scrap grapple

[grnxrymnky]

hey y'all! thought i'd post some pics of the side job i did saturday morning. i went to this scrap yard looking for some i-beam pieces, handed him a card and asked if he would call me if he got any. he looked at my card and asked for a quote on putting teeth on his grapple.

the only thing that scared me was the pins that were rusted in place still in the old adaptors, and how long it would take to get them out--i guess that's what you call the unkown factor in bidding a job. anyway, i gave him a price and he said to go ahead. five of the seven retainer pins eventually banged out with a big punch and a 2 lb hammer. the other two i had to cut out with a torch--lots of spatter! they were roll pins, spring steel, so they wouldn't drill. i even tried heating the adaptor to try to expand it a little, to no avail. any suggestions for the future would be appreciated.

enough blabber-jabbin, let's get to the pictures!

[grnxrymnky]

of course, as soon as he drove the boom up into the bay, the bottom fell out. rain water ran down the boom and i had to do the whole job standing in water. as soon as the rain quit, i bummed a push broom and swept out most fo the water. blah, blah, blah!!!! i still had fun and finished the job under my estimated time frame.

p.s. my welder is not strapped to the trailer, it's bolted down.

[KBar]

Nice job, as far as driving out the drift pins next time, get a good penetrating oil or silicone and spray them up really good. Next find a rod the same diameter as the drift pin so it cant slip down inside the pin as your beating on it, a few good whacks, it should pop out. I did numerous pins like this on a backhoe and they always came out without using a torch.

[Keyster]

If the roll pins are hollow tubes, clean the packed dirt and crud out of the center of the pin first.
This seems to allow the pin to collapse a little.
It makes removal easier.

K.

[grnxrymnky]

these pins were coiled all the way to the center. i did try to drill one but being spring steel(?) the new drill bit just squeeled and died. next time i'll surely try the penetrant spry and i'll try using a small (1/16") bit to drill the dirt or corrosion from the center. they both sound like good suggestions--thanks!

i once heard of some rods that once they are lit they burn right through just about anything. if the guy wasn't pulling my leg they might be worth checking in to. does anyone out there know anything about them?

[ctrhenry]

lancing rods are nice. and they do exist.

coiled pins stink


the best I ever saw was a chunk of round stock that had a hole sized for the punch. a real close fit . it got welded on over the pin and then you drove the pin out. worked really well by keeping the punch and the pin aligned really well.

you can also dead short thru the pin heating it cherry red then quench and drive.

[Laiky]

try soaking with Kroil.

[MR.57]

i once heard of some rods that once they are lit they burn right through just about anything. if the guy wasn't pulling my leg they might be worth checking in to. does anyone out there know anything about them?

Arcair "Slice" torch works sort of like a thermal lance but on a smaller scale. Will burn through just about anything -rust, crud, cured concrete included. They are absolutely nasty to use though, especially with the short rods - definitely wear full leathers! I prefer regular CAC for most stuff but when burning out out pins, you can poke straight through with exothermic (slice) using coated rods. Keep in mind all the molten metal being burned will be shooting out of the hole directly towards you until you pierce through.

You can light them with a torch same as you would a thermal lance, or can light them by hooking up to a welder at low current or Slice battery ignition box and scratch starting them as you would with a welding rod. Pure O2 runs through the rod and blows out the end. They don't work with compressed air like CAC does. The higher the O2 pressure the more flying molten metal they make. Stock up on extra cover lenses and burn ointment, you'll probably need both!

[Pass-N-Gas]

p.s. my welder is not strapped to the trailer, it's bolted down.

Well then use that extra strap and attach the O/A bottles to something (PIC 4)... All it takes is just one time ... Just like whatever happened off shore on the platform before it blew!

[Daniel]

Good job. Does the muffler on the welder is for pollution or sound