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Cut my first cutterhead teeth with a torch last week
Three years ago we just ordered new teeth from the supplier, no questions asked. Last month my old boss showed me how to reshape them with a rosebud torch and it saved us about $200 on a job in Mobile Bay. Anyone else still dressing old teeth or am I just cheap?
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alex30716d ago
Did you ever try heating just the cutting edge and letting the rest of the tooth stay cold? I watched a guy on a river job do that back in '09, and he swore it kept the steel from getting too brittle around the mounting point. Seemed to work for him, though I never had the nerve to try it myself on our bigger equipment.
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stellaa6919d ago
That starboard side cutter on my barge was getting hammered last fall, rounded off bad after hitting some shell bottom. My uncle showed me this trick with a rosebud torch and a heavy hammer, but you gotta keep the heat even or you'll mess up the hardness. I got three more good months out of a set that would've been scrap otherwise. Saved me a solid $250 on that little dredge job up in the delta.
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mason.brian19d ago
Read an article in a dredging magazine a few months back that talked about how a lot of older crews still dress their teeth with a torch. The writer said it's a dying skill but saves a ton of money if you do it right. Made me think most guys just toss them too early without trying. Your uncle's trick with the hammer sounds smart too, especially on that shell bottom you hit. If you can get a few extra months out of a set, that's real money on a small dredge.
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