Welding tiller tines...yes or no

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I have a 5" 3-pt hitch tiller that I was going to buy a set of new tines for.  I bought this thing used and have put many hours on it and it has performed fine.  However, now some of the tines are pretty worn down.  When I went to price the tines, I got a nasty case of sticker shock...The tines would cost more than I paid for the tiller when I bought it.  I got the bright idea of POTENTIALLY cutting and welding two well worn tines together, thus reducing the number of tines I needed to buy.  From a geometric perspective, it would work fine.  I might even be able to make two tines from three worn ones.  However, I was curious what this might do to the integrity of the tine.  I am not sure what kind of heat treatment these tines might have been subjected to.  Does this sound like a feasable thing to do?  The tines are $12 each and I would need about 30+/- and I only paid $300 for the tiller.  Given that we all have welders, what would you do???Last edited by smithboy; 10-16-2006 at 10:51 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:All in all those tines are tough little buggers. Pretty rigid and durable considering what they go through. You've probably already figured it just might soften them so they will be awfully subject to bending. Not a lot to lose though  .How about no lateral welds across a tine? Cut your replacement sections figuring for a nice overlap then do longitudinal beads along those overlapping edges. Take advantage of any decent "L" sections that are left to flip around.
Reply:I'd go for it. Worst case scenario, they bend. Whoop-dee. If you wanted, you could heat/ quench them to re-temper them. Even oil- temper them, for less brittle, tougher grade of temper. I bet they will work fine.
Reply:I would first take a file to some of your worn tines and see just how soft they are.  I doubt that they would have been heat treated to any high degree because they would have to take a considerable amount of impact from rocks.  You could try a variety of splices to repair them.Also consider hardfacing the new ones to extend the life.  When you hardface something like this you do not have to put weld all over.  Often one little bead in a key location is all that is required.      For example to increase the life of a cultivator shovel all that is needed is a little bead up the corner of the shovel.  As the cultivator shovel wears the point is maintained by the small bead at the point.  Often the supplier of the hardfacing rod will have literature or local info on what works in your geographic area.  Soil conditions vary and it has an effect on wear patterns.
Reply:This is exactly the info I was looking for.  My soil is not too tough.  A few smallish rocks, but mostly grey dirt mixed with red clay.  I live in the house that was owned by a contractor...so, I do occasionally hit an underground stash of bricks...but, that's happening less often lately.  Sandy, the idea about lapping the weld is a good one.  I hadn't even considered that.  I probably can do that without much trouble at all.  I even have a few walk-behind tiller tines that might also come in handy for extra material.  Hardfacing rod is pretty easy to get.  I have even done some of that before.  I have a welding supply shop within walking distance from me.  Well, now all I have to do is get them tines off and start work.  I might try several methods here and do a little experiment to see which works best.Thanks guys.Last edited by smithboy; 10-17-2006 at 12:01 AM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:hardface the leading edge. preheat to 200-250F and weld. depending on gow much rod you have to buy, i only get by the 50# box, you could put some X patterns along the tine to allow dirt to clot between the weld, thus reducing wear. on dirt you weld across the flow area and steel is welded with the flow( like say dumping out a loader bucker) but i have found a close X pattern allows for better clotting of dirt, especially on something as small as tiller tines."Retreat hell, were just fighting in the other direction"Miller Trailblazer 302, Extreme 12 VS, Dimension 400, Spectrum 375, HF 251D-1, Milermatic 251 w/ spoolgun  Hypertherm 1000Lincoln sp 1702000 F-450 to haul it
Reply:[QUOTE=smithboy]I have a 5" 3-pt hitch tiller QUOTE]What ya gonna do with a 5" tiller DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:OOOPS, I made the same mistake as they made on the movie "Spinal Tap" with their model of Stonehenge.  I am what you might call a REEEEALY small farmer.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Hi,They are dead now you can't kill them any deader. I agree with the rest that suggested you repair them. However I would suggest you consider a abrasision resistant coating on the blades. If you have or have access to a spray weld torch you could, after the repair welding is complete spray/fuse one of several  powders that are abrasision resistant. You can apply the coating and fuse to the tines. I use a Eutectic brand powder that will produce a  45-55 HRC hardness and will allow you to plow and not wear them out any more. You can with a little pratice apply and flow the powder so that it looks more like it was plated than applied with a torch. I've done this for several of the Pilgrims (amish) in my area and they are holding up just fine.ric
Reply:Like Backuproller said, I would build up the leading edge with hard surfaceing. Then checkerboard the rest of the tines. For what you paid for the tiller, you cant go wrong no matter how you go about getting some extra life from it.