Straightening Skid Shoe bracket with heat?

[Threepoint]

While plowing snow with my new Woods HBL84-2 rear blade, I backed into a frozen timber retaining wall hidden in a friend's snowbank and bent the bracket on my right hand skid shoe. Pics attached. You can see the skid shoe post is roughly 30 degrees out of position, relative to the left hand shoe in the background. The deformation seems only to be in the steel at the very top of the bracket, between the post receiver and the point where the bracket turns down to attach to the moldboard. The material is 1/2" steel plate, four inches wide.

My Plan A is to remove the post and shoe so they don't act as a heat sink, apply heat to the top of the bracket while still attached to the moldboard, then use a long 1" diameter bar in the post receiver as a lever to bend the bracket back into position. Question is, what torch tip should I use to get the most heat on the steel, given the modest equipment that I have. My oxy-acetylene set is a Harris. I do not have a rosebud, and would like to avoid spending the $60 to $85 for one that will work on my torch, especially since I only have a B cylinder (40 cf) for acet and would (I think) be pushing the safety limit even with the smallest rosebud Harris makes.

My largest welding tip is a Harris No. 10. My largest tip for my cutting torch is a Harris No. 6290-2. Do you think either of these tips will apply enough heat? Of the two, which would be better for this application? A gent at my local welding supply said yesterday that he thinks the No. 10 welding tip would probably work best, but wasn't certain. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Shield Arc]

I wouldn't be surprised that you won't need any heat. With a long enough bar, it just might bend up cold.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I would take it off, just to make it easier to work on and not to ruin the paint on your blade. Put it in a good vice, put some heat to it (make it red) and it should come straight easily. Let it mostly cool, wire brush it and give it a shot of black enamel, while still warm. Like new!

 

[Xfaxman]

It was cold when it bent, so I would remove it and straighten it cold.

Might be a reason to get a hydraulic press. It is one of my most used tools.

 

[Fallon]

The brackets I got for my blade weren't the right ones & ended up looking like that from day 1. They work fine being 10 degrees off from each other & I'm lazy.

 

[tcreeley]

3 lb hammer over an anvil will take the end out. Just dont hold the bracket in your hand when you hammer on it. Hold it with a tool. Also a sledge and flat on the ground would take out the bend.

 

[Xfaxman]

I have also straightened stuff cold with a bottle jack and a chain.

 

[Big Barn]

It was cold when it bent, so I would remove it and straighten it cold. Might be a reason to get a hydraulic press. It is one of my most used tools. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/welding/417283-straightening-skid-shoe-bracket-heat-p4130001c-jpg"/>

I built my press about 30 years ago. Without a doubt I don't know how I would have ever done without it on the farm.
Now that I'm retired, I finally got around to redesigning the motor mount, installing dual groove drive pulleys and wiring in a 'proper' switch. (LOL)

Currently researching punch and die tooling and holders to increase the versatility of the press. Not having ever worked in a true shop environment (sheltered life) or used an iron worker its a bit overwhelming.



Terry

 

[sixdogs]

Bend it cold with a long bar but it will likely bend again.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I would definitely remove the bracket. With that little B tank you are going to want to heat that up as fast as possible. You don't want any extra heat sinks on there stealing heat. Any tip capable of making that glow cherry red will be drawing a good amount of acetylene. With a 40 cf tank you want to get the job done before you draw 4 to 6 cf if you heed the 1/7 or 1/10 cf per hour rule. Which you should.

Look in your manual. The tip that draws the most cf per hour acetylene will be the hottest. Figure how much time you have before you draw the 4 to 6 cf from that tip data.