8B Backhoe On A 4200?

[mjncad]

Don't you just hate grinding welds Arrabil? I know I do.

 

[arrabil]

You know, I don't mind so much. Gives you a chance to see the inside of the weld and make sure you did a good job.

On that bracket I ground flat the first weld, ground a 1/4" groove in the middle of it, welded it again but in a wider circle motion, and ground it again. Both times I got to see that I made a deep penetrating, and continuous weld which is very important right there.

So the positive reinforcement of success was well worth getting metal dust all over myself.

That and my welds are generally so ugly I just have to grind them where people can see them. Haven't yet figured out the secret to making pretty welds.

 

[dcyrilc]

Haven't yet figured out the secret to making pretty welds.

Like anything...


........Loooooots of practice.:laughing:

 

[arrabil]

Well, in this case its also possible I need to switch from Flux-Core to MIG too.

 

[mjncad]

I get bored quickly because the grinding process isn't fast enough for me.

J-B Weld makes a good filler before painting or powder coating.

I've her regular MIG makes better looking welds than flux-core does; but I've never used flux-core.

 

[arrabil]

JB Weld, now there is something I don't like.

More progress....

I built the other side of the subframe. First picture is me measuring up the two sides. I figure the two sides should be level with the drawbar bracket. Gotta love the iPhone. I also measured from three points on the rear housing. This needs to be level; I don't want a backhoe that sits crooked.

You can see the tacked support from a number of angles. I drilled the holes this evening but it was too dark for pictures. I'll get some tomorrow while I'm installing it.

 

[arrabil]

On this side of the tractor there are hydraulic lines mounted to the holes I'm using. The mounting brackets luckily are the same width as the three washers I was already using to take up the slack of my bolts. On this side I welded the three washers to the inside to equal out the mountings. First I welded the washers together, then to the support.

And some more pictures of this side of the subframe.

 

[arrabil]

Some updates....

Here you can see my reinforcement of the support joint and the two holes I drilled.

One of these holes will need to be redrilled lower. The one bolt doesn't go on because it obstructed by the tractor rear case. I'll fix that when I go to paint.

And some pictures of the clearance under the tractor. Everything is above factory low points.

 

[arrabil]

And some more clearance pics....

 

[arrabil]

The bars are strong enough to lift the tractor. Thats a good sign! And the final clearance pics.

 

[arrabil]

Here you can see how I tacked the rear most plates. I'm going to remove them from the backhoe so I need them to stay positioned exactly like they are now.

I tried backing the tractor up to to them but I need to trim the plates I added and do more positioning. All for tomorrow.

 

[arrabil]

A couple pics of the swing chain.

And my temporary extension cord.

 

[arrabil]

So how high do you guys think this needs to be off the ground? The picture shows 9" but I can get 11". Should I be shooting for as much as possible? Factory installed on the 970 says its got 9.5". The front mount hitch is 7" off the ground for comparison.

EDIT: I could mount the rear hangers on top of the tractor supports. This would put the back of the hoe up 14". Ground clearance would still be 11" though. Does that sound like too much?

 

[dfkrug]

So how high do you guys think this needs to be off the ground? The picture shows 9" but I can get 11". Should I be shooting for as much as possible? Factory installed on the 970 says its got 9.5". The front mount hitch is 7" off the ground for comparison.

EDIT: I could mount the rear hangers on top of the tractor supports. This would put the back of the hoe up 14". Ground clearance would still be 11" though. Does that sound like too much?

As with anything else, there are trade-offs. Each hoe has different
outrigger geometries, so that has to be taken into account. If you mount
the hoe too low, you will have ground clearance (angle of departure)
problems. Too high and your outriggers will not get a good purchase on
soft or uneven ground. You do not want to lift your rear wheels way off
the ground, however. That's the realm of industrial TLBs.

With my hoe, the manufacturer recommends 12-14" ground clearance,
measured at the lowest point (boom pivot). I have had good experience
with a little less than 12". If your outriggers are really long, I would shoot
for 14".

Also remember that gound clearance at the axle can be quite a bit less
than ground clearance at the boom pivot. That's OK.

 

[hawkeye08]

Here you can see how I tacked the rear most plates. I'm going to remove them from the backhoe so I need them to stay positioned exactly like they are now.

I tried backing the tractor up to to them but I need to trim the plates I added and do more positioning. All for tomorrow.

Nice progress! It appears that you may be welding some galvanized material there (at least the off gassing reminds me of it)... Please be careful of the fumes if you are welding galvanized.:thumbsup:

 

[arrabil]

Please be careful of the fumes if you are welding galvanized.

Good advice. I'm doing something nearly as stupid.... welding painted metal. There was a stiff wind yesterday.

Pics coming...

 

[arrabil]

So here is the backhoe lined up to the rear supports. It meets up a little too perfectly. More luck than precision there.

And how the hoe will appear mounted to the tractor. There will be very little variance from what it looks like here.

 

[arrabil]

Some pics of the rear most part of the subframe. Attaching this is going to be an exercise.

 

[dcyrilc]

A couple pics of the swing chain.

And my temporary extension cord.

That swing chain is certainly different. Never seen that kind of a setup before.

As for your extension cord, Ummm............

 

[arrabil]

Also remember that gound clearance at the axle can be quite a bit less
than ground clearance at the boom pivot.

With the mounting pics shown here its 9.5" at the bottom of the drawbar, 11" at the bottom of the subframe, and 14" at the bottom of the backhoe. What do you think?

I spaced it a little further away from the tractor than I had originally intended because of what you said about the tires... and that got me thinking about the chains. You think its close enough or am I going to have to remove it for snow blowing with chains? I could bring it in another inch or two if I sacrifice not being able to have it on with chains.