Old girl needs some TLC..

[TJ-Bill]

So I bought an old splitter from a old fisherman about 8 years ago. I put some love into it, replacing the engine, pump, axle and new hoses and a sub frame so I could haul it behind the wheeler. Last year I put a Detent valve on it because with the 24" stroke I was wasting alot of time with the manual valve. Well that valve sucked, it was non-adjustable and ended up cracking the welds on my push plate because it would not kick off (worked fine for 6 months) I upgraded to a adjustable valve this year which was preset to 2500psi return, turns out that the factory default settings were way to high for my little beam. With only a 1/4" beam I'm looking to beef it up with another 1/4" plate but I'm wondering which way is the best way to go about it?..

The plate I'd like to ad is not flush with the old bent I beam but I figure it can't hurt!?. I was going to use so clamps and possibly drill a few large holes in the center to weld the new and the old together..

My ram is a Cast of some sort and I have a 5/8" mild steel to weld to it. I have an old stick I might tack everything with but I'm not sure I have the skills to weld something this thick. Maybe with 3 passes of my 5/32 6013? rods? but the cast parts through me off.

 

[al-k]

Wish i could help but i'm no welder.I like what your doing and I think it will help.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I would put a clevis and pin vs having the cylinder solid to the pusher. Going to end up breaking that, or bending the rod if there's any play on the beam to pusher connection.

7018 rod. Or ER70S6 wire is fine. I prefer MIG, but that's me have hundreds of hrs MIG welding, and not nearly as much stick or TIG, even though we have 3 or 4 sticker welders, 2 MIG and a TIG.

 

[muddstopper]

I would try to straighten out the flange on the old beam before welding anything on top of it. All those kinks are going to cause binding issues with your slide unless you run the slide very loose.

 

[TJ-Bill]

I would try to straighten out the flange on the old beam before welding anything on top of it. All those kinks are going to cause binding issues with your slide unless you run the slide very loose.

I've already taken a torch and heated and straightened the areas that were bent bad, not going to get it perfect, I think my slide will have to be somewhat loose in order to make up for the imperfect beam.

 

[dancan]

I'd just go to the scrap metal recycler or a good fab shop and buy a replacement beam.
Less man hours to rebuild than repair, why go through all that work and have a end result that will fail again.

 

[NSMaple1]

I would put a clevis and pin vs having the cylinder solid to the pusher. Going to end up breaking that, or bending the rod if there's any play on the beam to pusher connection.

Plus the forces at play, over time, when the ends of your rounds aren't perfectly square/parallel. Which is, like, usually almost always. With me at least.

 

[TJ-Bill]

I'd just go to the scrap metal recycler or a good fab shop and buy a replacement beam.
Less man hours to rebuild than repair, why go through all that work and have a end result that will fail again.

This splitter is atleast 20-30 years old if not older. the 8"x6"x5/8" piece I bought for the push plate was $30. I new beam is about $300 or more, plus it basically means completely rebuilding the splitter, stripping everything off and fabbing everything up again. I would much rather build new then rebuild this one but it's not in the cards right now. It's lasted this long with a 1/4" beam if I add another 1/4" it should last for another 20 years. I appreciate the comment but if you saw the complete machine you'd see what I mean. I don't mind spending some $$ to make it work and make it better but there's a line.