Heavy Metal Removal in the Field

[Smiles79]

I bought a bucket that I need to modify for my loader by torching off the brackets and welding new ones on. I got as close as I felt comfortable with the torch to not damage the bucket (still learning), and am left with up to half an inch to grind off the rest of the way. I've been working at it with my 4.5" angle grinder and it's just taking forever. Is there a better way?

https://imgur.com/a/b6ZZveW

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Do you have electricity (extension cord ) accessible there? If so use a bigger grinder. 9 inch grinder should make fairly short work of things. Couple of hours or so. Likely less. If not then likely a cordless angle grinder will be the only option. At least that I can think of. Still with enough batteries you should be done in a few hours.

Hopefully you are using coarse grinding wheels.

I'd be aware also of starting a fire. Have a couple of 5 gallon buckets of water on hand to put out any fires that might start up. Also wouldn't hurt to pre soak the area to help avoid starting a fire. Brush/grass fire can get out of hand quickly.

 

[Smiles79]

Do you have electricity (extension cord ) accessible there? If so use a bigger grinder. 9 inch grinder should make fairly short work of things. Couple of hours or so. Likely less. If not then likely a cordless angle grinder will be the only option. At least that I can think of. Still with enough batteries you should be done in a few hours.

Hopefully you are using coarse grinding wheels.

I'd be aware also of starting a fire. Have a couple of 5 gallon buckets of water on hand to put out any fires that might start up. Also wouldn't hurt to pre soak the area to help avoid starting a fire. Brush/grass fire can get out of hand quickly.

Thanks for the reply. I do have an extension and I'm aware of the fire risk, but I appreciate the reminder.

Maybe I'll look into a bigger grinder. The grinding wheel i was using didn't have a grit number on it. What would you recommend, brand wise?

 

[whateg01]

First, you can get closer with the torch. (Or a plasma cutter, or arc gouging )Second, is there a reason you can't move it out of the field and into the shop or driveway so you can use tools better suited?

 

[Smiles79]

First, you can get closer with the torch. (Or a plasma cutter, or arc gouging )Second, is there a reason you can't move it out of the field and into the shop or driveway so you can use tools better suited?

Yeah I figured closer was possible but I'm afraid of damaging the bucket.

Im trying to stay away from the garage because I don't want to wake the kids up.

 

[Old Man Roger]

With not much practice you can learn to cut a piece of exhaust pipe out of a muffler without burning through the muffler. You can for sure cut almost flush on metal that thick.

 

[Smiles79]

With not much practice you can learn to cut a piece of exhaust pipe out of a muffler without burning through the muffler. You can for sure cut almost flush on metal that thick.

Well then maybe I'll have to go back out there with the torch

 

[jblnut]

I’d agree with the cut closer crowd. If that torch is capable of cutting it like you did you should have no problem cutting closer. The torch will direct most of the heat to what it’s touching and won’t really heat the bucket up just too much so you shouldn’t have to worry about gouging into it just too much.

A 9” grinder and an aggressive wheel or two or three will still take a looooong time to grind all that material off. Get closer with the torch and then hit it with the 9” grinder. You’re in big boy territory looking to remove that much material, you’ll need a big grinder. Even once it’s torched a large grinder will make much shorter work of the cleanup.

 

[Smiles79]

I’d agree with the cut closer crowd. If that torch is capable of cutting it like you did you should have no problem cutting closer. The torch will direct most of the heat to what it’s touching and won’t really heat the bucket up just too much so you shouldn’t have to worry about gouging into it just too much.

A 9” grinder and an aggressive wheel or two or three will still take a looooong time to grind all that material off. Get closer with the torch and then hit it with the 9” grinder. You’re in big boy territory looking to remove that much material, you’ll need a big grinder. Even once it’s torched a large grinder will make much shorter work of the cleanup.

Lol big boy territory.

Thanks for weighing in, I appreciate your input!

 

[gorilla]

Get a scarfing tip for your torch it's a tip that is bent about 90* you can cut real close with one of those. A 9" grinder will make short work of what you need to do. That kind of work was everyday for me for a lot of years it's a good upper body workout.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

The grinding wheel i was using didn't have a grit number on it. What would you recommend, brand wise?

These work pretty good, especially for that type of work.

Airgas - NOR66252842019 - Norton® 4" X 1/4" X 5/8" Gemini® Extra Coarse Grit Aluminum Oxide Type 27 Depressed Center Grinding Wheel

Improved design with a new premium grain and advanced bond technology offers up to 60% more life and 15% faster cut rate. Quickly flash, bevel, smooth down welds and remove stock on 400 Series stainless steel, hard carbon steel and soft carbon steel with this Gemini Type 27 grinding wheel. With...

www.airgas.com

Only mentioned it because not all grinding wheels are the same grit. If you had a medium or 60-80 grit wheel on your machine it would take a long time. Good wheel on your 4 1/2 shouldn't take all that much longer than using a 9 inch. But a 9 inch would definitely be quicker.

 

[Firebrick43]

Yeah I figured closer was possible but I'm afraid of damaging the bucket.

Im trying to stay away from the garage because I don't want to wake the kids up.

Get a gouging tip, aka rivet washing tip.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Yeah I figured closer was possible but I'm afraid of damaging the bucket.

Im trying to stay away from the garage because I don't want to wake the kids up.

Don't even worry about damaging the bucket. Obviously keep checking and do your best not to, but even if you do it's no problem, just weld the damage up. Getting rid of material is difficult, but adding material is eaaasy.

Unless you're a complete imbecile, but if you were, you wouldn't be asking about it here...

 

[Smiles79]

Thank you all for the help! I might give a scarfing tip a try, one of my concerns with a normal tip was being able to get the flame to the base of the joint without having it angled towards the bucket. Who's got a good supplier for decent tips? I'm running oxypropane

 

[ArcIndWeld]

Thanks for the reply. I do have an extension and I'm aware of the fire risk, but I appreciate the reminder.

Maybe I'll look into a bigger grinder. The grinding wheel i was using didn't have a grit number on it. What would you recommend, brand wise?

Pferd robust grind CC imo. That being said I'd still use a scarfing tip to get it down tighter first.
Hypertherm makes a nice flush cut attachment as well if you had one of their plasma cutters.

 

[The Cobbler]

This thread reminds me of You Tuber IC WELD . he is amazing with a torch & welder & often does bucket repairs . probably worth the OP watching some of his videos .

 

[scooby074]

Big grinder or learn how to arc gouge if you got a welder that can do it. Arc gouging is generally how its done in industry. A guy good with the arc gouger can literally wash metal away like water, its quite impressive. Im not that good.

 

[86turbodsl]

Plasma or arc gouge as close as you dare, then finish off with grinder wheel. Best you're going to do. Be careful with the sparks. I set my whole yard on fire gouging a truck frame.

 

[speed bump]

I'll second the scarfing tip, not to hard to be close enough to finish grinding it out pretty quick. Don't be afraid of getting into the bucket on accident you need to weld it out anyway.

 

[welder4956]

I'll second the recommendation to use an angled scarfing tip. It would make quick work of getting the metal close enough to grind more easily.

 

[NUTTSGT]

On the positive side, any metal you take off by accident, can be put back with a welder.

 

[kctgb]

I bought a bucket that I need to modify for my loader by torching off the brackets and welding new ones on. I got as close as I felt comfortable with the torch to not damage the bucket (still learning), and am left with up to half an inch to grind off the rest of the way. I've been working at it with my 4.5" angle grinder and it's just taking forever. Is there a better way?

https://imgur.com/a/b6ZZveW

There is a special tip for cutting torches that allow you to cut close to the base metal. A scarfing tip is cheap compared to grinding that much material off. The scarfing tip is angled and flat on the bottom helping with cutting close to the base metal. They work well if you have a big gas supply.

 

[Old Man Roger]

A regular tip can do the job when the material is as thick as what you’re working with.
You can either cut aiming the tip horizontally while you move down one side, making the opposite side flush with the bucket, then cut down the other side removing what was left by the first cut, or in some cases you can cut aiming the tip laterally using the material as a ramp for the flame.

 

[Smiles79]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I got an angled tip on eBay, just haven't had a chance to use it yet

 

[Slowboat]

I used a cutoff disk to get closer to my bucket when I did the same. Thin cutoff removes a lot less metal than grinding down.

 

[Sumboodie]

Flush cut tip. Ive heard them called Weld erasers, scarf tip, rivet cutter, etc.

Like this:

American Torch Tip Part Number 1-112-3 (Rivet & Trim Victor) https://a.co/d/33wmGTc

 

[joe49]

dm me a phone number