My version of a boxblade hitch

Tchara · Mar 20, 2013

Been reading posts about how to attach a trailer hitch to the box blade. This is what I came up with. I added a large old steel ramp I had laying around to give the BB more weight. (about 100 pounds) Not very pretty, but will paint when I get it all done. I wanted it to be removable so I welded three pieces of angle iron to the back, so it just hangs on the box blade. Worked pretty good, except when backing up, it would lift up and fall off if I pushed a large rock. Gonna use small screw type binders to hold it down on the bottom. I welded another piece of angle iron in the middle opposite of the first one, to give me more area of weld for the reciever tube. Then drilled a hole for a bolt for added security. I had a hitch carrier that I bought a couple years back at HF, that we were going to use on our camper, but sold the camper before using it. Gonna be a great way to haul my tools and chain saws in to the woods.

creekbend · Mar 21, 2013

Well done.:thumbsup:

6011Artist · Mar 22, 2013

I like your design Tchara, you can remove your hitch and only the reciever is left on the BB. And you can slide in other attachments too. Good job.

You want a crash course in welding 101? You're pulling your rod straight, you've got to work that rod to get a good solid weld. I was doing the same thing and 10 minutes with someone that welded daily got me on track and put me on my way.

I don't mean to sound negative but I'm wiilling to help you if you want it.

Tchara · Mar 22, 2013

Thanks for the input and compliment. I just bought that HF welder, and have never welded before. I viewed a few videos on utube to get the general idea, but I guess with anything, it takes practice.

Any tips and critics are very appreciated. Not to proud to except help.

BigMike50 · Mar 22, 2013

I have that same welding helmet. Do you have the knob on highest darkness setting

6011Artist · Mar 22, 2013

When I first started a welder saw my welds and knew what was going on. He got one helmet and I got one and a short course in "laying dimes"was all I needed to get going.

When welding used, rusted or painted metal I always take a small sidegrinder and knock the rust or paint off of the edges of where I am going to weld. Even with experience, it's needed to get a good arc. And do it to both sides, that way your arc will be attracted to both sides. After you get experience as long as you get it started you can burn your way through it but I still do that most of the time. And I always grind off a small spot to hook my ground to. Rust and paint prevents your ground from making a good connection.

When you strike your arc, you should be able to see what you are doing, not just a ball of fire and hope for the best. You want your weld to connect to both sides. Sometimes I can see it connect to one and after I get it started there I move to the other side. So after seeing my arc/weld start on both sides I then start welding by actually rotating my rod in a small circle. Your working your rod to create that "row of dimes" as it is called. Think about a row of dimes stacked and then layed on their side, letting them lay over sort of sideways. Work your rod in a small circle and inching/creeping forward in each increment as you work that circle. After you get used to it you actually use your rod to push the molten weld back into your bead if it looks to be getting thin.

I can see by your welds you are basically striking your arc and pulling your rod forward over the crack/connecting points. Work that circle and push that weld into both pieces as you go.

You need to get you a couple pieces of scrap and weld them together and then put it in a vise and beat it apart with a hammer to see how deep/good of penetration you are getting. With a 1/8 6011 rod and you are welding 1/4 inch steel 90 degree temp is about normal. You'll learn to vary your temp using other rods or thickness of steel.

Remember, work that circle and push that weld into your crack to get good penetration.

We all had to start somewhere and usually help from others put us to where we are today.

kevin37b · Mar 22, 2013

That little wire welder is the problem . You need some heat going on for that kind of work . I really hope you do not hurt yourself ,kids , wife . I sure don't wanna see a post about bucket hooks . You should think about it .

BigMike50 · Mar 22, 2013

You don't need to put the grounding clamp right next to where your welding. Your getting splatter all over it

BigMike50 · Mar 22, 2013

kevin37b said:
That little wire welder is the problem . You need some heat going on for that kind of work . I really hope you do not hurt yourself ,kids , wife . I sure don't wanna see a post about bucket hooks . You should think about it .

I think that little wire welder is fine for that thickness personally. not to discredit you. i use one for of those for small size jobs and have tested the welds with shock and a shop press. No signs of stress or fractures. Just need to know how to use it properly. I think with some more practice he should be fine. I would definitely redo the whole job and practice some more. As I see it, if he puts any weight on those welds, it's just gonna snap.

joshuabardwell · Mar 22, 2013

Kudos on making the effort, but I want to second what others on this thread have said: you really should cut that off, grind it smooth, and try again to do a better job. It's a trailer hitch. Some day, somebody is going to try to pull a trailer with it, and there is no way those welds are strong enough for that. I'm not saying that they'll break the very first time, although they might. I'm saying that before you trust a trailer to the welds, you need to be sure that they'll still hold the 10,000th time. Those welds are not up to snuff. Go back and do it right.

Also: I can't see the entire construction of the thing, but what's to stop it from levering down and bending the mount when there is 500 lbs of tongue weight or several hundred pounds of stuff in that hitch carrier, with 24" of leverage on it?

Also: as far as I can tell, you have bolted the receiver tube to the mounting bracket with a single bolt. What's to keep it from pivoting on that bolt?

6011Artist · Mar 23, 2013

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 · Mar 23, 2013

6011Artist said:
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 · Mar 23, 2013

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 · Mar 23, 2013

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 · Mar 23, 2013

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 · Mar 24, 2013

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 · Mar 25, 2013

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 · Mar 25, 2013

Tchara said:
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.

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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 · Mar 26, 2013

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