ALL IN A DAYS WORK!

Hello All!:wave:
Today I welded hooks and toothbar plates to my bucket and also finished my carry all! I bought a stick welder because I got impatient waiting on a welder to come out to the house. I've been practicing welding for a month or so and it just seems to get tougher. Anyway, first I sanded all of the paint off in the weld area. Then I clamped down the 2" X 3" X 1/4" thick angle iron and sat back and told myself "Whats the worst that could happen"?
 

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So after about an hour of thinking of all the worst things that could happen being a novice welder, I decided it was time. I unhooked my tractor battery, grabbed some 7018AC rods and hoped for the best!:huh: I don't know how many rods I used but dang I'm tired. I ran a two beads the full length of the angle iron on top and bottom. Then I welded the toothbar plates. Welding vertical is very tough for a novice like me. I can confidently say that these are really ugly welds but hey if they hold, who cares, right? Welding, chipping slag, brushing with a metal brush and grinding definitely took up most of the day.
 

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After what seemed like half a day, wait, it was half a day later, the welding was done. Although it takes much practice, I couldn't do this much if it weren't for the guidance of Brian and Rob, so thanks guys! I started grinding on the bucket to improve the aesthetics then I got out the Mahindra spray paint. Oh, did I mention that I'm not a painter either? After two coats I was getting tired and I still wanted to finish my carry all.
 

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I bought the treated wood for the carry all frame a few weeks back. I already cut the boards in four foot sections. All that was left was to secure them with the galvanized carriage bolts and screw on the tie-down hooks. This was much easier than welding!:read: Well, I finished the carry all now its time for a big glass of iced tea!:D I'm looking forward to tomorrow so I can test my new bucket hooks. I think I'll pick up my bush hog (1100 lbs.) for starters. Hopefully my welds will hold.:shock: If they do indeed hold, then I'll spend the last three days of my vacation picking up things for the burn pile. I hope no one minds me sharing my experience here. I learned a lot in just one day. One really important lesson I learned was to never never never forget to put your welding gloves on. Man those rods are hot!:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
 

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Dougster

Old Member
Hello All!:wave: Today I welded hooks and toothbar plates to my bucket and also finished my carry all! I bought a stick welder because I got impatient waiting on a welder to come out to the house. I've been practicing welding for a month or so and it just seems to get tougher. Anyway, first I sanded all of the paint off in the weld area. Then I clamped down the 2" X 3" X 1/4" thick angle iron and sat back and told myself "Whats the worst that could happen"?
So after about an hour of thinking of all the worst things that could happen being a novice welder, I decided it was time. I unhooked my tractor battery, grabbed some 7018AC rods and hoped for the best!:huh: I don't know how many rods I used but dang I'm tired. I ran a two beads the full length of the angle iron on top and bottom. Then I welded the toothbar plates. Welding vertical is very tough for a novice like me. I can confidently say that these are really ugly welds but hey if they hold, who cares, right? Welding, chipping slag, brushing with a metal brush and grinding definitely took up most of the day.
After what seemed like half a day, wait, it was half a day later, the welding was done. Although it takes much practice, I couldn't do this much if it weren't for the guidance of Brian and Rob, so thanks guys! I started grinding on the bucket to improve the aesthetics then I got out the Mahindra spray paint. Oh, did I mention that I'm not a painter either? After two coats I was getting tired and I still wanted to finish my carry all.
Mud - I've got to admire you for "Just doing it" and "Gittin'-R-Done"!!! :thumb: I'd be thrilled to do so well! :cool: Unfortunately, I am an engineer and must study everything to death and have everything just so perfect before I go at any job... and then I make a fool of myself anyway. :rolleyes:

Some call it simple laziness & procrastination, Paul called it my "perfectionism disorder", I blame my engineer's due diligence responsibility and shaky finances as the root cause of all my problems. :eek:

I salute you man! Job well done!!! :)

Dougster :starbucks:
 

mobilus

Member
IOne really important lesson I learned was to never never never forget to put your welding gloves on. Man those rods are hot!:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

That reminds me of one of my pet peeves. :soapbox: On most all the Discovery Channel shows like American Chopper, Monster Garage, etc, I constantly see guys welding without proper protection. There's probably some "cool factor" involved, but I wonder how many folks new to welding have done the same and suffered burns...both to eyes and skin? I think there's a responsibility to teach things the correct way, and then if a student strays into bad behaviors, it's his business. And, like it or not, those shows do teach. I'll hush now.

Good work, and great initiative! Now put a receiver on that bucket!
 

quincy

Member
Yeah Mobilus... I agree with you. I see those guys with the "shut yer eyes fast" technique for spot welding.... and yet their workshops are littered with auto-darkening welding masks... go figure...

I remember gettin my eyes burned years ago when I started out... Apart from a tooth ache, it is probably my number 2 on my list of "things to avoid doing" ever again..




Nice job mud, looks fine from over here! Good for you on deciding to pick up your own welder and git going... Well done!

Glad to hear you disconnected the battery too!! I have heard of people new to welding that left it connected! :pat: OUCH!

I like the carry all too, looks strong.



quincy
 

Mith

Active member
Looks good Mud, let us know how the weight test goes :D



I dont think there is any excuse for not wearing a welding mask, particularly if you have an autodark one. My eyes are worth the cost of a welding mask that I am comfortable wearing every and all the time I pick up the stinger.
Cant get in the habit of gloves though.... :(


As to disconnecting the battery, its alot more important to ensure the earth clamp is close to the area you are welding, and on the same piece of metal.
All of my stuff is old enough not to have any computers, so I dont disconnect the battery when welding.
I have heard it said before that its safer to leave the battery connected when welding on things with computers, but I don't know how valid it is, and I've not had a problem by disconnecting the battery.
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Nice work Mud. As a wanna be welder I sure appreciate your posts (rep points for you).
I was going to ask about why you disconnected the battery but Mith answered that in the previous post. Thanks Mith!
 
Thanks to everyone for the kind words and it really was a fun day!

Mobilus, I saw Brandi's bucket with the receiver welded on and thought that was a great idea. That'll probably be my next project!
 
Mud, I had a 1 1/4" receiver hitch that I took out from under a junker car, so I put it AND a 2" receiver on my bucket. Works great!:rolleyes: I'm about to beef up the top edge of the bucket like you did, so I'll cut this off shortly and remount in addition to fork hooks.

Mark
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Mark,
That's really cool. I'm definitely getting a receiver for my bucket. Looks very handy!
 
I'm happy to report that my hooks stood up to at least 1000 lbs!
:applause: :applause: :applause:
I didn't get to try them out on anything heavier as I spent most of the day moving dirt into my barn. I'm trying to level it before I add rock and close in the front. Tomorrow I'll test the hooks more by moving some good sized logs to the burn pile.
 

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Mud, I've been telling myself the same thing for a long time, spect I'll even do it someday.:whistle:
Tim,
While I was moving everything out of the barn this morning to bring dirt in, I used my FEL and a chain on everything except my 16' trailer. Instead of backing my truck up to the trailer, I got lazy and backed my tractor up to it. I lifted the tongue up with my boxblade and wrapped the check chains around the boxblade support bars.:eek: It worked but the time it took to chain it up, I could have had my truck backed up to it. That welded receiver hitch would've come in real handy this morning!
 

OhioTC18

Well-known member
Gold Site Supporter
Cant get in the habit of gloves though.... :(

Can't remember what brand they are but mine are gel filled in the palm and fingers..........what a nice pair of gloves. It keeps the heat away real well.
 
I'm happy to report that my hooks stood up to at least 1000 lbs!
:applause: :applause: :applause:
I didn't get to try them out on anything heavier as I spent most of the day moving dirt into my barn. I'm trying to level it before I add rock and close in the front. Tomorrow I'll test the hooks more by moving some good sized logs to the burn pile.

Hey, your bucket is starting to resemble mine with those teeth and hooks.:cool: Nice job, now after you put that receiver on, paint the whole thing black. :rolleyes: No, just kidding, red is good on your tractor.:wink:
 
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