Bill Edwards
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- 4,959
- Location
- Scarborough, North Yorkshire
It’s possible to do stuff like that cheaply and easily when other options are limited.
For example, when needed it’s possible to put weld in the hole and use a die grinder/round file to dress it back to shape. Obviously you can't get it dead round but you can get a tight fit, if the pin is tight enough that you have to hammer it home and it can't move then the fact the hole is out of round no longer presents problems.
Another way (a real bodge but it does keep things going, with a lot of slop) is to find a stronger way to keep the pin from coming out rather than the usual small bolt. Never, ever weld a pin to the frame to keep it from moving but welding a plate over it so it cannot slide out, or welding a washer on the other end so it can't fit through the hole does work. The pin gets left free to slop round in the hole but can't come out.
I don't like welding anything onto the pin as you don't know what grade metal it is but I've known it to be done many times.
I'm not saying that either of these methods is professional or perfect - but the first method certainly does last well, gives a tight pin and can be done with little or no tooling. It can also be started after feeding the cattle one morning, and back to work in time to next feed the cattle. When a farm only has one loader downtime can be an absolute no.
Obviously drilling it out and welding in a bush then having it all bored straight is the correct method, but on little stuff like that the accuracy requirements don't justify the cost and hassle of getting it bored. It's not precision equipment. And lets say it's already done 7000 hours, if not aligning it perfectly makes it wear out a bit quicker and only last 5000 hours would it matter - by the point the machine will usually have been scrapped anyway?
Big stuff like telehandler booms are a different matter, they want to be dead on. Tractor loader headstocks, much less so.
For example, when needed it’s possible to put weld in the hole and use a die grinder/round file to dress it back to shape. Obviously you can't get it dead round but you can get a tight fit, if the pin is tight enough that you have to hammer it home and it can't move then the fact the hole is out of round no longer presents problems.
Another way (a real bodge but it does keep things going, with a lot of slop) is to find a stronger way to keep the pin from coming out rather than the usual small bolt. Never, ever weld a pin to the frame to keep it from moving but welding a plate over it so it cannot slide out, or welding a washer on the other end so it can't fit through the hole does work. The pin gets left free to slop round in the hole but can't come out.
I don't like welding anything onto the pin as you don't know what grade metal it is but I've known it to be done many times.
I'm not saying that either of these methods is professional or perfect - but the first method certainly does last well, gives a tight pin and can be done with little or no tooling. It can also be started after feeding the cattle one morning, and back to work in time to next feed the cattle. When a farm only has one loader downtime can be an absolute no.
Obviously drilling it out and welding in a bush then having it all bored straight is the correct method, but on little stuff like that the accuracy requirements don't justify the cost and hassle of getting it bored. It's not precision equipment. And lets say it's already done 7000 hours, if not aligning it perfectly makes it wear out a bit quicker and only last 5000 hours would it matter - by the point the machine will usually have been scrapped anyway?
Big stuff like telehandler booms are a different matter, they want to be dead on. Tractor loader headstocks, much less so.