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Labour Saving and General Guntering

emaherx

How about using this thread to show off our engineering skills (or lack of!)
A lot of us have home made or improvised labour saving tools / implements lying around. Similar to stuff in Farmers Journal labour saving compettions. (without the prize money:p).

Maybe we could use this thread to share interesting ideas and discuss improvements.

I don't have any pictures at the moment of my own but I will take some at the weekend if not before.

My own projects include:
Quick hitch for front loader (fairly rough but works), designed to fit Trima implements onto MF loader.
Adapter to fit bale lifter onto front loader.
Various other loader attachments spikes etc.

Current project is a wrapped bale transporter being built out of remains of an old Muck Spreader. (only just started, currently just an axle and draw bar).

Their maybe other stuff around too, I'll have to have a look.

So what are peoples opinions, is this a good idea for a thread?

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Buford T. Justice XIX

jimmy G M wrote: »

Ah here that's not guntering..... looks like a first class bit of engineering to me.... well done.[/quote]
We'll have to open The Michael H Fabrication Thread.

patsy_mccabe

Michael H - Great job.
How did you make the very top piece? It looks like you cut V notches in the sides of the channel, bent it around and then welded it.

memorystick

Anyone know what 3inch angle is costing at the minute? May need around 150 feet. Thanks

stock>

[IMG][/img]

....................................

Micheal H

jimmy G M wrote: »

Ah here that's not guntering..... looks like a first class bit of engineering to me.... well done.

Thanks jimmy. If everything for it comes from the scraps bin I'd call it guntering, but I'm starting to think I don't have the same definition as everyone else

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

We'll have to open The Michael H Fabrication Thread.

Ha! Well whatever thing I make next I'll consider making a new thread for it and not sully the guntering thread

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Michael H - Great job.
How did you make the very top piece? It looks like you cut V notches in the sides of the channel, bent it around and then welded it.

Cheers Patsy. Yep, that's exactly what I did. Easiest way to bend it

riemann

Micheal H wrote: »

Finished Job:

Tidy looking welds.

I know you said you used gas, but could you recommend an arc welder?

Looking to pick one up a portable one for light jobs around the farm.

Micheal H

riemann wrote: »

Tidy looking welds.

I know you said you used gas, but could you recommend an arc welder?

Looking to pick one up a portable one for light jobs around the farm.

The last small arc welder I bought was over 10 years ago from this crowd: https://technicalarc.co.uk/product/dc-arc-welding-inverters/

I have the MMA206i, 200A machine. It's a very basic, no bells and whistles welder, but has dealt with anything I threw at it over the years. The only time it ever missed a beat was when I was welding with 4mm 7018 rods at 190A on a very warm day. Thermal protection kicked in after about half an hour. Gave it 10 mins to cool down and it was good to go again.

I'd find it hard to recommend any specific brands or models of current machines on the market. Most of the small entry level inverter arc welders now are built in the same one or two factories and just rebadged for a particular brand. Some of them will have better components than others, but essentially for the budget welders most of them will be almost identical machines.

Go for a machine with a good duty cycle - over 35/40% ideally at it's maximum output current. And if your budget allows go for a more powerful welder than you think you'll need.

So if you think the most you'll want is a 130amp welder, go for a 160 amp. Always better to have that extra bit of headroom and have the machine running at it's ease instead of running it at full whack and then having it's thermal protection kick in after a few minutes.

But you could pick pretty much any welder from the well known brands and they'll do the job for you. If you can get one with a 2 or even 3 year warranty it's a bonus and a bit of peace of mind in case something does go wrong with it.

Sorry, not much help narrowing down a choice for you!

riemann

Micheal H wrote: »

But you could pick pretty much any welder from the well known brands and they'll do the job for you. If you can get one with a 2 or even 3 year warranty it's a bonus and a bit of peace of mind in case something does go wrong with it.

Sorry, not much help narrowing down a choice for you!

Thanks for that. What would be reputable brands?

I don't even know the brand of the one I have as the cover was removed years ago!

SuperTortoise

riemann wrote: »

Thanks for that. What would be reputable brands?

I don't even know the brand of the one I have as the cover was removed years ago!

Lincoln, miller, fronius(aka the rolls royce), esab, thermal arc are ok, then there are 9 or 10 different brands all import machines that are much of a muchness, 2-3-€400 sort of machines which are mostly fine for odd jobs around the farm.
Buy a good brand of rod, a good welding rod( or wire if MIG welding) is better value than spending a bit more on a machine, anything by Oerlikon,(fincord/citofix), murex, esab, lincoln, is good quality.

Odelay

SuperTortoise wrote: »

Lincoln, miller, fronius(aka the rolls royce), esab, thermal arc are ok, then there are 9 or 10 different brands all import machines that are much of a muchness, 2-3-€400 sort of machines which are mostly fine for odd jobs around the farm.
Buy a good brand of rod, a good welding rod( or wire if MIG welding) is better value than spending a bit more on a machine, anything by Oerlikon,(fincord/citofix), murex, esab, lincoln, is good quality.

And keep the rods dry. Store them in the hot press if not used often and you can get away with it...

blue5000

Did anyone buy a Lidl cordless angle grinder, what are they like?

Buford T. Justice XIX

blue5000 wrote: »

Did anyone buy a Lidl cordless angle grinder, what are they like?

I bought one last year, blue. They're grand for what I use them for, mostly edging the shear grab and doing a bit of cutting where wouldn't have power. The battery doesn't last too long so you'd need two if you're going to do an amount of heavier stuff.

148multi

Buford T. Justice VI wrote: »

I bought one last year, blue. They're grand for what I use them for, mostly edging the shear grab and doing a bit of cutting where wouldn't have power. The battery doesn't last too long so you'd need two if you're going to do an amount of heavier stuff.

The 4ah makes a huge difference, seems to give it more poke.

tractorporn

blue5000 wrote: »

Did anyone buy a Lidl cordless angle grinder, what are they like?

Have one here and have managed to stop it a few time but the 4ah battery does help. It's only good for light stuff, I had it cutting corrugated sheets today no bother on it.

RobinBanks

Anyone know of a product that would be good to clean out sludge and dirt from bottom of diesel tank on tractor. I was told not to power wash out using water

Figerty

RobinBanks wrote: »

Anyone know of a product that would be good to clean out sludge and dirt from bottom of diesel tank on tractor. I was told not to power wash out using water

I have always washed out with water after draining it and cleaning filters.
Then I get a heat gun (or hair dryer) and pout into the spout of the tank and let it blow in hot air and make sure there is space for the water vapour to escape.
Tank will be bone dry in a few minutes.
Just be careful of you have rubber seals at the mouth of tank not to overheat .

K.G.

Bought a few lengths of blue band recent but havent bought for a while and welding them yesterday i couldn't get over hiw lighr they've got.they are the same now as brown band long ago.surely there's some standard for blue band and is all blue band the same

patsy_mccabe

K.G. wrote: »

Bought a few lengths of blue band recent but havent bought for a while and welding them yesterday i couldn't get over hiw lighr they've got.they are the same now as brown band long ago.surely there's some standard for blue band and is all blue band the same

Blue Band is 'Medium Wall'. Brown is 'Light Wall'

http://flahertyhardware.ie/index.php/product/medium-galvd-pipe-blue-band/

Dimensions here;
https://iitc.ie/catalogue/steel/tubes/galvanised-pipe/galvanised-pipe/

So for the usual cattle crush, 50mm Blue Pipe would be LGP40. This is 48.3 x 2.5mm. 48.3mm is the outer diameter, 2.5mm is wall thinkness.
It should weigh 16.92 kg per length.
I think length is 6 Metres.

K.G.

Making a door and used a few scraps of old blue band to brace it but the main frames are new blues.there is some difference in the old to new when you catch them up

patsy_mccabe

K.G. wrote: »

Making a door and used a few scraps of old blue band to brace it but the main frames are new blues.there is some difference in the old to new when you catch them up

I thought the last blue band I bought seemed poor quality too. A lot of rust on it, sharp edges etc. All that kind of stuff seems to be coming from China now.

Figerty

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I thought the last blue band I bought seemed poor quality too. A lot of rust on it, sharp edges etc. All that kind of stuff seems to be coming from China now.

Caveat Empter is suppose.
If you accept it, then they will keep supplying it.

tractorporn

After Michael H trying to drag the standard of this thread towards proper engineering I shall now drag us all back into the gunther!

Made this over the weekend. My uncle had weights lying around and the tractor they came off sold so all I had to buy was the nine hole bar (€40) I had everything else. Next modification when I get time is to weld a carrier onto an old linkage off a transport box to stop it from swinging. But its keeping the wheels on the ground for now anyway. There are another two weights still in the uncles yard I might throw them on it over the weekend.

Nekarsulm

Extra mark's for using a railway bolt... !

9935452

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I thought the last blue band I bought seemed poor quality too. A lot of rust on it, sharp edges etc. All that kind of stuff seems to be coming from China now.

A lad i was doing a bit of welding for bought a bale of brown band piping from the coop.
When i heard brown band my eyes rolled to the heavens but it was easy to weld.
Turns out the pipes had no markings on them and they were redband. The boys gave him the wrong ones

stock>

tractorporn wrote: »

After Michael H trying to drag the standard of this thread towards proper engineering I shall now drag us all back into the gunther!

Made this over the weekend. My uncle had weights lying around and the tractor they came off sold so all I had to buy was the nine hole bar (€40) I had everything else. Next modification when I get time is to weld a carrier onto an old linkage off a transport box to stop it from swinging. But its keeping the wheels on the ground for now anyway. There are another two weights still in the uncles yard I might throw them on it over the weekend.

Hmmm still new steel in use .......................
be careful that the handles on the weights don't break. I bend two pieces steel to 90 degrees and drill two holes bolt the angle to the new nine hole bar and put a length of threaded bar through the weights to take the load off the handles.............................................................................

bogman_bass

stock> wrote: »

Hmmm still new steel in use .......................
be careful that the handles on the weights don't break. I bend two pieces steel to 90 degrees and drill two holes bolt the angle to the new nine hole bar and put a length of threaded bar through the weights to take the load off the handles.............................................................................

The 9 holebar would break before the weights would

stock>

bogman_bass wrote: »

The 9 holebar would break before the weights would

past experience say different...................................................

cjpm

memorystick wrote: »

Anyone know what 3inch angle is costing at the minute? May need around 150 feet. Thanks

80 x 80 x 6mm is around €51 incl VAT

tractorporn

stock> wrote: »

Hmmm still new steel in use .......................
be careful that the handles on the weights don't break. I bend two pieces steel to 90 degrees and drill two holes bolt the angle to the new nine hole bar and put a length of threaded bar through the weights to take the load off the handles.............................................................................

The plan is to weld the actual carrier for the weights onto a three point linkage from an old transport box. I had hoped to give it a try over Christmas but that doesn't look like its gonna happen now and I'm a bit nervous about welding onto the cast iron carrier.

Jb1989

tractorporn wrote: »

The plan is to weld the actual carrier for the weights onto a three point linkage from an old transport box. I had hoped to give it a try over Christmas but that doesn't look like its gonna happen now and I'm a bit nervous about welding onto the cast iron carrier.

Can you not hang them on a suitable bit of angle iron welded your link box bit