Welding the Lawn Tractor Axle Rod

I backed over the wheel of the lawn tractor while driving the van. The axle rod snapped off. I picked up an old Craftsman hoping to get some parts...but the diameter was different (could make some bushings if necessary). $90 for a new part.

So I tried to forge weld the part, thinking that I would arc weld around it also. That was a disaster. I have only forge welded two things and they were much simpler. I ended up burning one end of the broken part. So I made some braces to weld on after arc welding.

Today I welded it all together. I should have taken some scrap to practice on. I don't think I have done any arc welding for 20 years (make that 30!). Oh, I did use a mig welder in 1998, but that was a disaster.

After a bit of a warm up, I got used to it again. It was a difficult part to weld with wide gaps. The result is not pretty, but it will hold!