Hay Rake Rebuild

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This is something I dragged home a little while back. Along with thisSo I'm looking at about 950mi of windshield time to get this all back home.  Central Oklahoma>Hugoton KS>Emporia KS>Back HomeSaw some nice scenery along the way up near the panhandleAfter loading the brush hog, I scooted on over to Emporia to pick up the rake.  In order to get it all on the truck it had to be disassembled.You're probably asking why I go this far to buy equipment....................I can get a better price (including traveling expenses) out of state.  And usually I can get better quality equipment than what's locally available.  AND IT'S JUST PLAIN FUN"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:So I get my new "gem" home, and start to find out what's wrong with it.  There's always something wrong with something you buy at auction.  Especially an internet auction where you can't inspect the stuff in person.  I knew the thing had been damaged from the pics, but I figured it would be a quick heat-and-beat fix.  Yeah, right!!The main carriage has been tweaked in a bad way.  First off, the arms won't close properly.The damage is in the hinge assembly, it's distorted.Here's one of my pet peeves......................welding a brace to square tubing without mounting a pad first  It allows stress to crush and distort the tubingNow it' time to do some heating Attached ImagesLast edited by farmersamm; 09-24-2013 at 10:14 AM."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Aw crap!!  The pics got messed up.This is how the arm was restrained after being forced into the slot.  It requires a great deal of force to bring it back into line for heating.  The affected area was heated red hot, almost to the melt point.  This requires a lot of BTU's to heat a large area of 1/4" wall tubing."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:The end result is proper alignment (almost).The arms still had some droop in them.  Mostly due to the tweaking that had occurred, and also due to wear in the pivot points.The first step was to get rid of the effects of the tweaking.The reinforcing strap was bent badly, indicating something had happened.  The problem was to find out where the actual damage had occurred.I finally isolated the damage in the main upright.  It was about 3/4" out of plumb.  This made the arms droop forward.Again it's time to heat some metal.First off I had to cut the strap to allow it to move freely when the repair is in progressThen force is applied to the arms to move them upwards.Some people prefer to do this without force, just relying on shrinking to do the work.  I DON'T.  I don't have all week to do this.  And I prefer better control over the results.The bad area is heated, then doused with water to cool it.To compensate for wear I've gone a bit further than what was originally built, you can see the wider gap in the strapMore to come"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:I'm now to the point I'm happy with the alignment.Now it's time to repair the strap.First off the bent area had to be straightened.After straightening the patch is put in place.To prevent this from happening again I've added a strongback to the strap.Welding at an angle is annoying.  I prefer either straight overhead, or straight uphill.  For anyone that's faced with this there's really only one rule.  Simply treat it as an vertical uphill weld.  The rod is held straight up, and the filler is allowed to flow behind as you go.  Stay at the leading face of the puddle, and drag it uphill.Now I have arms that align perfectly  And close without any resistance.The next step today is to address the damage in the linkage assembly that controls the arms."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Good job!I hate being bi-polar it's awsomeMy Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys
Reply:Good work there , and you almost made it to my country , iirc hougoton is about 90 miles from me .
Reply:You do nice work!Have you considered taking on a student/protege??I would have filled the gap where the strap was cut, but that's just me.- MondoMember, AWSLincoln ProMIG 140Lincoln AC TombstoneCraftsman Lathe 12 x 24 c1935Atlas MFC Horizontal MillCraftsman Commercial Lathe 12 x 36 c1970- - - I'll just keep on keepin' on.
Reply:The linkage is nextTo see if it's in good shape requires that the pin anchor be straightened.Again it's high capacity Propane heat to the rescue.  At this point I've used 2 125cf bottles of Oxygen to run the rig.  I'd imagine that's about maybe a total of 8-10min actual burn time, maybe less.It DOES do a nice job on thicker stuff thoughAfter straightening everything out, I discovered that the cylinder eye is too far to the rear by about an inch  This restricts the movement of the hydraulic cylinder, and is probably the reason for the amount of carnage I've discovered so far.  YOU CANNOT RESTRICT A HYDRAULIC CYLINDER UNLESS THE STRUCTURE IS DESIGNED TO RESIST THE FORCE.So now I decide to cut the eye off.  I don't want to disturb the pylon where it's been repaired by someone up the line.  I have no idea what's under there, AND I DON'T WANT TO FIND OUT  I can't resist a little swipe at the "Plasmatic Doooods"   THIS IS O/A BABY!!!!!!  The cut was started where the yellow circle is.  THE TORCH WASN'T MOVED, JUST ROTATED THE TIP SO IT WOULD CUT CLEAR ACROSS THE ENTIRE 3" EYE TAB  You can see that I missed a smidge where the yellow arrow is  Once you start a cut, the O2 stream will cut anything in its path as long as the metal continues to oxidize.  There was just enough metal left at the bottom of the tab to require a blow with a hammer to drop the cut.  Try this with one of those fancified soldering ironsShortened the tab, and glued it back on  I like a 4 pass built up, it's easier to build the material properly.  That's just me anyways.  It's subject to argument I guess."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Next I gotta clean up this messDo a little metalizing, and some trimming, I guess"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:So here's the dealI need to pad the area that's worn.I do this by laying alternating beads on either side.  EACH BEAD IS MADE WITH THE ROD POINTING OUT OF THE HOLE TO ALLOW THE METAL TO DRIZZLE OUTSIDE.  This keeps the heat from destroying your edge, and gives you something to grind down when finished, instead of having to fill all the imperfections if done another way.  You're adding a sort of cap on the soon to be finished edge.At this point I'm about maybe 80% done, and I thought I'd take time for the machine to cool down, the metal to cool down, and maybe take a much deserved whiz  This side is turning out very well.  Sorta looks like cake batter oozing out of the pan.  This side has a little overflow, but it's ok.....just grind it off when done.  Either way, it's important to raise the surface above the machined surface/surface of the plate to give yourself a little to play with when smoothing it all up later"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Looking good Samm. Should have a real gem when your finished, I assume you got it for cheap enough to justify the time? Sometimes I think I buy old junk just because I like bringing it home to work on it.
Reply:Zee padding ees feenished I got a little carried away and added one bead too manyAnyhoo I've got a good surface to work from, and there was only one smallish surface divot to deal with.Enough time left to clean up the mess, put stuff away, and wait for the Queen to come homeI'll probably do the finish dressing with the cone stones, but I think I'll try out the Plasmatron to rough it inThen the other side of the slot has to be padded in the same manner to remove the curve."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Originally Posted by forhireLooking good Samm. Should have a real gem when your finished, I assume you got it for cheap enough to justify the time? Sometimes I think I buy old junk just because I like bringing it home to work on it.
Reply:All is good Sam. When you're done I bet Kelley has some other projects for ya'. Lincoln PrecisionTig 275Miller 251Miller DialArc 250Bridgeport millHossfeld bender & diesLogan shaperJet 14 X 40 latheSouth Bend 9" 'C'Hypertherm 900Ellis 3000 band saw21"Royersford ExcelsiorTwo shops, still too many tools.
Reply:Hello Samm, We all know you just love straightening out bent stuff!!Lincoln SP-170 MigHypertherm powermax 45Lorch T220 AC/DC TigButters FM 215 synergic MigKemppi 180 adaptive mig RULES ARE FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF FOOLS AND THE  GUIDANCE OF WISE MEN.
Reply:The rake arms and wheels look a lot like the Sitrex rake I use. The carriage is entirely different than mine. That looks like a big home made chunk of steel. I'll take a few shots of mine in the morning.Lincoln Precision Tig 185Lincoln Power Mig 256Hypertherm PM 45Everlast 140STSmith O/A
Reply:Good looking job on the repair samm.   I think I too sometimes buy broken things just to fix them.  My neighbor backed up with his hay mower down and tore and bent the schedule 80  4 inch diameter u shaped support that holds his mower to the lift arms of the tractor.   Tractor store told him it was impossible to repair and he dropped $1500.00 for the piece.   You would have loved it .  Would have been pretty simple to for you to repair and save.  I mentioned to him that it could be repaired and he said tractor store folks were experts. lol richey
Reply:Great work. It's nice to see a repair done well, so many are patch jobs and not a real repair.
Reply:Had time to finish the slot this morning.Put it back on the machine, and now I have to rebuild the matching clevis.  Why am I not surprised?  This is where the clevis winds up with both arms in the fully retracted positionThe clevis is so misaligned that I figure it's either been really distorted by a BIG EVENT, or someone up the line tried to repair some damage and didn't get it quite right."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Get done with lunch, and try to heat bend it back to alignment but I figure it won't work"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Nothing better then repairing yourself.  It's something the way the farmers by me do repairs. The get it together to use it to finish the job and then drop it off by me for the real repair. I keep telling them do not fix just call me. Now it takes twice as long to rework.
Reply:You get all the fun jobs......zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:Rebuilding the clevis was a real PITA  I have no real idea how it was set up in the first place.  It's either been "repaired" or badly distorted.The old clevis on the machine was simply 2 pieces of 3/8" flat welded to the 1/2" plate hinge assembly with no clearance between the arms.I decided to increase the clearance to give the machine the proper running clearance.First off, the pieces had to be made.I like a pin that can't rotate, it saves wear on the clevis pin holes when the pin can't wallow them out.The clevis arm was cut/drilled, then the lock tab was drilled to accept a 1/4" capscrewAfter the lock tab was drilled to 1/4", the clevis arm was slid under the tab, lined up, and a dimple made with the bit to locate the hole for the tapping hole.The arm is then drilled and tapped.All the pieces are done.The spacers are welded to the arms.  These will give an overall 1/2" clearance between the clevis and the bellcrank.  This is adequate to compensate for any movement in the hinge which might be out of true.  Most stuff of this type is generally not booooocooooo precise, and there's a lot of out of true movement in these kind of assemblies.All the edges are beveled.  This is to assure adequate penetration along the edges.  You can't count on the welding process to provide enough "dig" to do the job.  And this also increases the weld surface area on the plate.Then it's glued to together.  You don't want a huge crown, it's a waste of material.  But you do want proper fill without undercut at the edges.The arms were then fitted ON THE MACHINE, AND TACKED WHILE THE MACHINE WAS ASSEMBLED.  You always ALWAYS want to weld out from the machine, never weld off the machine to fit the machine."Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Next comes the pin tab.  It's fitted and tacked, then welded.  All of this is done with the capscrew in place to hold the parts in alignment.After it's welded, the excess is trimmed from the bottom side.Then the whole assembly is put back on the machine.  It fits ok, and the range of motion is ok as far as I know.  Again I don't have the original measurements to work from.  I didn't clean up the old welds that were on the assembly completely, just ground off my fit surface.......SO BITE ME  The spacers, if properly done, are a good alternative to milling down a piece of 5/8" flat to achieve the clearance I wanted.  Besides, I didn't have any 5/8" in the rack.After activating the hydraulics I think I'm good to go, nothing fell off or bent  No point in doing a vid to show it in action until the entire machine is rebuilt.The damage to the pipe arms is next on the list.  Got some shrinking to do on this crap too"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/Looking good Samm. Airco Ac/Dc 300 HeliwelderMillerMatic 200 (stolen)Miller Maxstar 150STLMiller AEAD200LE (welding and generating power) Hobart MIG
Reply:That's pretty much it for the day, IT'S........"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:MY EYES, MY EYES!!!!! Nice work as always on the rake Samm. MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:Really do enjoy your work Samm!Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for