Put a tree limb through my grill (brand new L2501)

[D2Cat]

Now that you have the motivation and a welder maybe consider a spill guard for added protection. Take some ideas and modify to suit you.

https://www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com/new-kubota-spill-guard-kit

 

[Bmyers]

Oh I see. It appears that it is welded along the thin rim of the grill, which faces toward the bucket, is that correct? Or is it welded just on the inside of the grill rim plates? Also, it appears you have used 13 gauge metal here can you confirm? I need to figure out how to weld this, as the horizontal bars both at the top and in the middle are inset in such a way that you cant weld to them and to the outside rim. If I weld to the inside of the grill frame, I could tac weld the middle to the support beam, but then I will have to do something funny at the bottom. The easiest approach would be to just weld it to the rim, but then that leavs no other support except from the sides. No support in the top or bottom, and no support through the middle anywhere.

Once I get my tractor back, I will grab some close up shots of it all and post them. My specialty, is safety (I'm the director of safety and HR for our company) and was a paramedic for 16 years. So I would much rather get you pictures than lead you down the wrong path.

If i remember correctly, it is welded on the outside, spot welded in two or three spots across the factor bars and then a bar added on top and bottom. I don't know if you can see what I'm talking about with the attached picture or not.

 

[Tornado]

Once I get my tractor back, I will grab some close up shots of it all and post them. My specialty, is safety (I'm the director of safety and HR for our company) and was a paramedic for 16 years. So I would much rather get you pictures than lead you down the wrong path.

If i remember correctly, it is welded on the outside, spot welded in two or three spots across the factor bars and then a bar added on top and bottom. I don't know if you can see what I'm talking about with the attached picture or not.

I saved your picture and zoomed in really tight. It is welded to the rim for sure, and then to the top bar they added. You said you cut the bottom bar so Im assuming it has been removed and is not providing any support on the bottom. I also assume there is nothing welded in the middle. I may be ok to not have any support but on the edges. I know with 9 gauge metal it would be fine as it would be pretty rigid. 13 gauge though could flex and bend a little more I think, and I kinda wish I could support it in the middle. I really dont want to get into welding too many extra bars or anything given Ive never welded and dont want to jump in and ruin my my grill guard

 

[Tornado]

Now that you have the motivation and a welder maybe consider a spill guard for added protection. Take some ideas and modify to suit you.

https://www.specialtyrepairscustommods.com/new-kubota-spill-guard-kit

That looks nice D2cat thanks for the inspiration. Currently I am hardly using my bucket though, All my current work is done using a big root rake on the front. It has long curved teeth on the bottom that dig well and scoop up big logs. works well for pushing and stacking tree tops for burning. Its a bit large for my 2501 at 480 Lbs, but I love the thing.

 

[fj40dave]

Added some expanded metal to my stock grill guard right after I had the same stick event you describe.

 

[bird dogger]

Here's my $12 piece of expanded metal turned into a grill guard for my new B2650. Any local welding shop should have a scrap bin of cut off ends that can be had for a reasonable price. An easy afternoon project for anybody with a cutoff wheel and a small welder!

https://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40468&highlight=b2650+grill+guard

 

[Bmyers]

I saved your picture and zoomed in really tight. It is welded to the rim for sure, and then to the top bar they added. You said you cut the bottom bar so Im assuming it has been removed and is not providing any support on the bottom. I also assume there is nothing welded in the middle. I may be ok to not have any support but on the edges. I know with 9 gauge metal it would be fine as it would be pretty rigid. 13 gauge though could flex and bend a little more I think, and I kinda wish I could support it in the middle. I really dont want to get into welding too many extra bars or anything given Ive never welded and dont want to jump in and ruin my my grill guard

The bottom bar is still there, just not attached to the main grill frame, the expanded metal is holding it. When the guard is pushed forward, the bottom metal sticks out, when the guard is locked into place, the metal bar is flush across. Most probably wouldn't even notice that it isn't attached to the main guard.

 

[bird dogger]

Ive taken inspiration from the pictures shared on the forums here. Ive decided to buy a little 100amp flux wire welder and tackle the job myself. Ive been watching videos on welding basics, and what to expect from the little welder Im looking at. It should do the job nicely. It will be good to have a little welder around the place for future little jobs like this. I will try to take some pictures when done and post here. This will be my first time ever welding though, so I need to practice a little before I begin. I have done soldering with electronic boards and contacts before, but this is a whole different animal. Thankfully the job is fairly simple I feel. Just some basic tack welds.

Im only going with 13 gauge expanded metal, as that was all I could find here locally without ordering online. I think 9 gauge would be better but we will see how this goes for now.

Tornado, I'm betting that you'll do just fine and even impress yourself. There's some tips for you (as you're doing what I did) in my little write up in the link in the earlier post just above this one. I'd suggest that once you find the right position for your expanded metal on your framework that you start tacking it together in the middle of the most flat area and then clamp and work your way outward (side to side) around any curved areas. Those can be pulled down to the framework with an appropriate clamp. A cutoff wheel on a grinder can easily trim the expanded metal to the right width at each spot before welding for a precise fit. Pretty hard to screw up on that heavy duty grill guard framework and there's always the option to grind the weld off and redo if your not satisfied with the outcome. If you make a few practice welds on some scrap off of your expanded metal you'll be home fee once you get the settings correct on your welder. And you'll be surprised how stiff that lighter gauge expanded metal becomes once it's welded to the framework!!
Regards,
David

 

[D2Cat]

Here's a couple of pictures showing how I made mine. It's held in place with two J bolts I made and wrapped with hose. Remove two nuts and it comes off. I made it a bit taller then the frame of the guard for added protection, and is a couple of inches lower also.

There is an angle in the center, partly for support, but mostly because the punch metal was like 15" x 40" drops, and I got two of them. Needed to make them fit!

 

[Tornado]

thanks so much guys for the pictures. Ive studied them all for ideas. Also thanks for the encouragement. I picked up all the supplies tonight, along with several odd pieces of steel. Illl be getting up in the morning to do this project. I need to practice a little with the welder and get a feel for it, then remove the grill from the tractor, grind the paint off, cut and frame up the expanded metal, then clamp it and start welding. Once Im done and HOPEFULLY happy with what I've done, and it doesn't look like a 5 year old welded it on, I will repaint it all orange, then put it back on the tractor and take some pictures. If it loks terrible I may skip the pictures. Ultimately though, My goal is to get something in place to protect my investment, even if it looks terrible.

 

[dlundblad]

Speaking of goofs, I was unloading forks from a trailer when they got away from me and slammed into my grille guard. Thankfully it was the headboard/ SSQA plate and not the tines. Would have went through the radiator and into the fan.

I told the wife its too bad I didnt have a set of forks to safely unload said forks. I dont think she appreciated my humor as she was more mad than I. Lol.

Reminds me of the time I had to help the old guy who delivered my tractor. There the forks were on the trailer on a skid.. I told him it was too bad we didnt have forks to unload them as we were man handling the thing by hand.

 

[D2Cat]

Tornado, I would suggest you build your grill screen as a separate unit and then attach it to your tractor grill. It kind of make me cringe when you talk about grinding off the paint and start welding when you admit not having any welding experience. I'd just say, don't make your first project grinding off factory paint and starting there.

Only my opinion, no offense meant.

 

[Tornado]

Well I just read your reply D2cat and its too late lol. I did the job this morning. Turned out ok I think. Feels solid. will have to see how it holds up though. I only removed the paint on the thin outside rim to make the weld.

EDIT: Forgot to add, the main thing I dont like about this is it doesnt go down far enough, but I went as far as I could. When you swing the grill out to open the hood now, the expanded metal just barely hits the bottom portion of the grill guard that is stationary. I couldnt go another inch or it would have blocked the grill coming forward to open the hood. This leaves a little gap at the bottom as you can see in the photos. Straight on however the entire plastic grill area is covered.

 

[bird dogger]

Well I just read your reply D2cat and its too late lol. I did the job this morning. Turned out ok I think. Feels solid. will have to see how it holds up though. I only removed the paint on the thin outside rim to make the weld.

EDIT: Forgot to add, the main thing I dont like about this is it doesnt go down far enough, but I went as far as I could. When you swing the grill out to open the hood now, the expanded metal just barely hits the bottom portion of the grill guard that is stationary. I couldnt go another inch or it would have blocked the grill coming forward to open the hood. This leaves a little gap at the bottom as you can see in the photos. Straight on however the entire plastic grill area is covered.

Super job, Tornado!! That's impressive, to say the least. You might as well start a list right now of all the things you want to fabricate yourself!

Regarding the hinged opening restriction: Could you just trim off one or two diamonds each side in the expanded metal to allow the guard to drop down further as needed? I don't think you'd lose much strength or precious coverage in that lower area anyway.

 

[Tornado]

Super job, Tornado!! That's impressive, to say the least. You might as well start a list right now of all the things you want to fabricate yourself!

Regarding the hinged opening restriction: Could you just trim off one or two diamonds each side in the expanded metal to allow the guard to drop down further as needed? I don't think you'd lose much strength or precious coverage in that lower area anyway.

well I dont have to. It only just touches the expanded metal once it hits fully open. I measured it to know exactly where the lowest point was I could weld. It pushes just a tad on the metal when fully open. no biggie.Thanks

 

[Bmyers]

Very nice job!

 

[Captain Itch]

You did a very nice job ..

 

[D2Cat]

Yep, looks NICE, actually much better then my imagination had pictured. For the first time using a new machine, and a first time aiming the nozzle you did excellent. And, have a steady hand!

What welder did you end up buying?

 

[Tornado]

thanks for the positive words all, appreciate it. The welds are a little sloppy if you focus on them. I figured out a better approach as I was doing it. Initially I kept burning through the expanded metal. I was sitting on each point too long so I tried some different things and got much better results eventually. Once I finished the whole thing I took the angle grinder and went over all the welds with a flap disc, and it smoothed it all out and made it look a little better, then I painted it. Still any good welder would identify the welds as being pretty crappy if you focused on them.

The welder I used was the Hobart Handler 100 (See it here) its a little 100 amp welder. max weldable size is about 3/16" steel, some say they got away with 1/4" if they went slow. It was on sale at tractor supply for just 117.99. It worked really well. I did this job at power setting 2, with 4 being the max, so half power. For little jobs like this it works well. I also did the modification to one of my loader arms to prevent it from pulling apart on the loader pin while I was waiting on paint to dry on the grill. It done that job well as well. I dont plan to do a lot of welding, so it may hardly be touched, so I didnt want to spend a lot on a welder, just something that would get this job done.