The problem was this: The skid shoes of a longtime running mower conditioner were so worn out there were holes in them. Joel Ort, a top welder for Miller Electric Mfg., Appleton, Wis., had a simple fix.
He welded three plates of steel onto the old surface of the shoes. This method is less expensive than replacing those old shoes with new ones—each about $80. This fix costs about $10 in materials, plus time.
Ort welded ¼-inch steel plates to the old shoes. Pay special attention to step 4. By cutting the steel edges on an angle, he was able to put welds down onto the new steel that created a strong bond among the three pieces.
Click on the next page to see step by step how Joel Ort fixed the worn out skid shoes.
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Ort removed the old skid shoes from the mower conditioner. Next, he removed the mounting bracket. |
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He removed rust and ground down old welds to create an ideal welding surface. Notice the wear on the plate and the hole on the left side. |
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The three pieces of steel are clamped onto the old shoe. Since the shoe is curved, Joel measured the three pieces to best fit onto that curved surface. |
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To fit flat steel plates onto the curved surface and create a strong bond, Joel cut the plates on an angle. The angled cuts created a gap large enough to hold a strong weld. |
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The plates are welded onto the face of the shoe. All the welds were ground down to create a smooth, curved surface. The time for this fix was about an hour. |
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