[TheForge] fish plates? just how big are they?

[terry l. ridder]

hello

the mower deck is in good shape. paint missing and some caked on grass.
there are no dents nor bends.

the broken weld in on right front scalper wheel bracket. (as you are
looking at the tractor from the front.)

the bracket is a hollow cylinder welded to a trianglular piece of formed
metal. the hollow cylinder is 1/4 inch wall steel about 4 inches long.
the triangle formed metal piece is 3/16 to 1/4 inch steel.

ASCII art will not do any better explaining it. the best i can do
setting here in this &*%^$ wheelchair is imagine a 2 inch wooded dowel (
perhaps a broom handle ) held, straight up & down, at the corner of a
kitchen counter top.

I am trying to envision the shape of a fishplate that would be required.
it would require multiple curves for sure.

The dealer has attempted to talk me into a new tractor.
the new mower decks are drive over type and automatically engage the
mid-point PTO. He has also attempted to sell me a zero-turn mower.
zero-turn mowers pretty much require functional legs to climb into the
driver seat.

this broken weld was caused by the infamous "nobody".
nobody was driving the tractor far to fast when somehow the scalper
wheel bracket came into contact with an immovable object. I would assume
that "Nobody's" teeth would have been shaken.


On Wed, 21 Jun 2017, jerry Frost wrote:

> I was hoping someone else who knew how to do this would speak up. Glad for
> the input Jenifer. In the OP Terry expressed his in inexperience and doubt a
> repair would work. I felt a little moderate overkill wouldn't hurt and give
> him a little confidence. Like Dumbo's feather.
>
> My only difference with your experience is to mention how badly the deck is
> bent up effects how serious you have to get in the repair. But, yes an
> experienced welder wouldn't need more than a stop hole in the break's ends.
> Fish plating is for heavier repair or less skilled welders.
>
> I don't have a Tig welder so it's GMAW or stick, making my beads heavier but
> I have a needle scaler that does a wonderful job of stress relieving welds.
> Then I grind them smooth and flush.
>
> Terry: No, that's way too small. The fish plate is there to distribute
> stress and making a fish plate the size of or smaller than the weld bead
> will only make it worse. You have to add up all the beads around the tiny
> little fishplate you're thinking about.
>
> Do NOT put a fish plate on a mower deck smaller than a business card and
> that's pushing it.
>
> Frosty
>

-- 
terry l. ridder ><>