I have some 1/2 inch metal I need to make some large holes in (about 1 inch). This is to put on our tractor tiller to make it set back farther from the tractor tire.
All I have is an a/c welder and a cutting torch with small tip. What would be the best way to do this?
A 1" hole is a bit small to blow into 1/2" stock with a torch. I don't do arc welding stuff so I can't answer to that. Personally, I'd drill the hole to as large as I can hold and then grind from there with a carbid burr if the steel is not hardened.
-- Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?
Ummmm, also, if you just can't find gouging carbons, set your buzz-box amps up high, put a goodly fat welding rod in your clamp and just hold an arc in one spot for a while.
wrote: (clip)This is to put on our tractor tiller to make it set back farther from the tractor tire. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Maybe you can avoid the drilling altogether. You say you want to move the tractor tiller back. This must mean that it is now bolted on through some
1" holes that are too close. Why not cut the plate with the holes off, and weld in an extender plate?
Works best if you can use your air hose and a fine spray nozzle on the puddle. Get the arc going and spray the metal away. You can actually cut pretty close to a line this way.
Downside is the HAZ (heat affected zone) makes any machining operations a bitch after doing this, unless you anneal the area.
But you can indeed blow a nice big hole, fairly neatly with a welder, some big rod and an air hose
Gunner
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. H. L. Mencken
Another possibility if you need a nice round hole is to find some holes, cut them out with your cutting torch, cut a hole where you want the nice hole, and weld in the nice hole. Something on the order of how Ernie puts square holes in the anvils he makes.
This week I did something close. The school needed a handle for a faucet. A normal faucet handle would not work as the stem is sunk in so as to prevent Vandals and Goths from using a Crescent wrench. So I bought a 1/4 inch drive socket at St. Vincent de Paul for $.15 and silver brazed it onto a tee handle.
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