SoCal Dave

Very nice pictures but the article needed more about Frank and what students do while in his class.

Clearly, by all the comments, they both are good for different projects. I work by myself, and I only have a power hammer. To me, the power hammer is so much fun, I love using it and try to find project that require a power hammer somewhere in the process. Good luck.

When in school, I had to take classes I wasn't interested in, and ultimately, I didn't enjoy them. Do what you are interested in and maybe those interests will change over time. Make what you are excited about and your journey will be good for you. You are not in a rigid schedule of classes that you must follow. You make up your own schedule based on many factors that effect your life. Good luck.

Frank and Ianinsa thanks: I never thought of borium, but that brings up a question. Which is better against abrasion-Borium vs hardfacing rod? And the idea of using a sleeve also gave me some thought. Maybe both would work together? Thanks guys.

I haven't heat treated them. I only hardface the bottoms. The tines go for about $400 for a set of twenty one tines. The hardfacing rod cost $115 for a 10 lb box and I've hardfaced the comb twice and the tines once and still have half the box left. I do the hardfacing on my own time as part of my contribution to the community. However, the wearing of the tines has been greater and faster than I thought, and I'm trying to figure out if there is a better material to use that won't wear as fast. I would like to cut a few inches off and weld a stronger, tougher material back in place, but only if it is a lot tougher and will stand up to the abrasion. So, my question is " what is the strongest/toughest steel I can use that will stand up to abrasion"??

I have just run two passes on the bottom of the tines as that seems to be the only area that wears.

I have hardfaced the tines and comb with Stoody 35. The problem for me is that the tines are wearing faster than I like and require constant hardfacing. That is why I thought I needed a tougher resistant steel to abrasion for the tines.

I've been hardfacing the tines and comb for this arena rake. I thought it might be easier to just use a tougher steel for the tines. I am unable to get the type of steel from the manufacturer of the rake, John Deer. It seems like a spring steel to me. What could I use in place that is the toughest steel that is available?

I've purchased a harbor freight drill bit set for metal. They are only good for one use before they become junk. So, it depends on the quality of the drill bit. Follow the instruction to anneal the metal, and get a good quality drill bit and I'm sure you will succeed. Good luck.

Nice looking branches. Could you show the dies you made, and how did you attach the small branches to the main branch?

For outside, if you paint, you must put down first a good primer. This must be preceded by cleaning the entire piece with a rust stopper, cleaner and degreaser, and not touch by human hands after cleaning. Then painted. So, painting is really not a one step process. Good luck.

If you lived on a ranch 100 miles from your neighbor, no newspaper, no TV, you might think that everyday the world is in good order, at least in your world, until you journey outward. Then, you might question if you are number one, and want to return to the ranch where you are the king and the world is at peace again. You can forge your own reality.

Be patient and don't be to hard on yourself. It seems that you are on the way out of a dark hole so that is good. Things like that take time and you have lots of things to make in the future with all those benches. There is magic in creating. Good luck.

He was a big man in many ways. What a loss. I always wanted to take one of his class but it never worked out and now it never can. I had called him about a question on one of his videos. He was so kind and helpful and patient.

I have a 12" metal devil blade and I have cut solid pieces of mild steel without significant wear on the blade. I use an abrasive blade when it doesn't really matter if the end cut is really exact. The metal devil blade does not leave any burrs. There are others that I have used with success like Tenryu. This was purchased at Industrial Metal Supplies. Expensive but worth the money when you need a precise cut. I've used these blades on a wood chop saw by delta for over 10 years without any issues. I like the ability to miter cuts and wood chop saws have a better mitering system on their saws. Good luck.

One day my wife asked me what are you doing in the shop today, I responded with "nothing". The next day she asked me the same thing and I said "nothing". She said, you said that yesterday. I told her "I wasn't finished".

I ran some tests today. First, I needed to build the pins up about 1/2" to one inch. I started with the 6011 rod that I had on hand. Clearly, this rod didn't build up enough material to help. I used one entire rod with little gain. On top of the 6011 rod, I ran two passes with the Stoody 35 hardfacing rod. This did add enough material. The second test I ran just the Stoody hardfacing rod. I needed to make up about 1/2". I was able to build up enough with just the Stoody rod to get me my 1/2". I ran more than two passes but it's not like a normal pass. It's around the circle and end up in the middle. To me the hardfacing rod is designed to add material. That's what you want it to do. My understanding is that it is a two pass rod. I used my Lincoln AC220 welder set at 150. This was the setting I used on all the welding for this project. I will post a picture later. The pins seem to be a tough material. I haven't found any coil springs 1" diameter to use as suggested. Even if they make them, they would be hard to come by around here. If I did cut off some rod and weld another section on, I would hardface that also. Anything more than 1/2" might be problematic. The arena people and the tractor guy all tell me that I don't need to bring the pins back to the original length. I just thought I might try but I don't think an 1 1/2" build up of hardfacing rod is what the rod was designed for. 1/2" seems reasonable. So, I will live with all the pins one inch shorter than the original length. Having all of the pins the same length is desirable and I will monitor their ware better. This is an example of doing something/running a few test pieces and in the process you find your solution/answer.

I 'm trying to this job with existing materials and on the cheap. I don't have any spare 1" rod of 4140 or 4340. If the rods ever get worn more than 2 inches I will definitely do as Sweany and others have mentioned. I will let you guys know how the test pieces come out. Thanks

Test: I have a 100 ft 12/3 extension cord. I tried welding with that on a 20 amp breaker outlet in my shop and it worked fine. I didn't have it at full power and wire speed, but I don't need full power. I 'm welding a hinge on a barn door that broke off. So, I saved myself $100 which is the cost of the Harbor Freight 100 ft, 10/3 cord. Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions.

An attached photo of your forge might help. What temp is the right temp for you. I believe you will get higher temps with forced air, but is it what you want/need. With forced air you get a lot more O2 and scale. The addition of a blower may not be your problem if you forge is not retaining the heat. You can reach welding heat with a one burner forge if it is the right size, reflects the heat, and retains the heat and has the right mixture of fuel and air. Good luck.

DSW: The pins can spin but I've noticed that if they get stuck, they wear unevenly. The most they have worn off is about one inch. I could just hardface the bottom of the pins again, and that lasted for 8 months. But, I wanted to try something new welding wise and that's when I thought about building up the pins with 6011 or 6013. Most of the arena's are sand and some DG, but I'm not sure of the amount. I 'm not on the arena's committee. I leave that to the horse people since they have different types of arena's which require different types of footing. Thanks again!

DSW Thanks for all the information you went over. My homeowner association had purchased 10 lbs of the Stoody 35 hardfacing rod for me and I have used about half of them. So, I will try both 6011 and 6013 which I have also. When the pins were new, I hardfaced the bottoms and had hoped the tractor guy would let me know when they needed attention. That didn't work so well and now I need to build the pins back up if possible. I do the welding as part of my contribution to the community. It does become almost easier to just purchase new pins as you had mentioned, but, part of me is a little old school and you just repair and repair it until you can't repair it any longer, and then purchase new ones. Plus, for me, it's a welding opportunity. Thanks again for you time and comments.

What would be a better AC rod for this job?

If I just build up the ends with rod without using a tube, what rod would be better? 6011 or 6013. I'm thinking of running a pass, cleaning it, run another pass on top, cleaning it and then a two hardfacing rod passes. Other rods may be better, but I have lots of 6011 and 6013 I want to use.

I want to add about one inch to the ends of these pins. They are for an arena rake dragged behind a tractor. They have worn off an inch or more and there are 21 of them. I will be using my Lincoln 220 AC welder. I want to add back the worn portion. I was told that I could add a sleeve like the pvc pipe and that it would keep the weld inside the tube and not stick to the weld. It was told to me that a ceramic tube was used, but I thought they a pvc pipe might work??????? It seems like it would make a neat little guide for the rod. I haven't tried this but I thought the pvc might melt. Some kind of ceramic tube should work better but I can't find any like the pvc at the hardware stores. Second question: I have 6011 and 6013 rod and Stoody 35 hardfacing rod. If I have a 1/2" or less, I was thinking about just using the hardfacing rod. Two passes should equal 1/2 inch. But, if I have more, would it be best to use one of my other rods first and finish it with the Stoody 35?????