DD Learns to Weld

Pretty good for a first try!

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!

How to remove a car tyre without tyre irons

So, if I were smart I would use the tyre irons that Ryan and I made, but he took them to Tennessee. So now that I need to get some tyres off a couple of junk rims, I will have to improvise.

To take out the valve, I put two nails into vice grips and screwed it out.

For breaking the bead, we used a fence post rammer with a piece of steel cut from an old railing. It would have been nice to shape the steel for more efficiency, but it worked just as it was.

A jemmy and wonder bar got the tyre off the rim.



The alloy rim weighs 18 pounds so if we get aluminium rates for that, it will fetch about 50 cents/pound.

How Ryan changes a tractor tyre with tyre irons

When Ryan wants to change a tyre on a tractor he is restoring, he thinks about buying tyre irons and doing it himself. Thinking better of it, he buys a few jemmies (pry bars) and brings them to my forge. Together we reshape them into tyre irons. This was more challenging than making bicycle tyre irons (see earlier post) because the stock was much thicker, and the heat treatment had to be just right because of the greater leverage needed.

Ryan breaks the bead with a chain and jack.

Then he levers the tyre off with the hand forged tyre irons (Ryan calls them "spoons").

Wing Dividers

This pair of dividers came from somewhere in New York, maybe a garage sale. There are no discernible stampings on them. 180 mm long. Some parts are made of brass. The tightening screw is missing. A similar set sold on ebay.com for $10 plus $5 shipping.

Forging Bicycle Tyre Irons

I found an old bicycle in a jumbo bin. It was missing the seat, which is no problem. I had an old seat lying around. The back tyre was flat, so I pumped it up. Water started coming out which was unusual. Nevertheless I kept on pumping, then bang! The tube exploded a 3 inch hole in it (not the tyre). I had another wheel lying around (on top of the shed, I think), so I put that on. But it was too buckled and the sprockets were badly worn and broken. So I thought I would just pull the tube out of that tyre. But that would mean finding tyre irons. I thought it might be quicker to make new ones instead (more fun too). So I got out the forge, and looked around for some suitable steel. As I stared at a likely piece of steel, I suddenly realised that it was a tyre iron! It is probably for a motorcycle, but it worked on the bicycle, and gave me a pattern to make the others.

Making a G Clef

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Bent Lawnmower Blade

After hitting a steel pipe with No. 18's mower, DD then hit a lump of earth with ours. It bent the blade down but didn't do any other damage. No. 20 still had to be finished. We couldn't use the tractor because the gate to the back yard is too narrow. There was nothing to do but to break out the forge. I haven't used it for about 18 months. All the clutter that buried it had to be moved away. I wasn't sure if the fan would still work, but it did. We soon had a nice fire and Daniel hammered the blade straight with two or three heats. We used the new anvil for the first time. We hadn't used the forge since JJ bought the beetle (since the anvil and beetle came at the same time, from the same seller). We let the blade cool slowly since it wasn't bent near the cutting edge. Then replaced it, and Daniel finished the job with no problems. With such a nice little fire going I didn't want to waste it. So I started making an S hook, which turned out to be a G clef for Lynn Cunningham, retiring from West Point band.

Alphabet Stamps

For a long time I have wanted alphabet stamps. I remember seeing them for sale overseas, but didn't buy them. Since then I have never seen them for sale. I decided to have a look on ebay and found a few options. For about $20 (half of it shipping!) I got the 3mm size (made in China). It has the alphabet and numerals. The kids have been stamping all their books, and any leather, wood, or paper they can find. I just tried it out on my new hair clippers tool. That steel proved a bit hard but made a legible impression. Sheet metal or copper should work nicely. Now, the 3 mm is a bit small; shall I buy a 6 mm set now?????

Making a Tool for the Hair Clippers

About 10 years ago I made tool to adjust my hair clippers so it wouldn't make that loud clackity sound. Usually the clippers would need adjusting as they warmed up so the tool was very handy and I was ruining scissors trying to turn the adjustment screw with them. The first tool was cut out of thick sheet metal with a hacksaw. It looked like the key to a wind-up toy and it worked fine. However, it's been missing for years.

I have been getting by without it by letting the clippers warm up before using them. But last time I tried to use them, they wouldn't work at all, even after a warm up period (they buzz softly, but the blades do not move). So it was time to make another tool. I looked around for some more thick sheet metal, but then decided on a different design. This was made cold (to save the bother of firing up the forge). I hammered a steel bar flat at one end; shaped it further on the bench grinder; then drilled a small hole near the end. This hole was opened up with a hacksaw, and then smoothed out with a rat tail file. Then I put it in the vice cold and hammered a turn in it; cut the handle to about 100 mm with a hacksaw, and cleaned the whole thing up a bit. Now we are all looking smart with our summer haircuts! Beware dog! You're next!

Between the woods and frozen lake...

the coldest evening of the year (Robert Frost).
The town pond finally froze over. I took the kids skating this morning on a bright sunny day (and cold (-6 deg C; feels like -14 deg C). A. tried to drill a hole with an antique auger to measure the thickness (100 mm should be thick enough). The auger didn't work that well because the screw part did not grip in the ice (in wood, the screw would pull the blades down). The auger came from Ralph Osterc's barn, Fishkill, NY.