02-08-2011, 06:06 PM
(This post was last modified: 28-09-2011, 08:48 AM by AlanBeckett.)
At the weekend my best Spear and Jackson Lawn Edger broke while I was laying slabs in the garden. What happened was that the blade pulled out of the shaft. The method of attachment appeared to be that a plastic plug was inserted into the end of the hollow shaft and the tang of the blade was then forced into that. Over the years there's been some corrosion and no doubt the plastic has deteriorated. Suffice it to say that although it was possible to bang the blade back in it wasn't going to survive. So a repair was called for.
A 'fast and dirty' repair was attempted first. That involved squashing the end of the tube round the tang and putting in a few tack welds. It wasn't very satisfactory 'cause the tube wall is only 1/16" and the support was insufficient.
So, it was necessary to do the job properly, which in essence meant reproducing the original method but in steel.
So, proceed as follows:-
Turn down a piece of steel to the I/D of the tube - I wanted a shoulder to butt up to.
Saw it off to a reasonable length.
Round off the end to a nice curve.
Drill it out to be a good tight fit on the tang and countersink the end.
Hammer it all together.
Weld it up, fettle it and paint with Smooth Hammerite.
Stand it up to dry.
It's back as good as new, just a bit shorter. It should see me out
Alan
A 'fast and dirty' repair was attempted first. That involved squashing the end of the tube round the tang and putting in a few tack welds. It wasn't very satisfactory 'cause the tube wall is only 1/16" and the support was insufficient.
So, it was necessary to do the job properly, which in essence meant reproducing the original method but in steel.
So, proceed as follows:-
Turn down a piece of steel to the I/D of the tube - I wanted a shoulder to butt up to.
Saw it off to a reasonable length.
Round off the end to a nice curve.
Drill it out to be a good tight fit on the tang and countersink the end.
Hammer it all together.
Weld it up, fettle it and paint with Smooth Hammerite.
Stand it up to dry.
It's back as good as new, just a bit shorter. It should see me out
Alan
