Welder Dave
Senior Member
I'm welding up the top swing mount on a backhoe and then hoping to bore the hole to size for the hard bushing. I've ground the bore 1/16"+ bigger than the bushing. There are some slight gouges in the bore from a spring steel bushing that turned a bit in the bore from being too loose. Should this be enough oversize so I don't pick up extra carbon from the turned bushing and also enough so that I'm not affected by the heat affected zone (HAZ) when finishing the hole to final size? I will be preheating till hot to the touch and planned to use 7018 for build up as I've read it is fairly common for stick welding bores. Is this a good plan of attack or would a rod like 7014 be easier to bore? I'm hoping to use a heavy drill press to bore the hole going very slow with very light cuts. Any expertise is appreciated.