JD420 Pallet Fork Build

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Thu Jun 30, 2016 2:40 pm

Gil: Thanks for your thoughts. I've pretty much designed these forks to be site specific. This means that my wood yard is gently down hill of my house, and my firewood staging at the house is on level ground. I have considered turnbuckles, and my design will allow for them if needed. I think that the dogging will work based on the heft of the gussets, their sizes, pin sizes, and mounting arm materials. I'm most concerned about getting good weld penetration and making them look good. It's been a few years since I've welded stock this thick. Chamfers, good material prep,and careful alignment should assure good welds. We'll see. Paul

Post by **Lavoy** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 8:34 am

If you are concerned about penetration, preheat prior to welding will aid penetration, but you may have too large of an area to do that.
Lavoy

CuttingEdge · Post by **CuttingEdge** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 3:53 pm

Make sure you run stringers (narrow weld beads) with no weaving.
Layer up your welds to get bigger ones. (one in, two over for most welds)
No long arcing; keep your rod tight to your metal.
Weld as much as you can in the flat or vertical position. Even pro welders do.
Amps is penetration. Run the right amount to prevent undercut, yet get good penetration.

Keep a block of wood handy while welding. After you are done making a weld, drive the tip of the rod into the wood. It will make restarting your weld much, much easier. Alternatively, you van break off the flux after it has cooled with your gloved hand. Or yet, flick the hot ball of molten slag off after your done welding (not recommended though as it could burn a bystander).

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 6:10 pm

Thanks guys for the reminders. I plan on running a few beads on practice stock to get back in the swing of things. Happily, I can reposition my materials so that all the welds can be horizontal ones, and I will find a comfortable and readily supported stick position. This will allow me to more easily watch the puddle and flux flow. I like it when I've made a pass, and the 7018 slag just flakes off cleanly leaving that professional looking weld which is easy to build on or continue as needed. Of course I do own and use my grinders to hide my amateur status. Paul

CuttingEdge · Post by **CuttingEdge** » Sun Jul 03, 2016 1:04 pm

I never ground any of my welds at the shipyard, I can say that! Of course we were union so GRINDERS were employed to do such work!

I was always told a good looking weld does not need to be ground much, but the US Navy looks at it different, every weld must be ground. A lot of it has to do with the shape of the weld and the way ordinances vibrating the steel can deform it. A well formed weld can pass those vibrations off without damage to the structure. But I am pretty sure Paul your pallet forks won't be put under attack!

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 11:06 am

Yes, my goal is to produce those wonderful strong welds that have no inclusions, are straight evenly paced, show no undercut and don't require any fixing since the slag just flakes off - then there's my actual current skill level. sigh.

notmeu · Post by **notmeu** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:31 pm

Paul Buhler wrote:Yes, my goal is to produce those wonderful strong welds that have no inclusions, are straight evenly paced, show no undercut and don't require any fixing since the slag just flakes off - then there's my actual current skill level. sigh.

Welding is one of those skills that takes a fair amount of time to master! One thing I have learned to get a good looking weld is to spend extra time in the preparation prior to welding, cleaning surfaces so there is no placid, even spraying the surface with brake cleaner if the surface is really dirty to remove any impurities, and yes making sure it is complete dry after spraying the brake cleaner before welding!!!

Gil · Post by **Gil** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 3:31 pm

It is ironic that my first weld job with my new welder was welding pallet forks to my JD440-I loader frame. My new welder was a Hobart Handler 190 Mig. I was concerned that the penetration would not be deep enough with a Mig welder, but a year later, not a crack. And I take my 1/3 cord pallet crates out to the woods to fill them up where I cut and split my firewood. Plenty of bouncing and flexing on the trip back to the farmhouse.

I was surprised how easy it was to use the Mig. The best invention since the auto-darkening welding helmet. Now my AC/DC Lincoln buzz box sits in the corner. I still consider stick welding the best for thick steel, hard surface applications, and the like. I am just saying that I was amazed how well and easily the Mig worked. And the bead looked halfway decent for a first attempt. Gil

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 4:11 pm

Gil: Last year I bought a used Miller 211 and have been playing with it using flux core. I find it really nice, but I have done successful stick welding on heavy stuff in the past and I trust my skills with rod - but I am rusty. I want to do this this project once well, and be done. I have a Lincoln juke box welder, but plan on borrowing a friends big Lincoln portable with DC reverse as an option. Now all I have to do is get through other things on the priority list, then I'll get going on this. Thanks for your detailed description of your experiences, thought, and results - always appreciated.

BTW, has anyone used 7018 AC rod and what are your thoughts? Thanks. Paul

Post by **Lavoy** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 9:15 am

Haven't used them in 20 years or more, but they tend to spatter a little more. You will have to break a little circle of flux off every time you restart with a used rod, but no issue at all.
I will echo what Gil said, once I started with wire, I seldom use stick any more. As far as penetration, .045 dual shield wire at 250 amps will make 1/2" plate glow quite handily.
Lavoy

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Tue Jul 05, 2016 9:35 pm

Thanks Lavoy. I'm not set up for gas yet, so dual shield is down the road a bit - so is solid wire for that matter. For this job I'll go with stick, and save up to get my mig welder gas operational. I ran some gas shielded beads at the mountain,in the shop with their Miller 211, and it is fun and easy. But, in the past, my welding has been been mostly outdoors on dirty steel requiring repairs.
It sounds like a lot of people here are competent welders. It's nice reviewing and considering options available. Thanks

pop pop · Post by **pop pop** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:24 am

REMEMBER,,BRAKE CLEANER AND WELDING CREATES POISON.

notmeu · Post by **notmeu** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:59 am

pop pop wrote:REMEMBER,,BRAKE CLEANER AND WELDING CREATES POISON.

Yes pop pop, bad advice that I should of went into more detail. The older chlorinated brake cleaner did produce a harmful gas when heated called phosgene. It is very nasty stuff, it can and has killed people, but it wasn't just in brake cleaner. Most of the chlorinated brake cleaner brands have been phased out and now the chlorinated product seems to be mostly acetone. If there is any chlor product on the label do not use it prior to welding or any heat. Acetone is a better cleaner since is evaporates quickly. If I need to use a cleaner i always let it sit outside for a while, 30 minutes or so, after sprayed and move onto something else for a bit then come back to it, just to ensure the chemicals have completely evaporated. If a chlorinated brake cleaner was used it could puddle in a low lying crack, and even a little bit of it heated could be fatal, especially since when welding we always have our face right in front of our work. Hopefully this thread is a wakeup call to everyone to think about chemicals, and reading labels.

Paul Buhler · Post by **Paul Buhler** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 1:21 pm

Thanks for the warnings guys. Phosgene can be nasty stuff.

http://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene ... /facts.asp

Post by **Lavoy** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:14 pm

Both chlorinated and non are still available, be sure to read the label
Lavoy

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