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Ballast Basket made from rebar

15K views 54 replies 17 participants last post by  LeftyRighty 
#1 ·
Well I been slowly building a ballast box/basket for my 1025R with discarded rebar I bring home from the jobsite. I will be slapping together a brush fork and rippers later but first I need some ballast. Started Sunday cutting some up for the frame


Really slow with the saw I got ( I plan on getting a band saw or something more committed to cutting steel)



Went through some abrasive blades, but got the frame cut, and started grinding and welding yesterday. Rebar has raised ribs on it, so for the points of connection, I ground those down and filled in the gaps with the welder. Got part of it welded and went in for dinner.
I still need to finish the frame and then get it mounted, then weld on smaller sticks to the bottom and sides.

I AM NOT A VERY GOOD WELDER!
I haven’t touched a welder in 10 years so go ahead and laugh. It’s ugly but it’ll hold



I’ll make some headway this weekend. This is all being done in my spare time, but I have a lot to tackle with this little guy and I want to have ballast before I grenade my front end.




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#2 ·
When you make the things you need it is more satisfying than just buying something. And the way "One Size Fits All" has taken over, making it yourself will meet your needs better.

Oh, your welding is way better than mine.
 
#3 ·
Looks good so far. I love to tinker in my shop and build stuff too. Sometimes I probably spend a lot more time and maybe more money doing it myself instead of just buying it, but I get a lot of satisfaction building it with my own hands.
 
#4 ·
I give out crappy advice and tell even crappier jokes but I can build a crate. I think...Thanks guys



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#6 ·
So I got the frame kinda done.



I had to Macguyver the crap out of it to get the corners to line up and weld.



Looks too damn big! I wanted a good sized tote for tools and other crap. It’s 36x21x28. It’s already really heavy and now I can weld the cross sections while on the machine.



Still have to attach the lower bar. It’s just sitting in the imatch. This was intentional though and now I can weld it in the proper position. Hope it’s not too big. Go big or go home I guess




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#9 ·
Still have to attach the lower bar. It’s just sitting in the imatch. This was intentional though and now I can weld it in the proper position.
Good idea. :thumbup1gif:
 
#7 ·
Nice, props on the repurposing. Go big or go home, is right!

So what ya gonna fill it with?
 

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#8 ·
I figure after I weld some more bar on the bottom and sides, it’ll be around 350. I will still have plenty more to put in the bottom and have room for tools and what not. I don’t want to go to far over the 600 mark per the recommendations with fluid filled tires.
 
#16 ·
I'd recommend that you put the lifting pins lower down. It'll complicate your build a little bit but it'll also keep your ballast from bottoming out on inclines or going up ramps or going through a ditch etc.
 
#17 ·
They’re as far down as I dare. Top hook of imatch clears it by about an inch when bottomed out and hooking it on and off. I don’t like it that low riding either but that’s what I got to work with. I’m up for more advice if you see
something I don’t






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#18 · (Edited)
Clears the ground about 14”



Only option I can see to get more clearance is putting it on bocks...and to me that’s lame.


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#19 ·
Put a pair of bars 4-6" further down than the one's you have now, then you have two height options.
 
#20 ·
That’s a great idea.


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#21 · (Edited)
...is your rebar type W ? ....should be roll marked into it

point is rebar in most cases is not ment to be welded structurally due to varying carbon contents and welds can be brittle

you might do some research into what you have ...it should have a roll mark on it somewhere that can be decoded

you mention in your OP that your welds were not pretty ...that could be due to the high carbon content of the rebar and not your welding skills
 
#22 · (Edited)
Frame . 11 bar. C11S80. This is sheer wall footing reinforcement




Bottom material 9 bar. C9WS60. Column and wall bar



And I have smaller stuff for the sides. 4 bar. C4S60. Used for lower psi walls and footings.



What does the W pertain to? I’m not a concrete guy. I just dig foundations for them and do site work and utilities. I read somewhere that some rebar isn’t meant to be welded so I figured least I could use it for ballast.



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#23 ·
Yup. Looked it up. Frame is high carbon...welds didn’t penetrate as much as I wanted so I beefed them up. Blamed it on my cheesy welder. Should be fine for ballast but now I’m going to rethink brush forks or anything else for ground engaging


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#30 · (Edited)
its been years since i was up on rebar.....pretty sure "w" is easily weldable....the others are weldable but usually require pre-heating and special rods......i do remember the welds do fine but the metal crystalizes where the welds attach to the base metals due to the high carbon content...

glad you looked it up and are comfortable looks great :bigthumb:
 
#24 ·
Cut and welded the floor out of 9 bar. It’s pretty heavy now and I need to use the tractor to maneuver it. Then I took a break and thought I’d give it a whirl and put it to work for an hr. It does feel considerably more stable and sure footed. Gotta still put the sides on, but it feels better and the welds are fine.




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#25 ·
Hope your property is flat. Any uphill and your ballast basket is going to be dragging a&&. May want to re weld your 3 point connection points a little lower to gain some height.
 
#26 ·
I plan on putting a couple extra lower bars for higher carry height when needed thanks to a fellow Washingtonian's insight. My property is pretty level though. It seems to have plenty of clearance at 14" but I'm going to implement the extra bars just cuz ya never know.
 
#27 ·
Just make the whole thing out if rebar, and you won't have to fill it. Worlds biggest 3pt hitch tool box
 
#29 ·
#33 ·
Is that what they go for? Jeez. You guys really do know how to get people to spend money. [emoji857]


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#31 ·
Got some of the sides done and ran out of wire[emoji53]. Didn’t feel like going to Blowes for more so I threw everything but the kitchen sink in it, and sallied forth to do some loader work



Held up just fine and plenty of clearance Clarence. Really does a good job countering the bucket loads and felt like it’s giving the front axle the break it needs. Now I gotta get a scale to figure out how much it weighs and adjust from there. I still plan on putting more bar up the sides, and mount a shovel tube and some hooks for cables and chains. Gotta get some log tongs too


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#36 ·
Got some of the sides done and ran out of wire[emoji53]. Didn’t feel like going to Blowes for more so I threw everything but the kitchen sink in it, and sallied forth to do some loader work



Held up just fine and plenty of clearance Clarence. Really does a good job countering the bucket loads and felt like it’s giving the front axle the break it needs. Now I gotta get a scale to figure out how much it weighs and adjust from there. I still plan on putting more bar up the sides, and mount a shovel tube and some hooks for cables and chains. Gotta get some log tongs too


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You really should visit Central Welding. Their house brand wire is pretty good and less costly if I remember correctly.

This is my favorite wire: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003XKHCDW

Delivered straight to my porch...it's hard to beat.
 
#34 · (Edited)
Got my eye on some 1” thick steel in beds the steel guys are going to scrap. They are letting me take whatever they don’t use but they are not finished till July. Those cores are from holes drilled into concrete walls and floors for pipes. They just throw them in the dirt and I was lucky enough to spot a couple before they got lost in the dirt. Test cylinders go straight to the lab and get load tested and thrown away. I could bring 3 or 4 5 gal buckets and have them filled with concrete. They throw away a couple tons of that stuff daily as excess and just pump it into eco pans. Wonder how much 5 gallons of concrete weighs


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#38 ·
Wow that’s a good deal! There’s a central in Woodinville on my way home from work. I’ll have to stop by and check it out. Thanks. I need a big spool. Got a lot of welding left to do. My wife has a Prime account and I can have her order some if need be. They deliver to her office and she brings it home. My address isn’t even on the map yet lol.


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#42 · (Edited)
So I don’t have a fancy crane scale, but I cut some of the stock I used to build it into 1 ft. Sections and weighed it out on a bathroom scale, and did some measurements. If I did it right, so far, the crate weighs 375#. That includes the 10# of welding wire I already put on it.
Not much progress on the sides. I did add another 9 bar lift, and am not entirely happy with the smaller 4 bar going on. It’s not as “beefy” as the larger bar, and I want to hang stuff on it, so, I’m probably going to finish it with 9 bar or similar. And I’m only going to run the sides halfway up, so I can reach in there easier. Got some plate steel, and scrap bar to put on the bottom when done, and have room to pile in chains and other crap. My new neighbor has been keenly watching my yard clean up and offered to take any maple or alder off my hands if it’s not rotten, even let me borrow a set of tongs till I get my own. I don’t burn wood anymore, so have at it. Less I gotta dispose of.

Machine Toolroom Metal Steel
 
#43 ·
So I need more 9 bar for the sides, but I got some 3/4” in bed plate steel I brought home
They weigh 34# ea. Got 6

Iron Wood Metal Floor Plant


And I promptly cut the Nelson studs off

Wood Metal Hardwood Roof Floor
Machine Machine tool Furniture


So now I’m up to around 580 and threw in some other stuff to get around 640

Machine Auto part Gas Vehicle Engine


And with the imatch that should get me to where I need to be but it’s super heavy. After messing with it a while, the rear hydraulics have a hard time getting it all the way up. Even at full throttle. I reached back and gave it a helping hand to get the last few inches. Might go down to the truck scales and get a proper weight
 
#44 ·
I will give you a tip of my fedora for designing and building your ballast box.

But I have a couple of questions, the saw you used appears to be built for cutting wood, you need to check out what the RPM the saw kicks out and compare that to what the max is for the abrasive wheels, I think it would kinda sting if a wheel blew apart and hit you in the face.

Looking at the welds I'm guessing you are using flux core wire, What kind of welder are you using, a 110 or a 240?
 
#45 ·
It’s actually an older delta w a 4900 rpm max. Blades are good for 6100. I’ve looked into bandsaws and metal chop saws and will cross that bridge when I get to it. Welder is a cheap Harbor Freight 125 flux core that isn’t perfect but does the job for a ballast box. If money wasn’t an issue, I’d have a bandsaw, torch, hotter welder, bench grinder, bench vice, etc., but for now it’s a budget build to get some quick ballast to do the loader work I have to do. It’s definitely time consuming cutting and grinding and welding but I’m stubborn, and will have the rear weight I need to get me through the tasks ahead


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#47 · (Edited)
Put another rung on the basket today, finished up welding, and threw a coat of paint on. Gotta stop by the dealer and get more paint tomorrow so I’ll throw 3-4 coats on it. Jeez it’s ugly but serves its purpose




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