Pto Hole - Need Help

One of the last things I need to do on my ‘59 tub before primer/paint is to fix the PTO hole. Bubba got to it and it’s all beat up. I was gonna try hammer and dolly but the metal is already kinda thin and friable. I was thinking it might just be easier to cut out a larger section, weld in a patch, and cut a new hole. Thoughts? Anyone have pics of an original (without cover plate) and measurements?

 

Find a cover plate (repops are available). Make the hole slightly smaller with the inner edges downturned 90º, about 3/16" deep.

 

To anneal it - heat it up and then let it cool? How many cycles?

 

I have a couple pairs of Knipex pliers that have smooth parallel jaws that are very good at "flattening" deformed metal edges. I would start with those, then lightly hammer and dolly any warps out. The advantage to the pliers is you can work small areas without warping the metal. The model number of my larger plier is Knipex # 86 03 250.
-Donny

 

Another way would be to make a heavy plate steel template, with a hole in it of the correct dimension. Using that as an anvil, heat the floor section to red heat and hammer it to fit the hole in the anvil, including downturned flanges.

I did something similar to make a lipped battery cover for my M38A1 and it worked great.

 

All great ideas. I’m gonna probably try a combo of all of those. I’ll post some pics after

 

Success! Thanks for the advice. Annealed it. An hour or so with a hammer and dolly. Turned out pretty good. Edges of the lip are a little rough but no one will see that. Thanks again.