welding a plow shank

Southern Ray · Apr 3, 2015

Guess I should have known better, and I should have seen it coming.

Wanted to plow a trench for an electric line to my front gate.
There is a tree in the vicinity and instead of inching down like I should have I went for broke and broke the shank. I am relieved it is just this as it could have been worse.

These shanks have been welded as I have three others that show signs of welded repairs.
My questions are can this be welded with a Lincoln 225 AC welder?
Will E6011 rods suffice, or 7018AC?
How deep of a V groove should I start with?

Or should I just prep it and take it to a professional welder?

ditchwitch · Apr 3, 2015

Looks like it had been broke for a while and you just finished it off.
Clean it up good grind you a good bevel on each side of the line of the break
weld it up with those 7018 you have. Get a good hott root pass in the bottom then build from there.
No back and forth weaving with the rod just a good straight passes side by side . Hit it with a wire wheel or brush after every pass to knock the slag off. That 7018 is about a 70k stencil strenth rodd which is a good rod for that job.

paul · Apr 3, 2015

I recall often something my welder shop guy said to me once.

"I can fix most metal stuff, but it gets hard to refix something that was fixed wrong the first time. If the wrong irons get melted together then I don't know what rod or material to use with it any more."

Paul

jon f mn · Apr 3, 2015

If I was doing that I would definitely use 7018. I would grind the v from the sides so the welds run the same way as the bolts. I would grind almost through, weld a couple passes on one side, then back grind to make sure you get full penetration. I would also run my welds alternating directions, from right one pass them from the left. Also run the welds on alternating sides. Watch as you weld because it's going to pull, so if it starts to pull to one side you can run an extra pass or 2 on the other to pull it back. You can Also pull up and down a little by finishing your welds on the side you want to pull towards. After it's welded and cooled make sure the mating surface on top is flat. It that's not flat and mates good to the frame you could break it or have trouble keeping it tight.

Spudm · Apr 3, 2015

If that is cast iron, I think you should use nickel rod.

jeffcat · Apr 3, 2015

Going a little sideways here. I have been fabricating several parts for my garden tractors and the Gravely. Can't you take a big piece of steel and do some careful cutting and drilling. Many times cast iron parts are made because of shape and wear properties. I know it will be a lot of work but the picture you posted that looks kind of like a weak link in the plow.

jon f mn · Apr 3, 2015

I think it's unlikely that it's cast iron, more likely cast steel. Cast iron would be too brittle for that use I think.

Rick Kr · Apr 3, 2015

I would bet its cast steel not cast iron. Grind on it, there will be a lot of sparks if cast steel, cast iron will have less sparks and they will be more dull.

7018 or any -18 rod should be fine if steel. I would DC if you can instead of AC. I have used 7018AC rod, and some say its ok to use standard 7108 rod on AC, but I have the best results with 7018 rod running DCEP

If cast iron you typically use a nickel rod. I have welded for 30 years, not a pro. But I still have limited success with cast iron. For any thing other than mild steel I prefer Castolin Eutectic brand. Not the cheapest, but I have excellent luck with their product.

Jon below already listed the details.

Rick

Plowboy1 · Apr 3, 2015

Something that size, wouldn't hurt to warm it up with a torch before you start to welding. Just for thought, I have used 80 series rod and 100 series (more tensile strength) with excellent results (welded a broken forktruck fork and it's still working today). All the advise here is good, grind it deep, you want solid weld almost all the way through.

RodinNS · Apr 3, 2015

That would be cast steel. It will weld fine with a 7018AC rod. I would probably bevel it from both sides and alternate from back to front with weld passes. Preheating before you weld is also a good idea.

Rod

mkirsch · Apr 3, 2015

The goal is 100% penetration, so you will need a DEEP v-groove.

What I've seen done is, one side is v-grooved, and the other side is left to "key" the two pieces together. The groove is welded up, then the other side is grooved and welded.

Wouldn't a plow shank be FORGED?

Donald Lehman · Apr 3, 2015

I was waiting for someone to mention Eutectic rod. 680 would work quite well for that. We used it to weld coulter clamps and moldboard plow shanks. Never had a weld fail with that rod. Be prepared to spend some money for the rod, though. Try not to build up more weld than you need. it's a booger to grind down!

Rick Kr · Apr 4, 2015

Eutectic 680 is excellent. My standard I like is Eutectic 66, now the latest is 66XHD.

Rick

welding a plow shank

Southern Ray

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ditchwitch

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paul

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jon f mn

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Spudm

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jeffcat

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jon f mn

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Rick Kr

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Plowboy1

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RodinNS

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mkirsch

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Donald Lehman

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Rick Kr

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