# Bent A frame



## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

Does anyone have the ability to straiten a bent A frame on an 8611 ? I'm in Naperville IL, thanks!


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

Nobody ? any ideas?


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

i might know a guy that can help. how fare gone is it?


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

about an inch, not super bad but at full angle the passenger side does not scrape well at all


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## TJS (Oct 22, 2003)

The problem with heating the steel and getting it back into shape may create a weak spot. There are a couple of ways of doing this. Bend it back using heat and then "fish" plate the area on both sides. Or, cut out the bent part and weld in a new piece and then "fish" plate it. I have done other frames before both ways depending on the severity of the damage. See my Old School Diamond conversion post.http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=64257. I am sure others cringe about cutting/heating/welding an A-Frame but if done correctly and with the right equipment it will be as strong as the original.
T.J.


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

Wow I looked at that thread, your very handy in the shop


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

well, or if your like me , you have a friend with a multi millon dallr steel shop.... you nam eit , water jets , cnc mills, cnc plasmacutter table.... that will burn threw like 2 inch plate.... im sure he has like a 50 ton press laying around....


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

elite1msmith;594819 said:


> well, or if your like me , you have a friend with a multi millon dallr steel shop.... you nam eit , water jets , cnc mills, cnc plasmacutter table.... that will burn threw like 2 inch plate.... im sure he has like a 50 ton press laying around....


I'm not really sure how this helps me?


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

Me either. Maybe go to a local welding shop, if they can't fix it, thay might know who can. We have straightened many A frames ourselves but it takes alot of time and know how. We don't have a large press, so we just use our biggest tractor to jack off.


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## ServiceOnSite (Nov 23, 2006)

worst case can you buy just the a frame??


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

Vaughn Schultz;595593 said:


> I'm not really sure how this helps me?


well his shop is in lombard, i will give him a call, normally i go down there on sat or sundays, to work on stuff, fabrication or what ever is need to get ready for snow season, he even can build pushers for cheap -


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

elite1msmith;596165 said:


> well his shop is in lombard, i will give him a call, normally i go down there on sat or sundays, to work on stuff, fabrication or what ever is need to get ready for snow season, he even can build pushers for cheap -


ahhhhhhh, sweet deal. I'm going to take it apart and see how bad it actually looks and ill let you know or post a picture.


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

ServiceOnSite;596156 said:


> worst case can you buy just the a frame??


I can, its like 800 bucks or something


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## 6.5LTDFisher (Dec 13, 2007)

When you heat it and bend it back soak it in oil it will harden back up


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## Vaughn Schultz (Nov 18, 2004)

6.5LTDFisher;596310 said:


> When you heat it and bend it back soak it in oil it will harden back up


What? I have never heard of this process. I have never heard of alot of things so can you explain this please?


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

you can also heat it up bend it , and dip it in a hardening compond to retain its strenght. I had to buy an A frame for my western , surprisingly it was only like 200 bucks.... i could have fixed mine, but for 200 wasnt worth my time


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## T-MAN (Jan 9, 2001)

elite1msmith;596338 said:


> you can also heat it up bend it , and dip it in a hardening compond to retain its strenght. I had to buy an A frame for my western , surprisingly it was only like 200 bucks.... i could have fixed mine, but for 200 wasnt worth my time


Ha Ha , take a look at a Western a-frame compared to a blizzard. 95% of the plows out there look like toys next to the Blizzard stuff. The a-frame on a uni is made out of used bed frames 
Hell the FFC skid plow I got is built lighter then my pre-DD blizzards


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

6.5LTDFisher;596310 said:


> When you heat it and bend it back soak it in oil it will harden back up


Suspect at best, while that is how they make springs, etc, it is a very complacated formula to achive proper hardness. Not only is the metal heated but often so is the oil, the tempature and type of critical. Then they are cooled over a pre-determined period of time depending on the level of hardness required.

What you are going to acceive is more likey to be Diffusion hardening where the surface hardens while the center core stays soft.



t-man said:


> Hell the FFC skid plow I got is built lighter then my pre-DD blizzards


glad you quailified Pre-DD


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## SnoFarmer (Oct 15, 2004)

elite1msmith;596338 said:


> you can also heat it up bend it , and dip it in a hardening compond to retain its strenght. I had to buy an A frame for my western , surprisingly it was only like 200 bucks.... i could have fixed mine, but for 200 wasnt worth my time


What is hardening compound?

Steels hardness is directly related to the amount of molybdenum add to the steel when it was made.

Putting a compound on the steel will not make it harder.
we use a pudy when welding on truck bodies it absorbed heat. This stops the panel from distorting from the heat.

By heating it up and bending it back then quenching the steel you just will be making it brittle.


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## tls22 (Sep 30, 2007)

basher;597384 said:


> Suspect at best, while that is how they make springs, etc, it is a very complacated formula to achive proper hardness. Not only is the metal heated but often so is the oil, the tempature and type of critical. Then they are cooled over a pre-determined period of time depending on the level of hardness required.
> 
> What you are going to acceive is more likey to be Diffusion hardening where the surface hardens while the center core stays soft.


 Basher i always wonder about this process, so u weaken the a frame by heating and bending it? It looses its ridgity?:waving:


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

tls22;597450 said:


> Basher i always wonder about this process, so u weaken the a frame by heating and bending it? It looses its ridgity?:waving:


It's "softens it"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_treatment


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

SnoFarmer;597425 said:


> What is hardening compound?
> 
> Steels hardness is directly related to the amount of molybdenum add to the steel when it was made.
> 
> ...


maybe someone could clearify it for me,

i was makeing a few speciail tools a few years back, i was told after you heat it,... till its red hot, you dip it in this compaond, that they refured to as hardening compond.....

it looked almost like dark metal shavings, plus lead? im really not too sure, i didnt ask much about it, but i was told it helped the metal keep its strenght? it was not for the purpose of cooling the metal -

just what i was ordered to due -


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## tom_mccauley (Dec 10, 2007)

JD Dave;595609 said:


> Me either. Maybe go to a local welding shop, if they can't fix it, thay might know who can. We have straightened many A frames ourselves but it takes alot of time and know how. _We don't have a large press, so we just use our biggest tractor to jack off._


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

elite1msmith;597748 said:


> maybe someone could clearify it for me,
> 
> i was makeing a few speciail tools a few years back, i was told after you heat it,... till its red hot, you dip it in this compaond, that they refured to as hardening compond.....
> 
> ...


When you are making knifes. Lead has been the "quench" of choice for making knifes and chisels for centuries. The concept is to create a hard outer layer to hold an edge while leaving the interior soft enough not to shatter under impact.


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

basher;597759 said:


> When you are making knifes. Lead has been the "quench" of choice for making knifes and chisels for centuries. The concept is to create a hard outer layer to hold an edge while leaving the interior soft enough not to shatter under impact.


awwww, well thats a good possiblity in what i was doing, but i wasnt makign any type of knife... more like a special wrench... sometimes your not always allowed to ask lost of questions, you just get a spec, and a print, ....


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## adksnowo (Dec 14, 2005)

JD Dave;595609 said:


> Me either. Maybe go to a local welding shop, if they can't fix it, thay might know who can. We have straightened many A frames ourselves but it takes alot of time and know how. We don't have a large press, so we just use our biggest tractor to jack off.


I use my tractor to jack-off all the time!


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

elite1msmith;597760 said:


> awwww, well thats a good possiblity in what i was doing, but i wasnt makign any type of knife... more like a special wrench... sometimes your not always allowed to ask lost of questions, you just get a spec, and a print, ....


I can see a wrench. Once again you need to create a hard outer layer, with a soft chewy middle, kind of like an M&M.

But the quenching method doesn't "re-harden" steel as would be necessary in the A-frame scenario


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