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Opinions on using 1026 steel for bushings on backhoe bucket
QUESTION:I need to change the welded on bushings on my backhoe bucket.
It is uses a 2" pin. I am thinking of using 1026 steel (I have found
drop of 2"ID 3.5"OD). I would cut off the existing, align two new
bushings (machined to size as necessary) with the pin and backhoe arm
and weld them on.
I have never tried (deliberately) hardening anything. I have a propane
fired forge (for horseshoeing) so can heat them easily.
Questions:
i) is 1026 a good choice of steel? I likely will reuse the current pin
if it looks ok else I will use a piece of 2" 4140 hardened rod (also
easilier available to me) for a new pin.
ii) is it possible to harden 1026 steel? By heat alone or do I need
hardening powder?
The backhoe (Massey 80, 354 Perkins, 22,000 lbs, 30" bucket) is a pet,
not in commercial service anymore.
ANSWER: I have made tapered pins and bushings for my John Deere 510D backhoe out of
plain old 1018. I hit them with a dose of "Kasenit" (available at most
welding supply shops) and an oxyacetylene torch to put a hard case on them.
The tapered bushing inserts on the Deere I treated twice, to where they will
just turn away a file (the originals seemed to have a nearly "glass-hard"
bearing surface over a softer core). So far so good, my machine is also not
in commercial service, just used on the farm, but it routinely dugs 15'+
deep trenches and the like in rocky soil without any complaints or problems.
The thin Kasenit hard case will no doubt wear away faster than the original,
but it should last a long time at this level of abuse.
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