Welding Tips and Tricks

Does anybody have any thoughts or opinions on wire selection for grouser bar welding? The recommended wire is Lincoln NS3M. My problem with that is that I can't run wire that big with what I have on hand. I believe it's a .078 wire. Besides needing to get the wire, I'd need drive rollers etc. The recommended swap is to Lincoln 71M, which I don't have either, or the drive rollers for 1/16. What I do have is a new 60# roll of ESAB 7011Dual Shield Ultra in .045. I have 78 bars to weld, 18" per side , or about 240' of bead. This is for my dozer and probably won't be doing it again. I really don't want to invest an extra $100 for rollers that I won't use again, Plus the cost of the Lincoln wire in either variety. I know it will take more passes, but as It's my tractor, the extra time isn't a concern. I should add that I'll either use my Ranger 9 with an LN7GMA or run it with my rusty trusty SP 200. Any thought, opinions, recommendations?

If it were me I'd run with the .045, lightly prep (grind) top of the bars - you can get a really wide bead w/dual shield if desired.

If you're concerned about durability you could do a few on either side & take the machine for a spin.

I imagine the recommendations are for operations doing commercial work all day every day.

Just my opinion...

Thanks for the reply. First I gotta say I got a giggle about taking the dozer for a spin! Hmm, maybe a quick trip to the store?

I went with the .045 ESAB 7011 Ultra. It seems to run pretty smoothly. I don't have any real concerns about the abilities of the wire to do it's job. The procedure I decided on was to remove the pads from the dozer then set up in a homemade burning track to trim all the worn grousers to an even height. Dress the cuts a bit them tack the bars on straight and let them cool. Last put the pads and news grousers in another jig I have and weld like a fool.

Here's the track torch in action. Mind you it's all built out of scrap, including the table.
https://youtu.be/Wh7hgU9Fks4

Nice work John! That looks pretty smooth. Got any still photos of the hold down mechanism for the cutting handle?

The hold down is just a 2" C clamp that happened to be the right size to slip it over the oxy lever and hold it enough to cut. I was using a spring clamp before but it was tough to get it in place and if there was a blow out, I couldn't get it off easily enough. I'll take a pic of it tomorrow and post it . The pads have been re-done once before. The welds are thick and thin making the cuts run from about 5/8 to 3/4" thick. My plasma would have been so much neater but it just barely cuts 5/8". By the time I get to #78 I should have it figured out!

That's a pretty slick field expedient setup - yeah, by 78 pcs you'll really have it dialed in.

I rebuild quite a few track pads every year. I use either Hobart XLR-8 self shielded wire or 7018. Some of the pads I deal with are quite hard and need some pre heat.