1980's Sears GT 16 Garden Tractor with loader

chad22 · Feb 20, 2014

I posted a thread on here awhile back on my Garden Tractor that I added a loader too.

I decided to post a new thread with some new pics of it.

The loader arms are factory I just made the side mounts to mount the arms too.

I used 2 tires and rims off a 1988 Buick Park avenue and they fit when installed backwards. Works great for me until I get some ag tires for it to put on the original rims.

Here's a few pics of where I moved the hydraulic tank from the back of the hitch and welded it to the side so I could use my hitch again.

That hitch came with it when my dad bought the tractor for me and my brother when I was 11. "I'm 25 now"

I was gonna put my 1/7/8's ball through the hole on the hitch but the shank was too big around. So I cut the shank off and decided to try my hand at welding the ball on.

Part of the weld is pretty and part of it isn't. But the ball isn't gonna come off.

I'm gonna use the cylinder that's sitting on the tank to make a three point hitch and add a receiver tube to it to make use of different size hitch balls.

I welded the ball to the 1/4" plate using 6011 rod and my 180 AMP lincoln tombstone welder set at 160 AMPS.

I'm currently in the process of restoring a little lawn trailer that was given to us with the tractor. I need to weld a new hitch to it and add some wheels and paint and it'll be good to go again.

View attachment 361794

Next project this summer hopefully will be a new loader bucket for it.

I've also now got the original gas tank that sits under the seat hooked back up so now I don't have that temp tank sitting by the engine.

Chad

notme · Feb 21, 2014

6011 rod at 160 amps?? u didn't mention what size rod your using but that sounds out too lunch. 1/8 should be around 90-100 tops every machine is a lil different but 160 sounds way hot! even for 5/32 which would be big for what you are doing

chad22 · Feb 21, 2014

notme said:
6011 rod at 160 amps?? u didn't mention what size rod your using but that sounds out too lunch. 1/8 should be around 90-100 tops every machine is a lil different but 160 sounds way hot! even for 5/32 which would be big for what you are doing

I'd have to check again. But I believe it was 1/8 rod. I too believe it was a bit on the hot side but it was my first time welding a ball. 100 AMPS just seems a bit cold to me on 1/4" plate and that ball. 130 AMPS would've probably been more than enough.

When I go over that bad looking weld I'm gonna turn the amps down to 130 to see if it welds a bit better.

Chad

notme · Feb 22, 2014

if u want prettier welds why not get some 7018ac yes there is a special 7018 for ac machines! and really 3/32 would be fine for what your using it for.. 6011 is a bit of an art to make nice looking welds, its also a high spatter rod.

franklin2 · Feb 23, 2014

notme said:
if u want prettier welds why not get some 7018ac yes there is a special 7018 for ac machines! and really 3/32 would be fine for what your using it for.. 6011 is a bit of an art to make nice looking welds, its also a high spatter rod.

Yes, 6011 makes a nasty looking weld, but it holds like crazy and you can weld through rust and paint. So when looks are secondary and getting a weld that will not break on a old piece of equipment is important, stick with the 6011 rods.

hdmyers · Feb 25, 2014

i run 6013 @ 110-120 on my idealarc 250... its great for dirty materials...fixing things without doing much prep or cleanup

adjust and weld however it works best for you....i'm a rank amateur at welding...but stick is friendly like that.

chad22 · Feb 25, 2014

The rods are indeed 1/8. I was welding a pin type hitch to my little garden tractor trailer that was given to us by the same guy my dad bought the Garden Tractor from and I had to turn the welder down to 100 amps to prevent burning through the metal.

It was a bit hard to keep the arc going at 100 amps but I got the hitch pieces to stick.

It might just be my welder or maybe it's just me.

But welding anything at 100 amps with 1/8 rod is hard to keep the arc going and would "for me at least" seem too cold welding a hitch ball on 1/4" plate.

It might hold using 100 amps. But if I was welding this ball on a hitch that was gonna see the highway pulling a trailer at highway speeds I'd want to weld it at a higher amperage than 100 amps to make sure the weld penetrated.

I think I'd rather be a little on the hot side vs on the cold side.
Chad

franklin2 · Mar 1, 2014

hdmyers said:
i run 6013 @ 110-120 on my idealarc 250... its great for dirty materials...fixing things without doing much prep or cleanup adjust and weld however it works best for you....i'm a rank amateur at welding...but stick is friendly like that.

I am not saying you do not have good luck with the 6013's, but they are a clean/new metal type rod with little penetrating qualities. If you ever get in a situation where you definitely need something to hold tight without breaking, try the 6011. You won't like how they burn, they do make a mess. But if I where welding on a trailer hitch or something critical like that, it's what I would use over the 6013. It also welds better in awkward positions without all the weld dripping off. I am a amateur welder myself, the few things I know I have learned the hard way.