in my time. If anybody ask me to do this, I would take the shackle over to the edge of the barge. Hold it out at arms length, and open hand. Damaged rigging is to be 20/20. Stored at 20 fathoms, for 20-years! Attached ImagesDont pay any attention to meIm just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Those shackles are normally half hard 5160 so ,like a leaf spring, they can stress crack after time.That sucker is about 30-40 ton !Bust out a $200 and go grab one.Appropriate the old one Save the pin and forge the shackle into a knife blade.Bubble gumTooth pixDuct tapeBlack glueGBMF hammerScrew gun --bad battery (see above)
Reply:This shackle in question hangs about 10ft of chain inside a 33 ton portal cranes log grapple. The chain basically keeps the smaller bites of wood from shifting around.
Reply:Yep do yourself and employer a big favor and instead of welding on it use a torch and divide it in half.Ranger 250 thick stuffHobart Handler 140 not thick stuffthe pane and oxy setup
Reply:Originally Posted by mustfishThis shackle in question hangs about 10ft of chain inside a 33 ton portal cranes log grapple. The chain basically keeps the smaller bites of wood from shifting around.
Reply:If it is cracked some thing is wrong to begin with, don"t kill some one by doing stupid, Replace it, I would not weld up one on the farm here, for my self, alone for some one else, and I am cheap, but there is a time to say it has had a long life and it is time for it to die, cut it in half and sell for scrap, the life you save may be your own, you have the warning (it is cracked) there may not be any more warning given, when it fails most like no one will be able to react to clear the way for what ever is falling, I had a stock trailer I loaded cattle in a few weeks ago, and was about ready to move them 45 miles, and was talking to a friend who had stopped and noticed a small black line behind the ball area of the hitch, just before getting in the truck to start the haul, it was cracked up both sides, and all that was holding was a thin flat metal about 2 wide, the thought crossed my mind to go get the welding truck and weld it up quick and complete the trip, but better judgment come over me and I back up the trailer and let the cattle back out, coming into the house and ordering a new hitch for the trailer, I know I could have welded it but why it cracked? don't know, how fatigued was the rest of the Surrounding steel, was it crystalized, would it just recrack beside the weld, I felt replacement was the only real safe option, and since the safety chains and all were in the area of the cracked weld the question of if the hitch breaks in two will the chains hold? doubtful.If the boss wants it welded have him weld it or have him find some one else to do it, that is my two cents,
Reply:Mustfish, as stated above, cut it in half, but with this thought, make it a paper weight or ornament for a piece of heavy equipment. (fork truck, what ever). Bob
Reply:Bless me FATHER for I have sinned ! Sounds like someone should '' FIRE THE BOSS'' ! OR, FIRE THE GUY THAT HIRED HIM !
Reply:A big piece of steel like that doesn't just crack out of nowhere. It cracked for a reason. Whether that reason involves wear over time or a single overload incident or something else, that reason affected the whole shackle. The likelihood of another defect somewhere in the shackle is high. That shackle is never going to be safe for lifting again. Replace it. It's easy to think "well, it's just holding this small piece of chain for holding them still." But think about what happens when something goes wrong, and that piece of chain gets stressed. If that shackle lets go, where is the loose chain going to be whipping? If it shatters and pieces spray in every direction, who and what will be hit by the shrapnel? If it lets go and the load is no longer held in place, it could take the whole crane out. Never risk a life for a buck.
Reply:Go find a new boss. Maybe on a shrimp boat since you like to fish. I hope this isn't another Miller welder that won't work thread...............
Reply:Buy this http://www.e-rigging.com/one-and-thr...FSqXOgodzDEAaQ for $81. Give it to boss. Tell him happy birthday then walk off and work.Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:It shouldn't be welded. It should be replaced. If it breaks and kills or injures someone, there will be hell to pay. Welding a lifting shackle is bad ju ju.Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
Reply:the boss is either testing you or is real stupid
Reply:110 mig welder flux core just kidding it def needs to be replaced even if it works if OSHA sees u welded it the fine will be bigger then 10 shacklesSent from my SCH-I110 using Tapatalk 2Vantage 300 kubota ,miller 304 xmt ,lincoln ln 25 pro , ranger 305 G, plenty of other tools of the trade to make the sparks fly.
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mustfish - walk away. Don't even invest time in cutting the whole length of chain in half. Don't even look at it. Eyes/Hands-Off. Have seen the aftermath of an errant chain improperly used to rig/secure heavy equipment in a horizontally loaded application. Chain exploded, ejecting frag/steel at jet speeds into a human's cranium. Instant death. Walk away dude."Discovery is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought" - Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Reply:Originally Posted by SquirmyPugBuy this http://www.e-rigging.com/one-and-thr...FSqXOgodzDEAaQ for $81. Give it to boss. Tell him happy birthday then walk off and work.
Reply:Rigging is for the intended load, not the capacity of the crane. This is a 1,000-ton crane, nowhere on it is a 1,000-ton shackle. Attached ImagesDont pay any attention to meIm just a hobbyist!CarlDynasty 300V350-Pro w/pulseSG Spool gun1937 IdealArc-300PowerArc 200ST3 SA-200sVantage 400
Reply:Originally Posted by BurpeeTell the 'tard to get OSHA to come and weld it.
Reply:A friend of a friend of a relative's in-law runs a heavy equipment rental business. He rented a skid steer loader, hours later he got a call. Send another, this one has four flat tires! They had hoisted it with a crane, the crane cable was a condemned one discarded by another company. No one injured, the loader a total wreck. I would think anyone renting equipment would go bankrupt!I presume that lifting shackles are forged and heat-treated to gain maximum strength. I looked around on Google and DuckDuckgo and found several references to the strength of heat-treated forged steel. In some cases, the strength can go to 200,000 psi tensile strength. I can't imagine that even the best welder could restore that strength to a forged shackle using 70K or 80K welding rod or wire. Furthermore, unless there were some heat treating involved, there would be no guarantee of even that level of strength. That being the case, as everyone above says, it would make little sense to weld a shackle. No matter the level of skill, the result would have more to do with the basic process than any other factor. I wonder if this company has a safety program?Miller Millermatic 252Miller Syncrowave 200Liincoln AC-DC 225Victor O-A Set
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o not ever weld a shackle or a lifting/pulling chain!
Reply:If your boss values your or coworkers life less than $140 maybe you should begin to look for employment elsewhere
Reply:I've seen rigging components repaired or modified by small construction outfits. They'll use them for a job where the stresses are low and everything seems to go well enough, but all it takes is one guy to pick it up and use it to rig something else. That's just one reason why repairing/modifying is usually forbidden.Miller a/c-d/c Thunderbolt XLMillermatic 180 Purox O/ASmith Littletorch O/AHobart Champion Elite
