Mama told me there'd be builds like this...

Hey guys!!

So, I've been working on the great ATV log cart build some more here recently, and this is where I am now. I've managed to fix my last screwup (welding the axles in the wrong places, because I was too tired to be out there), but now things still aren't perfect.

I've had my nice Jackson Auto Darkening hood stop working (~$300) and my MP3 somehow got damaged (~$125), plus I've had to buy more steel.

When I sat down and drew this up, I figured I could hopefully get $300-$350 for the finished cart, so I'd try to build it for $100-$150. Which I would have hit easily had all this stuff not started going wrong, Im in the project a little under $600 at this point.

I'm pretty pizzed, but what can I say, this is the curse of the Allis hard at work.

Everything went flawlessly until I tried to use a piece of the steering shaft from that thing as a mockup axle, at which point everything went to hell. I bet I've had to fix more of my own work on THIS one project than everything else I've built since 2009, COMBINED. I don't consider myself a religious person, but there are two things I believe in, karma, and the curse of the tractor from hell. If anyones ever wondered why I scrapped that thing, now you know. Fun fact: The truck I used to scrap it with caught fire days after hauling it in.

Not too happy about all this... What would you do if you were in this mess? The video tells more. Can't win them all I guess
video1
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I feel for you with the problems. I didn't spend much on what I made, only needed to get square tubing (already had 1" shaft, wheels and hubs). I just measured the frame, this one's 75" long (not counting tongue) and 24" wide. I was more interested in the width for wheel track than length. I conjured up this idea nearly 20 years ago with the need to get around in a thick woods, then haul nearly a half mile to the nearest road. The uprights might be handier if they were removable, I welded these on. In this picture I hauled the 2 wheel tractor a mile incl. along the railroad to a neighbor's. I made the cultivator on the 2 wh. tractor, I like it cause I can tip it back (wheels off the ground) and turn around on the spot. The box on the atv was a factory reject toolbox drawer I got at the local scrapyard.

For $300 I would expect the welding helmet to have a pretty extensive warranty, or at least affordable repair options.

Contact Jackson's customer service right on their website.

Make drawings to scale before you start any project; this will help point out any errors without costly re-work.

Do only tack welds on initial setups until things are where they should be.

I've forgotten the ratio of tongue weight to axle weight, but when you see a trailer that sways from side-to side or doesn't track right, you know the tongue weight ration isn't right. Sometimes it's a matter of just locating the load right, but in this situation the log has to balance so it is necessary for the axles be located so the tongue ratio is within limits.

All you can do is push on and finish the project. It may not be profitable money-wise but education isn't cheap. For every 20 projects that go good there is one that will make up for them with problems. And it's usually the one you estimate real close to get the job.

I've got many years of doing just what you are doing now. Sometimes they go good, sometimes not. I've had to redo a lot of projects, from just cutting something off and moving it to scrapping part or all of a project and starting over from scratch. Any prototype is going to cost a lot more than a production run, that's just the way it is. Helped a guy make a bucket for a skidloader for filling 12 sand bags for flood control one time. By the time we had a working unit we has scrapped 4 complete buckets and nearly a ton of new steel. He is selling them commercially now and doing quite well. Just stick with it, you'll get it eventually. If you want you can email me and we can discuss your problems and maybe come up with a solution. I'm very good at solving problems like yours.

Try putting your auto dark helmet in the direct sunlight for 4 to 6 hours to recharge the solar cell. Apparently some helmets say to do this in the manual. If it also uses a battery, it may need a new one too.

Your log cart looks pretty heavy for the size of the axles but I think you're pricing it too low for the amount of time and work it takes to build even if it went perfect. I agree with Dick2 that you should make a good drawing and tack everything together first before welding it up. It's easy to grind a few tacks out. Are you using a gouging tip in your plasma? Sometimes it's a lot better to just use a cutting disc in a grinder than to gouge a weld out. Why are your MIG welds getting porosity? Do you have a fan or heater blowing?

It's nice to build things yourself and you can get a lot satisfaction out of it but when you're spending several hundred dollars to make something that you don't need yourself and are hoping someone will buy, it gets pretty expensive. When filming the welding, you should experiment with a #9 or 10 lens taped on the camera so you can actually see the weld the same as the person welding. Otherwise it looks like just a big bright light. Maybe the camera needs to be closer or more focused, I'm not sure.

This is a good example of a FEW real costs of doing business. Things break, once in a while you might have to eat a job, or a job takes much longer than estimated. It sucks but its life.

Sounds like Murphy got to you, but we all have this happen. Done that a few times myself. Don't give up because it will usually work out even if you have to walk away for a while and clear your thoughts. Don't let it get you down, because you do nice work from your posts that I've looked at. Keep up the good work.