Advice Please On Removing JD Quick Attach Pin

[wirlybird]

Hi all,
On the hay spear frame I have I need to replace one of the lower quick attach pins.
It is welded into a hole on the hay spear frame and the back side is accessible.
I don't have a torch available and it would probably make a mess anyways.
Grinding seems to be the best option but what to use?
I'm thinking about some kind of pointy grinding stone maybe to cut the weld?
As you can see in the picture with the arrow, the weld is pretty much flush with the plate.

Before I start cutting away at it I figured you guys may have some good suggestions.
Thanks.

Was able to get replacement pins at a reasonable cost.

 

[mcfarmall]

That's going to be a fun job.

 

[sea2summit]

Ooof. Know anyone with a mag drill?

 

[mrmikey]

That's going to be hard to do without a torch, not impossible but difficult and hard to get good results. Don't know how you're going to get the weld using only a grinder without grinding away too much of the main structure..........Mike

 

[jthibodeau89]

As Sea2Summit stated. Magdrill with annular cutter. Are you near Middle Tennessee?

What does front side look like? Chain of 3/16" holes and clean up with a burr and chamfer tool?

 

[k0ua]

Plasma?

 

[dodge man]

I’d haul it to a welder, he can get the old one out and the new one in. I’m sure you can grind the old one out but it looks like a *****.

 

[WranglerX]

I'm with "dodge man" on this one....

 

[wirlybird]

I’d haul it to a welder, he can get the old one out and the new one in. I’m sure you can grind the old one out but it looks like a *****.

That's the fun part! My local welder guy told me if I want to get the piece out of there it will save some cash! So, I thought why not give it a shot.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Likely will take an hour or two if he doesnt have a mag drill and cutters.

 

[hosspuller]

Sure it will save some cash ... maybe... depends on how neat of a job you do grinding it out. A torch can cut it out in 5 minutes, it'll take you several hours grinding it out. Grinding is complicated by the side frame blocking access.
Chose how you'll spend your time and money.

 

[hosspuller]

What FEL are you using this hay spear on ? Measure the current distance between the pins.for the welder. And Consider the orientation of the lynch pin hole. I had to cut these pins out of my Worksaver pallet forks because while they worked on a old loader, new loader with cast carrier required the lynch pins to be 45 degrees (10:30 o'clock) instead of 90 degrees (9:00)

 

[CADplans]

Grind as much weld as possible with a regular 4 1/2" angle grinder with a 1/4" disk.

Drill 1/8 inch holes around the diameter of the pin right through the center of the weld bead, that you can not easily grind.
That looks to be about 10 or so holes,,

You could drill the holes in less time than it would take to call the dozen weld shops that tell you they are accepting no new work.

Between grinding and drilling, then a few well placed swings with a BFH,,, the pin will pop right out.

AND, if you are not up to drilling, set the part on some saw horses,
get your welder, set at 160 amps or so, and grab some 3/32" 6011 welding rod.

Make sure there is nothing flammable under the saw horses,, and run the 3/32" rod over the old weld bead.
The welding rod will cut the old weld nicer than an oxy-acetylene torch would, in that confined space.
Much faster, too,,

Wear high top boots, the old weld will flow right out, and head for the ground at a RAPID pace,,
You might even consider placing an old piece of plywood between your feet, and where the molten steel will be falling.

You wonder how I know this will work??

I am positive this will work, considering the number of times I tried to place a vertical weld,
only to have it fall right down into my boot!!

 

[wirlybird]

What FEL are you using this hay spear on ? Measure the current distance between the pins.for the welder. And Consider the orientation of the lynch pin hole. I had to cut these pins out of my Worksaver pallet forks because while they worked on a old loader, new loader with cast carrier required the lynch pins to be 45 degrees (10:30 o'clock) instead of 90 degrees (9:00)

So the first thing is the hole the pin goes in needs to stay at the correct size so the pin is tight in the hole. It is only weld on the back side as it needs to be flush on the front. This is why a torch may not be a great choice.
I'm using a JD 300E loader with the quick attach bucket ... The pin on this side was cut off by the previous owner. I suspect to get it to fit a different setup.

 

[Smokeydog]

Get a good bimetal hole saw with the outside diameter of your replacement pin. A little smaller for a tight fit would be ok.

Make a holesaw guide. What ever 1/4” scrap steel plate or maybe 3/4” wood. Bore a hole to line up over your weld. This would be close to the edge to fit your frame. The guide is then clamped to your piece so your guide hole is directly inline with the old pin. I would probably grind the weld smooth so the guide block can be securely clamped to the piece. The guide block guides the holesaw so no centering drill is required.

Slow rpm, high pressure and lots of cutting oil are your friends. If your alignment is good the old pin should drop out once you have cut thru the weld. Once setup the cutting takes a few minutes. Leaves near OEM hole to weld your replacement pin in.

Used this method to drill holes in frames, enlarge worn holes and make slots. Some holes used long 1/2” extensions, universal joint and impact wrench to drive the holesaw in a hard to reach frame.

 

[jthibodeau89]

Smokeydog has the right idea. The pin will push out once the weld is cut. Should only have to drill no more than halfway through plate.

The flat front face is perfect for the mag drill to chase the original hole. You can bore slightly undersize and peel out the pin. A step drill from the back face may also work. But not much room to the side frame.

The 120R through 400 loader size has the clevis pin vertical. The 500 size holder is 45°. My 300cx holder have a collar flange around the pin hole that is notched for the clevis pin, so alignment is important. Check clevis pin hole alignment before finish welding the pin.

 

[wirlybird]

UPDATE:
I started out by carefully grinding with a small die grinder on the weld side to try to reveal, cutout the weld but this proved ineffective.
Next, I started to drill small hole around the circumference from the non-weld side. Once that is completed, I'll cut out the center mass of the pin.
My plan then is to work from the non-weld side and pry the remaining pieces away from the sides of the hole and the cut/break or grind them out of the hole.
The key is to preserve the hole size and shape so the new pin fits snug.

We'll see how this turns out!

 

[workinonit]

I'm a little confused as to why grinding the weld away failed. There should be plenty of room there to use a 6" or 4" grinder and get the weld out of the way. As far as cutting too much material away, you won't, mainly because those pins don't carry any pull out force unless you curl the spear into the ground.

 

[wirlybird]

I'm a little confused as to why grinding the weld away failed. There should be plenty of room there to use a 6" or 4" grinder and get the weld out of the way. As far as cutting too much material away, you won't, mainly because those pins don't carry any pull out force unless you curl the spear into the ground.

I ground on the weld all around the circumference of the pin more than an 1/8 inch deep and never started to get a separation of the pin from the weld. Never saw a "crack" form.
The "weld" end of the pin is beveled so you more weld inside the hole than on the flat surface and that means the weld penetrates about half the thickness of the plate.

The main thing is the weld is flush with the surface of the plate the pin is welded into. In order to grind the weld off you're going to make a sizable hole in the back side of the plate by grinding away a lot of the surrounding metal. This is something I'd rather not do.

I think by cutting out the center of the pin, drilling small holes as suggested, I can then break out the remaining edge pieces and then use a cylindrical grinding stone to clean out the hole until the new pin fits correctly.
I do appreciate all suggestions!

Here are the pictures again and one pointing to the bevel on the pin for welding.

 

[k0ua]

I am liking smokeydogs idea a lot.