Adding expanded metal to grapple.

[Nicfin36]

Looks good Tornado. Looks professional to my eyes. What really matters is function anyway.

I cut a piece out of my big sheet today and went no further. I need to take off the grill and go from there.

I have .030 wire in my welder and figure that perhaps I should use .024 wire?

Regardless, I probably need to practice on a piece just to see how it goes for me. I tend to be slow at starting and finishing projects.

 

[bird dogger]

Nicfin36, you're almost done! Just getting started is most of the job.
Next thing you know....you'll be done and wondering where that "Easy Button" is that you can now push.

Yup, practice for a few minutes on some scrap metal and the cutoffs of your expanded metal. It won't take long. One pointer: When on your grill....start your arc on the grill framework and run the weld bead onto the expanded metal edges. Less chance of melting the expanded metal with too much heat to the point where it melts away from the guards framework leaving a gap.

When I removed my grill guard to do the same, the bottom parts of the bracket sprung inward. I used a piece of ready rod through the mounting holes (with nuts and washers to the inside) to spread the mounting brackets apart again to the point of being just wider than the tractor frame. If not done it would've been hard to spread the brackets after welding to remount the guard. You might not have that issue, but just something to watch out for and be aware of.

Here's a link to my short write up and pics:
https://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40468&highlight=grille+guard

Looking forward to seeing your pics tomorrow night of your finished product!

Regards,
david

 

[D2Cat]

What Bird Dogger explained here is critical. "One pointer: When on your grill....start your arc on the grill framework and run the weld bead onto the expanded metal edges. Less chance of melting the expanded metal with too much heat to the point where it melts away from the guards framework leaving a gap.

Start on the heavier of the two metals and then move to the lighter and quit quickly. That would be the thing to practice before the project!

 

[Tornado]

Looks good Tornado. Looks professional to my eyes. What really matters is function anyway.

I cut a piece out of my big sheet today and went no further. I need to take off the grill and go from there.

I have .030 wire in my welder and figure that perhaps I should use .024 wire?

Regardless, I probably need to practice on a piece just to see how it goes for me. I tend to be slow at starting and finishing projects.

Thanks for the kind words. I used .030 flux cored wire for mine and it worked just fine. If you are new to welding like I was, I would cut a piece of the expanded metal off to practice with for a little bit. As D2cat says the main thing to watch for is burning through the expanded metal and melting it back so there is a gap. It wont take but a second to make that error if you are too strong on weld. The weld works really fast on something like this, just a quick pop on the welder and its almost done.

You will 100% have to remove the front grill for this job. Getting the front grill back on was the biggest challenge for me, with the latch and washers and such. Its too hard to explain in text but just know it may be aggravating.
One last thing to be mindful of is on the bottom of the grill guard, you have to leave enough room for the grill to swing out (I think you have a 2501 as I do) when you pull the latch. So make sure you mark this before you remove it from the tractor. If you go too far, then when you go to slide the grill forward to pop the hood of the tractor you will hit the expanded metal and be forced to cut it. This will leave a little gap at the bottm where a stick could potentially find its way up. Look at my pictures closely and u can see this gap at the bottom. You could weld another piece on the back side of the grill guard frame if you wanted to be extra safe but I didnt bother - I find the coverage I have with what I have done to be sufficient.

If you already have the metal cut to size, then you're not but 1-2 hours form completion of this project, including painting - and that's if you take your time. Good luck! Share some pictures when you finish!

 

[NHSleddog]

Several people complained about the guard geometry changing after welding making it hard to remount.

To keep the guard's mount geometry correct, measure the with of the guard at the frame and cut a piece of 2x4 or something to maintain the spread.

If you just take it off and weld it, chances are it will close up some making it harder to remount.

I used a 2x6 cut to 8-5/8" for the spread on my B2650.

 

[Nicfin36]

Tornado,

I went ahead and bought some .024 wire since it was on sale at Tractor Supply here. I doubt I will know the difference with my limited experience.

Thanks for the advice everyone. It probably would not have occurred to me that the guard's width might be a problem. So, I now took that into account as I prepare to add the expanded metal.

NHSleddog,

Great minds must think alike. That is exactly what I did. I cut a board to just fit inside the guard. I will leave it in until I am done welding.

I am going to do the bottom portion too, in a separate section, leaving a gap. So, I have both pieces off.

The only thing I really need to do is practice some welds, grind off the paint, clamp properly and weld.

I'm slow, plus I have other things going on, but I'm getting there bit by bit.

Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Nicfin36]

I got everything welded up yesterday. I was also able to get some primer on it before dark. Everything went OK. I had one hiccup. I thought I had my welder dialed in. I hammer tested the grill and had some spots start to pop loose. So, I had to increase my voltage. I pretty much had it all welded. Looked good, but weak welds. So, I went back and essentially put a bead down the length of each side. Not the prettiest, but it should not be coming off. I also did the bottom section, which went fine since my welder voltage was correct at that point. It has rained her a little today and I was not going to paint it, but figured I would go ahead as it was not that humid.

So, I just need to let it dry well and hopefully I'll be able to get it on and call it done.

Thanks for the help.

 

[old and tired]

Good job, that should hold...

 

[Tornado]

Looks good!

My mistake was not using primer before I painted it. I just went straight on with the paint. Where the grill has now been dinged, it tends to scratch the paint off a little, but the expanded metal and the welds have all held up really good. Gives me a lot more peace of mind when I push into a big pile of tree tops.

 

[Nicfin36]

I went a bit overboard perhaps. I cleaned the expanded metal with a twisted wire brush attachment on my grinder once I was done. I washed it and used a scrub brush to remove all the oil on the metal, toweled it off and used a hair dryer on it. I primed it that day and then painted it the second. I taped off all the parts that did not need paint. Unfortunately, the primer got through somehow in several areas, but I was able to get it off with some ethyl alcohol I had.

I initially took off the top part of the grill and then the bottom, but then put them back together and welded on the expanded metal while they were joined. I was able to grind the paint off each while they were connected. If I had been aware I was gonna do that, I would have ground the paint off when I had them apart. I just had to be careful at the weld sections that were close to one another though. You can probably see my piece of wood in the guard. I had to cut it out with a sawzall because I could not get it out later. I didn't have any problems with the guard contracting. I wished I had my welder voltage set right initially, but it is all done now.

 

[bird dogger]

Nicfin36, it's looking like you came through your first project with flying colors (Kubota Orange) and a terrific looking grill guard! Very Nice!!

But you might as well go out and buy a loose leaf binder right away. You'll be filling it up shortly with notes of all the future projects about to begin.
Your welder will pay for itself in no time!! Find some scraps (thick and thin) to practice on. Soon you'll be sayin' Hey, I can fix that. I'm gonna mod this thing. A little Fab work here and this will work great!.....it just doesn't end.

Regards,
david

 

[Nicfin36]

Bird Dogger, and everyone else, thanks for the kind words and inspiration.

I have done a wee bit of welding before, but the problem was my machine. I bought a used Miller 120v welder years ago. Millermatic 140 model I believe. It was pretty much junk. I never could get it to feed right or weld right. So, I did very little with it over the years.

Late last summer, I finally got a new one and splurged on a Hobart 210MVP and wired up a 240 volt outlet. The welder has already paid for itself. As soon as I bought it, several of the welds on my old Husqvarna riding mower deck started to fail. It saved me from having to buy another mower late last mowing season. I had to use it on the mower again about two weeks ago scabbing a piece of metal on the broken frame. It has been money well spent. Some of my welds at times are decent, others are not. Inexperience is what it is of course. But, I can usually get something to hold, it just isn't always pretty.

Thankfully my pics don't show how bad my welds are. Plus, paint helps.