Heavy Duty Carry-Alls

Hey everyone!!

So, these are the most recent things that Ive built, and Im pretty happy with the way that they turned out. They are for a local hobby farmer who claims that the forks on the TSC bought carryalls fold over like a paperclip, and so he wanted me to build something heavier. All these are from remnants from the scrap yard (I dont know who buys a 3x3x3/8" piece of angle 10' long, and returns 5' of it for pennies a pound, but Im sure glad that they do it!! lol), so I was able to make them for $150 each. They were pretty easy to make, and even came out square for a change!! Haha.

The forks are 3/8" thick, and the rest is 3/16" thick. Its all 3x3 angle, heavier than the store-bought ones, with holes drilled so he can put boards on it. That drill press sure chews through metal like its its job!! lol. I really wanted to make some triangle gussets for where the forks meet the frame, but that would have interfered with the boards so I couldn't.

I cut everything with my HF 4x6 bandsaw, and welded it all with the stickmate (I love that thing), with either 3/32" Hobart 7018, or the bigger 5/32" 7018, leftover from when I rebuilt that forklift in May. I finished the job with 3/4 of one of the larger 5/32 rods left.

I dont know what the guys reaction will be or what he'll think, because he HASNT PICKED THEM UP YET!! I didnt make a video because he gave me a really short deadline to have them done, so I had to spend all my time working, and a week after he was supposed to get them, they're still sitting in my driveway. He doesn't show up or call when he says he will, etc. Its really frustrating.

I hope Im not stuck with them, Ive made carryalls in the past to sell, and you cant hardly give the things away here.

Oh well. Dave2 gave me the idea to make some firewood carriers (thanks again man!!) and so if these are still here in the fall, Ill just modify them to handle small chunks of wood and sell them that way. Ughhh!! Oh well, what can you do?

Anyway, enjoy the pictures everyone. And if anyones by chance interested in one of these things, I can hook you up, either with one of these in a few weeks if theyre still here, or just make more.

Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone

Dnag, Lanse! Next you're gonna need to invest in a powdercoat oven! LOL!

Lol!! Thanks man!!

Plasma cutter comes first. O/A is hard to buy around here, and the local welding place is like 45 mins away in the city. Its a real PIA, plus Acetylene costs 1 1/2 what it did last time I bought it. Actually, Im currently pretty much out of Acetylene, thus I welded the pins on, vs torching out holes for them...

I think Im gonna start saving my money, the $125 or so dollars itll cost to exchange my bottles is a chunk of a new plasma cutter, and since I dont cut many things with my torch, I can make do for a while without it. lol.

Ive never powdercoated, but Ive seriously thought about it. Not for a while tho. My HF paint gun actually works really well I think. Side note: the brown spots on the forks are dirt/dried mud from the last couple times its rained. I think ill take these down to the barn and store them there, since ill probably have them for a while. lol.

Lanse said:
"I really wanted to make some triangle gussets for where the forks meet the frame,..."

Buzzman sez:
An idea I had was to run your horizontal member all the way back...weld your vertical member to that...fishplate the joint with a "triangle gusset"...and THEN add your center piece of angle iron between the verticals as a spacer. Would it be stronger? I dunno, I'm no engineer...but I assume it would be. Would it take longer to build? Probably. But since your angle iron is 3"x3", I figure a 6"x6" plate cut on the diagonal and welded in on both sides SHOULD add some structural integrity.

Free advice, and worth every penny.

Wouldn't modify too much.......Just put holes out at the ends and fix you a couple of 1 inch pipes to drop and pin in place so you have something a little more multi purpose.... Looks good tho.

Dave

Thats pretty much what Im planning on doing, except
Im thinking of welding the structure to plates which
will bolt to the ends of the forks...

Thanks man!!

When/if these find new homes, Im gonna make up some
firewood movers

Lanse, sometimes it's not a bad idea to take a small deposit on what you agree to build. They'll be sure to come back and pick it up. Nice job.

Harvey

Looking Good!!...The only thing that "bothered" me was not having the lift/hitch pins bolted thru your vertical. You gave your "reasons" so that shows that you were thinking ahead. Hope the welded pins hold.

Rick...anxiously waiting on your next "project" to share.!!

Looks good.The only thing I dont like is where you welded those hitch pins on.Did you know that you can gouge a hole with 6011?So if you didnt want to buy a big drill bit that size you could gouge a hole with 6011 and clean it up with a grinder.Its not as clean as cutting with a torch,but it works.Or you could get a metal cutting bit for a die grinder and drill a small hole and make it bigger with a high speed metal cutting bit.You can get one of those for about 15 dollars at Harbor Freight.Or maybe they sell a big bit that size at Harbor Freight or somewhere for a decent price.Also they make drill bits that cut on the side that work to wallow out bigger holes with.But welded on will probably work.Just you have to watch doing stuff like that because you have no clue about what a farmer will do with that stuff.If somebody is riding on that thing and say he damaged the weld by pulling out a stuck tractor by hooking on the frame of it,and it falls off because the weld broke,that would be bad.I know Harbor freight sells big bits,Ive seen them there.If you plan on doing a lot of this stuff you need to get some with a shank turned down to fit your drill press.I think they are called Silver and Deeming bits and come in a wooden box.
Also if you buy good grinding wheels they last a lot longer than Harbor Freight grinding wheels.Just in case you didnt know.
Also,to get a plazma cutter that cuts stuff thats very thick,they cost a lot of money.A plazma cutter that cuts thin stuff is kind of high priced,but one that will cut thick stuff is up there.You can buy several tanks of acetylene for what one of them costs.Maybe you should look at other compnies if they are so high priced on your bottles.Its always something if you try and make a living nowdays.The crooks have their hand in everything it seems like.Also you could get a propane cutting torch and they also make a torch that cuts with gasoline Ive seen advertised,but it is high priced..Maybe you can find an old propane tank like they used for cooking stoves and rig it up,and maybe just need a tip for the torch you have.I havent ever done it,but Ive heard there is not much to it,and it will cut,probably wont braze very well if at all,but it will cut.

I drill 3/4 holes for the pins and use a lockwasher and a nut.My drill press costs less to run than a welder.

Heres a link to those drill bits at Harbor Freight.They are on sale too for 27.99.Silver and Deming.I bought some about 10 years ago and they cost 50 dollars.
Untitled URL Link

Seems like you "get it " when it comes to doing things in a " workman like manner ". Also what Harvey said below about the deposit. Even ten bucks will ensure the customer will be back to pick up the job.

Looks good. I've wanted to build a carryall for years but haven't got around to it.

KEH

what was the reason for cutting the threads off the 3pt pins and welding them on? Bill

Hey, thanks DRS

I try, I want the things I make to look professional, I wanna point to things and be like "Yeah, I built that" lol

Uhhh, I haven't had problems before, so this is new to me. I know the big time guys sometimes charge a materials deposit, and then every day after it was supposed to be picked up, charge a, say $10 a day storage fee. If the person comes back a few days later and has a good reason/is apologetic, it sometimes gets waived, but the important thing is that if no one shows up, after 30 days in this case ($10/day x 30 days), then the storage fees overtake the cost of the thing, and it would get sold to someone else, and Id get to keep the deposit.

Im thinking of taking a page out of their book and starting to do things this way. Idk.

Hey, thanks dude!! It was a pretty fun project, if I can sell more, Ill defiantly build more.

Thanks for the advice man!! Ive personally heard too many stories of cheap Chinese grinding wheels exploding and injuring/killing people to risk it, I just use the Dewalt stuff from lowes, both on the chop saw and the grinder. Ive tried norton abrasives from Home Depot, and a lot of people think its the ****, but I think they're expensive, shorter-lasting, and they make way more smoke than the dewalt stuff that I run. Just my opinion tho.

As you know, I welded the pins on there just because I didnt have enough acetylene to cut the holes out, and so my options were really do that, or go and buy another hole saw. I didnt really think too much of it, just because on a welding forum that Im on a lot, a few months back when I was asking about drilling holes for the pins, a few people said just cut them off and weld them on, so thats what I did. lol.

I think that Ill just pick up a 7/8" hole saw next time Im at Lowes. When I started torching holes out, I had my crapsman drill press, and using anything bigger than say, a 1/4" bit was a PITA, but with the new porter cable I wouldnt think twice about it.

Thanks again man.

Im honestly not really that worried about it, I know that sounds bad, but 7018 welds are pretty dang resilient, especially when you split a, say, 500 pound load 4 ways...

But hey, thanks man!!

side note: Ive been out in the garage most of the day working on my next project

Im pretty much out of acetylene... Ive gotta go get some more...

Mine too man, but the pins that I use are 7/8", either that or 1", I dont know which off the top of my head. I think the next thing I buy will be a hole saw...

I used to torch out the holes since my old drill press couldn't really handle a saw, but now that I have my new one, it wont be a big deal at all...

Duely noted, and I think Im going to now... :/

Thanks man!!

Thats a good idea man, thanks!! I kinda hope that Ill get to make more of these, theyre simple and a nice little moneymaker...

You might look at a few 3 pt bale carrier. Make them instead and they can be used for a carryall too. Also get some "Made by Lanse" or whatever , "company" stick on decals made up with your name address, email and cel phone number on them When someone sees what you made all the info is there.

I don't have much time now but you don't need a plasma torch. For what you're doing a plasma torch will just cost you a whole bunch of money and won't do any better of a job than a cutting torch. Plasma goes through consumables like crazy. You should get a die grinder. You have an air compressor so they're pretty cheap. You still need to work on cleaning up your welds and spatter. I'll have more time tomorrow to comment.

Ive drilled 7/8 holes in 1/2 inch steel with a small drill press.Sharp drill and a bit of oil.A Silver & Deming 1/2 inch shaft drill that cuts 7/8 hole works fine.Pins with 3/4 shafts are plenty.My carry all has a 4 foot angle frame with a plywood floor. People can over load any thing you build and break it.Put a trailer hitch on a friends jeep wagon.Told him the jeep was pretty tender where the bolts fasten.He said he just wanted to pull a small trailer.The hitch part that held the ball was a factory made piece.I put a 3/4 bolt in the front cross bar and welded the tongue to the rear cross bar.Saw him pulling a horse trailer with 2 cows in it..Hitch looked OK.Later on he hitched on to something the bent the tongue down 1 inch.My weld held.

WEll you can drill those holes with a set of those Silver and Deming bits.The way to do that is to start out with what your drill press can handle and work your way up.That way you arent trying to drill a great big hole with your drill press,you are going step by step up to the right size.About 4 steps would do it probably.Even great big drill presses work the same way.You dont just get a 3/4 bit and drill a hole,you start out with a 3/8ths and work your way up.Just be sure and have it clamped down good so it doesnt swing around and hit you or bend or break the bit.

I'm thinking about getting a set of those Silver & Deming bit sets for my table top drill press while they're on sale at HF.

But I'm also thinking about getting one of their router speed controls to work with the drill press. The drill press has 7 speed adjustments, but the lowest is still too fast for drilling metal. I think the router speed controller should work with it.

wow 3rd day on job and already talking customer out of a sale, back to sales school you go.

I was thinking that too. :lol:
If he does that at work, the boss is liable to give him an attitude adjustment.

(quoted from post at 21:23:54 08/10/11) Ive personally heard too many stories of cheap Chinese grinding wheels exploding and injuring/killing people to risk it, I just use the Dewalt stuff from lowes, both on the chop saw and the grinder. Ive tried norton abrasives from Home Depot, and a lot of people think its the ****, but I think they're expensive, shorter-lasting, and they make way more smoke than the dewalt stuff that I run. Just my opinion tho.

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Lanse, thanks for the headsup on the grinding wheels.
I'll try the Dewalt's grinding wheels out.

I'll also try out the Dewalt 14" cut-off wheels. Out of the last 5-pack of the Harbor Freight ones I got, 3 were either crooked or started crumbling after the first few cuts. They always seemed slow to cut anyway.

Haha, thanks man!!

To be honest, the dewalt chop saw wheels arent my
favorite, they "gum" up and dont wanna cut, and when
that happens, it just stops cutting, and you have to
push down hard and shred a little bit of the wheel,
after which itll cut just fine. They're the only
wheels Ive ever seen do that. But, they do make a
nice cut (for a chop saw), are cheap, and last for a
long time. Good luck man

Just don't be too defiant about building them!

To get a decent plasma torch, Lanse would need to spend at least $1500 and the cut wouldn't be any better than from a torch. He could buy a lot of acetylene and oxygen for $1500. Nobody appreciates a salesman that pushes you to buy something you don't need. Now if Lanse had pockets full of money, then maybe...

Makita chop saw blades work the best and have pretty good life too. Walter are also good but wear out faster. I'd pay extra for Makita over some no name cheap blades. Even most brand name blades plug up bad. If a blade plugs up, cut some 1/4" or thinner flat bar standing on edge to clean out the blade.

You can crank your amps up and push your welding rods through your work to cut and make holes. A little messy but works, you just have to push the rod, like a jig saw. Kind of fun if you like sparks. Using the welder or your torch, get yourself a nice big drift punch and ram it into the hole while it's nice & hot and you'll get a pretty good hole. Then dress it up with your grinder. With the right drift you can make all kinds of other holes, square, hex, etc. A little smithing. Looks like you'ree having all the fun! Good luck! joe-

Lanse- you can gusset your forks without interfering with putting boards on. Just make them an extra 4-6 inches long next time, and put the gusset in front of the upright. On the tractor side. It won't be as strong as on the fork side, but still stronger than having no bracing at all.