My version of a boxblade hitch

[6011Artist]

Diplomacy: the art of telling someone to get lost but doing it in a tactful way, making him feel good about being on his way.

I was the first to comment about the quality of the welds but you guys aren't cutting him any slack. But I guess the safety of those around him is important too.

My BB was bought used and someone had already mounted a ball on the top rail, centered, in back. The construction of the BB would not hold up to moving a heavy loaded trailer but it does work well to move an empty one. So let's give tchara the benefit of doubt and think that's what he had in mind.

tchara, you haven't commented back, don't get offended and leave. We're here to help you get it right. My first welds looked like yours but with others help I got it going on.

Are you welding with wire or stick?

 

[BigMike50]

Diplomacy: the art of telling someone to get lost but doing it in a tactful way, making him feel good about being on his way.

I was the first to comment about the quality of the welds but you guys aren't cutting him any slack. But I guess the safety of those around him is important too.

My BB was bought used and someone had already mounted a ball on the top rail, centered, in back. The construction of the BB would not hold up to moving a heavy loaded trailer but it does work well to move an empty one. So let's give tchara the benefit of doubt and think that's what he had in mind.

tchara, you haven't commented back, don't get offended and leave. We're here to help you get it right. My first welds looked like yours but with others help I got it going on.

Are you welding with wire or stick?

I just thought all the posts were constructive criticism.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I guess there's just something in my brain that goes off when somebody puts welding and trailer in the same sentence. If he had drilled a hole and put a ball on there, I wouldn't have looked twice. The thing is, there is a preponderance of hobby welders on the Internet who have never been trained what a weld is supposed to look like. As a result, they have no idea that what they think is a mediocre weld is actually barely even holding together, or they think that a weld that holds together when they jump on it is okay, when it's going to break during actual use. I don't think The Internet does these folks--and I have been one of them! --any favors by pussyfooting around. When a person posts coupons that look terrible, that's one thing. Find something positive to say and gently offer constructive criticism. But if it's an actual project where safety may be involved, I think the most helpful thing we can do is to communicate the level of quality that one should strive for. And, no, that doesn't mean that every weld needs to be x-ray quality. But it should at least be mostly sound, and the OP's welds were nowhere near that.

 

[pat32rf]

OK so he bit off a large chunk for his FIRST effort. His idea is one of the most practical out there. A receiver on the rear of his blade will save more time and effort than most people imagine.
It will save him enough time to practice his welding and nothing says that he must used 1/8" rod. Two passes of smaller rod can give just as good a job if his welder won't make it easy to use 1/8....
All my implements EXCEPT my blade have receivers that a small winch will mount into. Someday I'm gonna replace the angle iron mounted ball on my rear blade with a receiver since that's what I always seem to be wearing when I get stuck in the snow.......

 

[Tchara]

I do appreciate all the comments. I haven't replied because I'm self employed and some times get more business then time. I used the trailer hitch and a cart for my generator as a way to experiment with the welder. The cargo box will be used to transfer tools and stuff to locations on my property and move empty trailers around. I appreciate everyone's concern about safety, and want to assure you that I'm not dumb enough to trust anyone's safety or mine to my welds. About the worst that will happen is I drop my trailer or chain saw on the ground. I know my welds suck, and I need practice. I'm learning a lot from the posts I'm reading, and applying them as I weld. I'm still getting balls of weld instead of the dropped dime. I figure my wire speed is wrong or I'm not preparing the surface well enough. I've been trying the circle motion but still get the balls. Please feel free to critique all you want. I'm not offended, and will post more weld pics as I go- good or bad.

 

[Nooodles]

Just make sure the joint and weld contact surfaces are clean bare metal with a wire wheel or grinder. Keep the unit your using on high setting with wire speed about 7. Use a back and forth motion or side to side slow enough to keep a small puddle while your working it. Hammer the slag off the weld each time you stop and check

 

[Tchara]

Well I took every ones advice, and am gonna start over on my welds. But first wanted to test the welds for my self. So I hooked a chain on a tree I needed down, and pulled. The weld held!! (the first time) The second tree was a little larger. However it did save me the hassle of having to cut it all apart again. No humans, animals or aliens were harmed in my experiment. I'll send pics of the new welds as I go.

 

[Nooodles]

Well I took every ones advice, and am gonna start over on my welds. But first wanted to test the welds for my self. So I hooked a chain on a tree I needed down, and pulled. The weld held!! (the first time) The second tree was a little larger. However it did save me the hassle of having to cut it all apart again. No humans, animals or aliens were harmed in my experiment. I'll send pics of the new welds as I go.

View attachment 309885View attachment 309886

Awesome. At least you know your on the right path. Like I said, put that machine on 7 setting on high. Clean the contact points on the metal. Using a slow sweeping motion with your wire, build up a small puddle and keep it going. With that welder you have, I would not leave any gaps in the weld.

 

[allen in texas]

Tchara
Well you've made an effort, showed us your work, got criticized, re-did your work and now you're on your way. Good on you. Everybody has to start somewhere. I've been welding for over 40 years with stick and mig and I feel like I am pretty good but one day, for some strange reason, I stumbled on this site...
Welding Tips and Tricks - TIG, MIG, Stick and a pantload of other info
I learned a lot on the site. I subscribed to his site and I get an email with a video every week. I look forward to it and like I said, I've learned a lot. You can search welding tips and tricks on you tube and he has a ton of videos up. you can specify stick, tig, mig...whatever floats your boat. It's a great resource and I highly recommend it. The only problem I have with the site is that it has put inside me a tremendous insatiable desire to spend a bunch of money on a high end tig machine and start welding on something other than steel.

Check it out.

Allen

 

[woody]

Allen I to get that same e-mail and enjoy everyone them.