No High Tech Tools here.

I got back to working on the next wood hauler again yesterday.
as I previously mentioned, The dump body is a Kubota shipping crate 45x93" I cut another crate apart to salvage all the 2x2" tubing to make the upright struts to support the flare sides. Nothing invested in the steel thus far, other than time and some cut-off wheels.
I use a 4-1/2" grinder to cut the crates apart and make many of my fabrication cuts. I also have a 14" HF chop saw to cut longer pieces. One of the handiest tools that I use is my digital level. It reads out the angles that I want and I can transfer those angles on pieces with my tri-square and the cut angle bracket in the chop saw.
I have two welders. An old early 50s Lincoln Tombstone with the crank for setting the heat, and a 25 year old Lincoln SP-100 wire feed on gas to do my welding.
The rest of my tool arsenal, is the usual. Welding table with vice, lots of clamps, hammers, drills and tape measures.
The sides flare out to 66" at the knee in the struts. I will weld in 2'x93" 16G steel into the flares and the top vertical part of the struts will have 2x2x93" tubing welded to the top, connecting them together. The front bulkhead will also be 16G steel, reinforced with more tubing.
I wish that I had a lathe and milling machine, metal break and shear, but I don't.
Anyway, I get buy, and things come out the way I want them. I have learned to make something out of nothing.
Loren
PS I was down to the local Kubota dealer last week and came home with some more shinny new crates.
I see an exact twin to this hauler in the near future, while the measurements and angles are still fresh in my mind. One can't have enough wood haulers!!! HeHe.

Do you use the SP-100 to do the final welds on the crates or just tack ?

I tried mine on some of that crates tubes and it didn't seem to have enough heat and or duty cycle ? IIRC I ended up using an old AC welder and some small 6011.

The wood hauler is lookin' good Loren. I am wondering where you got the digital level you are using? How long is it? I have never seen one like that before. I am used to old school tools lol. Thank you for the pics.
Kow Farmer Kurt

What, a digital level isn't high tech? *lol*

I have several levels, but they're all bubble.

I use the Lincoln SP-100 for all my finish welds on the steel from the crates. The wall thickness is only .o65" I have my power setting on H pretty much up the scale, and wire feed on 5.5.
I have found that for best results, I use a crescent pattern for welding angles and a short back and forth pattern rotating the tip side to side to get penetration on both pieces of the weld. for but welds. I have to move moderately fast with my strokes so I don't burn through. I have no problems getting good penetration on 1/4" steel with this welder. I could not begin to weld this thin wall steel with my old stick welder It would just burn holes.
Our YT friend Lance has made many videos about welding with a wire feed welder. I picked up a lot of tips to refine my welding techniques from his videos.
Loren
Loren

I bought it 15 years back off of E-bay. I was then a contractor doing every thing from Victorian home restorations to building all steel buildings. It has been a great tool.
Loren

Just quick update.
Got the top rails cut from another crate today and welded in place.
Loren

Loren, will this one get a hoist like the last one? They're kind of like hay wagons, few extra are always welcome. I felt the same way about the old gardenway carts I've acquired to haul from the splitter to my stacks or small shed, the more the merrier. Now I've got to build a shed for them.

I recently bought an inexpensive digital square. I needed something to check the stringer angles on existing stairwells in a housing building in a prison over in Marcy, worked great. You can adjust and lock it once set. Then, further out in Wayne county, they wanted doors added to the really odd bar like grillage we made for them previously. The location of each as uncommon angles at the jambs, worked great to field verify. These buildings are often times odd shapes, makes it fun for layout !