paid to have attachment made

I just purchased a 2026 Kubota KX040-5 and I had a welder I know weld up an adapter attachment so I could use a quick attach for forks and a boom I have. I purchase the 3/4" mild steel ears and I had the 3/4" mild steel plate with the pre drilled hole to bolt to the quick attach. All the welder had to do was weld the ears to the plate. Note what happened next. I went to pick up the attachment and the right ear was tilted out of square by 3/16 and of course it would not fit. He picked it up and struggled to get it straight. (He welded the inside of the ear with a solid weld and did a stitch weld on the outside. In the process of heating and re-heating he distorted the right ear and the opening that hooks on the stick had closed by almost a 1/2" He picked it up again, he heated it more and then just ground the opening of both ears 3/8 wider than it was to begin with. At the same time he distorted the hole where the pin holds in on and so the pin will not go in. I told him this will not work as it is now too sloppy fitting and he said he could re-weld and then hand grind both ears. I told him I cannot install this on a 80k machine. By the way I paid him 522.72 when I picked it up the first time. Also these ears fit perfect before he started the welding process. My question is, He stated he would do what is right, which in my opinion is to return my money in full )He can keep the plate and the ears as this piece is not fit for anything but the scrap pile.) also I have ordered the attachment from Rhinox to the tune of almost 550.00 Am I being petty here?

He should have fit it on the machine and tack welded it in place. or jig it up on the welding table very carefully. If the attachment was/is only $550 why did you go for having a welder add $522.72 to your pieces (which had to cost something as well) ? Did you not get an estimate for his welding services before starting ? what instructions did you provide ? a marked up piece of paper explaining what dimensions to hold and so forth ?

great questions. He had quoted me 350 and that was with him supplying the plate which was 3/4X12X17 at 2 hours. in the end he charged me 3 hours at 150 per hour. I not only marked where the ears go with 8 11/16 between I also cut 2 2X4X8 11/16. all he had to do was clamp those down to the plate and tack each end and then stitch opposite sides, intermittently. He spent more time attempting to repair his work and then charged me for it. I have been a cabinetmaker for over 40 yrs and if someone told me they needed a dimension of 8 11/16 I would have used a micrometer, but thats just me

Sounds like you gave good instructions. sounds bad when he quoted $350 and then added on. It's hard to get quotations on small jobs like this, so I usually ask for a estimate, with a not to exceed number, as well as if needed more work (after a phone call), what hourly rate. I agree that you need your money back.

.Gnat's ass is what you were expecting and you got good enough. I would let him keep trying until he gets it right or gives up and gives your money back

Not sure what world you work in but I was under the assumption that welders like machinists worked at close tolerances. I had thought about getting a mig welder and welding it myself but since I am not a welder thought I had better leave it to a professional. Seems like there aren't many true tradesman these days. This welder has 50+ yrs experience. He has totally destroyed the materials I gave him. the ears were cut on a cnc plasma cutter to what I am sure were =- thousands of an inch. to let him weld back on steel he had ground off and then to regrind is dumbfounding to me.

Some welders are good fabricators and some fabricators are ****** welders. Depending on what is being welded, the weld and heat can pull and distort the materials. These are things that come with the trade. Stuff for mounting on machines, I try to keep to the 1/16”. When serious, I use my welding bench and a bunch of spring clamps. Was the welder aware of what tolerance you wanted it at? Welding is not cabinet making but it sounds like your welder sucks.

I think you hit the nail on the head I showed him what the ears looked like on the machine and he barely took note. This all boils down to too much heat over and over as he tried to get it right he only made it worse. When I saw that he ground off about 3/8 to get it to mount that was the last straw for me, and when he offered to weld back on what he ground off I was dumbfounded and done. those ears were cnc cutout and they make contact at 3 points, to look at your work and visually see how distorted it was and to conclude this was okay, its just unbelievable. I dont know maybe AI welded it for him and he did not even look at it

smifwal said: .Gnat's ass is what you were expecting and you got good enough. I would let him keep trying until he gets it right or gives up and gives your money back Click to expand... Uhm....No, the OP clearly stated that the welder's re-working was raising the bill. This part in post #3: "He spent more time attempting to repair his work and then charged me for it."

DDoug said: Uhm....No, the OP clearly stated that the welder's re-working was raising the bill. This part in post #3: "He spent more time attempting to repair his work and then charged me for it." Click to expand... I missed that part

The guy is a hack welder/fabricator. Some distortion (each ear out by 1/16") can be expected but easily fixed with applying heat to one side (or putting more weld on one side to pull it straight) or using a hydraulic cylinder or big C-clamp to move the ears. Anytime you have two ears that have to be precise you either put pins in the holes or tack pieces of steel to hold the ears in alignment or do both. Tacking a piece(s) of steel between the ears also works. Then alternate welding on each side of the ears. It's welding 101. He can't charge for his own screw up. That's just wrong. If the ears are in good shape the best way to fix it is to grind the welds out and redo it but it sounds like he ground them down a lot. If that's not possible get all your money back including any money you paid for the steel. It sounds like it was a pretty simple job if done right.

Just an update, The welder refunded my money for the work he did. I am only out the cost of the 3/4 plate and the ears so about 200 so I already ordered a ready made attachment for the excavator. If i fished I could use that deformed attachment for a boat anchor. Thanks for all the input I know that takes time

Glad the welder knew he effed up. He should have covered the cost of the steel he ruined too. Thankfully it wasn't too expensive.

I'm nobody, just a hack myself but for things that I want to keep square and lined up, I weld them to my table where I can use a square. build up the fab welds slowly and keep checking dimensions, then cut it off the table with a scarfing tip or what-have-you. Little bit of touch up and done. If you are just trying to build a plumb doohickey while you roll it around, then you best weld a lot of scrap to it to keep it where you thought you left it.

It shouldn't be hard or complicated to tack some braces on to keep everything square and in alignment.