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Building 3pt Equipment

L

Lanse

Well-known Member
Hey yall...

For those who dont really know me on here, im 17, and a high school welding student. A couple of my friends and I scrap alot of old farm equipment from around my place, and a few local farmers who are just trying to get rid of the stuff. Ive amassed a few good 3pt hitches and a pile of pins, and a fair bit of old angle iron, channel, etc that ive saved off of stuff.

I really wanna make something out of it, and im wondering what kinds of equipment yall have made in the past, and managed to make money off of... I have my tombstone, chop saw, a couple grinders and a torch, a few other various tools, and a lot of free time on my hands. Ive got virtually no overhead, since im working out of my moms garage, and i could make most of this from steel i got for free, or next to it. I can sandblast and paint, and get most of this stuff to clean up pretty well.

Any ideas? Im thinking of grader, box blades, and boom poles for starters. Im sure someone has been where i am now, and could help me out a little here...

Thanks guys :)
 
try wood splitters as they seem to be in demand and if you are into scrapping you may run across large hyd cylinders and control valves which will cheapen the input cost.
 
a guy around my area made a lot of money taking old one and two bottom trailer plows cutiing off the beams and fabbing 3 points hitches on them. sold them to city farmers.
 
How about a carry-all/platform?

Personally, I'd suggest things that you can use. Things like a weld table that you can pile endless amounts of crap on and still weld on your knees in the dirt. Make things that will help you make other things. Tables of any sort for any reason will help you do anything you want to do.

Start buying vice grips now.
 
(quoted from post at 21:43:03 11/20/10) How about a carry-all/platform?
.
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When I bought my tractor, the guy pointed to a couple 4x4's with some boards scabbed to them that went with it. He was so nice and helpful that I didn't want to hurt his feelings (this was back when I had people skills) and took it along. Turned out to be real handy and I still use it now and then. I have 3PH containers now and a bale fork but moved many a round bale with that wooden platform. Couple pieces of angle iron or pipe would make something that is handier to use/store and not be any heavier.

Dave
 
Sugar beet markout bar
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There's a lot of 3pt. equipment available that is very reasonable. Your welding is greatly improved but I agree with making just basic stuff. I don't want to discourage you but I think you need more fabrication experience to be building things like you mentioned. Maybe something like a potato hiller or a 3pt. frame for lifting harrows would be good projects for you? I wouldn't even consider something like a boom pole. You could be held liable if something went wrong.

I was in the exact same situation as you in high school. Bought all the pieces to build a 3pt. cultivator, from a local guy that built them. Teacher said it was a perfect school project BUT not for a first year welding student. A second year welding student did the main welds but I did get to do some of the less critical welds. I was quite disappointed but realized the teacher was correct. The next year I welded a bunch of my own projects. I should mention that I went to a trade school. The second year welding program was all morning long for the entire school year. That's a lot of time to practice and learn the theory behind welding. Having an extremely experienced teacher was the biggest advantage. Most of the students got jobs right out of school because of the schools reputation. My welding teacher actually encouraged me to finish high school 2 weeks early because I had 2 job offers. That was in 1981 and sadly in 1982, the tank shop I worked in went under due to the huge recession of the early 80's. 100's of other shops closed as well. It really sucked because I was only about 2 months away from going for my 1st year apprentice training. I was making $8.30/hr at the time when people out of regular high schools were fighting over a $5.00/hr job at McDonalds. Dave
 
With all due respect, I think Lanse needs a lot more experience to building things that are under many, many tons of force. I've seen things go flying under only a few hundred pounds of force. Dave
 
Lanse,Like the man said"Experience isn't expensive--------IT'S PRICELESS. Like any beginning, DON"T BITE OFF MORE THEN YOU CAN CHEW. Small projects first (for a long time) and finish what you start, then go on to the next one.No Need to try and impress any one with many non finished projects, as your completed projects and effort will speak for it's self.
LOU
 
Lanse, take what you are hearing with a grain of salt! That youthful ambition and drive can move mountains when applied correctly. And stay in school, you sound like a common sense kid trying to make an honnest buck, if there were more kids like you in this world, it would surely be a nicer place to live in. But test the living crap out of your projects!!! If it holds, great! If it don't, inspect it, learn from it, correct it, and beat it some more! You only fail at something if you don't learn. Im not much older than you (25) and no formal teaching, but you learn from making mistakes (and I have learned a heck of a lot!) Good luck to you in your endevors! Keep us posted on how it goes. Heck we may be buying your stuff, once ya get it figured out.
 
Lanse it's always fun to hear from you and about your projects,I couldn't agree with what CJ_1080 and LOU from WI more! Keep up your drive and ambition. The more you do the better you get. Please don't let the pestimest's get you down. Mike
 
Lanse, it's good to hear from you. Do you ever scrap out any planters? Around here you can pick up a decent 4 row runner planter for next to nothing. If the planter runs off of the press wheels and not the transport wheels, you could make four 1 row planters or two 2 row planters. Last year I was thinking about building a 3pt 55 gallon sprayer. I estimated that it was going to cost me about $500.00 to build, new ones were $800.00 - $900.00. If you can go to an equipment or consignment sale and look and let your mind work and wander. You'll be suprised what you can come up with. I myself use "homemade" equipment. My ripper, planter, and leaf blower were all adapted to 3pt, and my PTO generator was "homemade" by someone else. All four piecse work like a charm. I hope that I've given you some ideas and encouragement. Todd
 
It's the 'making money off it' that's the problem.

Subsoilers are simple and easy as well as cultivators, hillers and lay off plows. Start simple & work your way up.
 
I built a log splitter,a dump trailer, bale spear and a 3 pt carryall all from "recycled" components. The carryall was so handy that someone stole it!! I also doubleframed my BILs cornplanter. Something I would like to build and would be really handy is a 3 pt drag for levelling the driveway. Neighbour has one and I like how it works. Good luck with your projects,be sure to post some pics, Bob
 
1 row planters with a coulter ahead of the planter head could be sold to the hunters who want to make food plots with little tractors.
 
Your already doing well by asking questions before you start. What your doing now is called market research (asking what people need) when you find out, build it (production), keep track of what it costs you, (welding rod, gases, maybe throw in a little for Mom's power bill), then market it (sell it), see what kind of profit you come up with. Take your man hours and divide by your profit and you'll decide if your business makes enough to continue. If so, don't forget to reinvest some of your profit into equipment. Don't be discouraged if the first try is more of a learning experiance than a money maker and don't let ANYONE tell you need more experiance to try it. Henry Ford started just like you are. GOOD LUCK!!
 
How old are you Scotc? Overbuilding won't help if you don't have enough welding skills under your belt. Small log splitters start at about 10 tons and good ones are over 30 tons! Do you have any idea how much damage 20,000 to 60,000 pounds of force can do when something lets go? He won't be able to build a stronger one if he's killed by the first one. Lanse needs to start off on simpler projects. A soil/driveway leveler for a 3 pt. would be a great project that many people could use. Basically a frame with 3 or 4 angle irons turned down that floats over the ground and levels it. If it were to break is unlikely to cause serious injury to anyone. Dave
 
A driveway/soil leveler would be an excellent tool for Lanse to build and anyone with a gravel driveway could use and probably want. Wouldn't be too hard to build and wouldn't put people in danger if it were to break. Lanse is very keen on welding but he's still a beginner and his projects should be matched to his ability. If he keeps at it, he could look at building more advanced projects as his skills improve. I've seen levelers with 3 or 4 angle irons about a foot apart, turned down so both edges will shave off high spots. Just need some heavy flat bar(1/2") on the ends to hold them together and attach the 3 pt. arms. Can probably find pictures on the internet of them. They work really slick. Dave
 
I made a small welding table with a slotted top.This lets me clamp things down,A vise on one end lets me clamp items .I have a 30 inch sheet metal brake bolted to the back of the table.I built the brake from plans.Ive made a boom pole,a nice 3 point cultivator that will put any ready made one to shame.A carry all has been most useful. Ive brought short logs to the sawmill with the carry all.Ive built a log hauler that picks the log off the ground.Building with scrap is too slow, you never have the right parts.My log hauler cost 200.00 to build, ready made log haulers cost over 2 grand plus shipping.I made up a pair of log ramps that let me roll big logs on the the mill bunks alone sawmill.Cost 30 bucks for new steel.A ready made set cost 400.00.Welding tables dont have be giant affaires that most welders use.
 
My boom pole has limited use.My carry all is used a lot.Go look at a ready built one ,take some photos.Most ready made are too flimsy, you can do better.Dont get stuck on building with scrap.the finished item always looks like scrap.Paint the finished item with zinc oxide primer.New steel comes in 20 foot lengths,I have the steel shop cut in half for easy trucking.
 
I fabbed this digger in my shop. A commercial one at local tractor dealers are over $1200 and built pretty flimsy.
I have about $400 in this one including a surplus gearbox.
I agree on the new steel. You will have a better product much more resistant to rust.

Brad
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I agree. You, scotc and a few others keep trying to stir the pot and hijack any thread I respond to. I happen to like Lanse and think he (as well as other posters)deserves better. He's smart enough to ask for advice and opinions before proceeding. He's realizes he's a beginner welder and has been doing lots of practice and asking questions to get better at it. That's called common sense and neither of you two seem to have any. Lanse should be applauded for understanding his limitations rather of having a couple people with no qualifications, what so ever, trying to hijack his post. Dave
 
Why would anyone buy an implement built by a 17 year old high school welding class attendee who asks for and receives advice from idiots on an internet forum, myself included, when you could just go to TSC or someplace similar and get something you can be fairly confident won't disintigrate the first time you use it?
 
I'm not gonna get into the welding part.. I'm just gonna say, in reply to the post..

You'd be surprised what he could sell. We have a "older" (I'm only 30, so I'm guessing he's 50ish) gentleman who has some disabilities. He's not too mechanically inclined, and not all good at welding.. Some of the things he sells are:

Ground drive spreaders that he puts new wood on (and usually nothing lines up quite right afterward)

Trip-lift planters.. He'll buy 4 and 6 row units, and lop off the outside rows to make 2 row planters.

Old pull type rotary hoes.. take em down to 1 section, put a tongue on em, and call em aerators.

He also used to put together 3pt discs, planters, and graders, lawn rollers, small "lawn carts" and I think he built about half a dozen "garden tractor" sized manure spreaders.

He got a fair price for what he invested.. He made decent pocket change.
I say if ya wanna try it, why not, but I too agree that boom poles and log splitters may not be the best starting point, from a liability standpoint.

Good luck

Brad
 
Who is trying to HIJACK here?

scotc, Uncle Ernice and yourself. You're more obsessed with trying to find fault with my posts than offering any suggestions to Lanse's original question. Exactly the same way you did with other topics. If the shoe fits... Dave
 
Thanks Brad. It's refreshing that I'm not the only one that thinks the projects should match the skill level of the builder. Dave
 
(quoted from post at 19:27:10 11/21/10) I built a log splitter,a dump trailer, bale spear and a 3 pt carryall all from "recycled" components. The carryall was so handy that someone stole it!! I also doubleframed my BILs cornplanter. Something I would like to build and would be really handy is a 3 pt drag for levelling the driveway. Neighbour has one and I like how it works. Good luck with your projects,be sure to post some pics, Bob
Click to expand...
driveway_groomer_0941.jpg
 
Before you make a statement like that you should go and see the crap TSC sells and compare it to alot of homemade equipment. Real easy to make something heavier then the TSC junk.
 
GOOD to hear from you again Lanse!
A boom (I take it you"re making this equipment for the newer tractor)would be handy, if you are still doing rebuilding of older tractors. Mostly if you have to pick up things and move them where a cherry picker can"t be wheeled.
I"ve gotten the most use out of the carry all I made for my Kabota, and works great for trips to the woods to carry chainsaw and firewood.
You might find a blade at an auction cheaper than you could make one, ya never know!
Just remember, build it SOLID, no matter what you build!
Have fun
Bruce
 
Hey Brad WATCH IT! with that older stuff, I'm 50 and that doesn't mean anything. I can outwork any of the kids I work with. When I say kids I mean 20-30's. >) Mike
 
Like you said if the shoe fits ..Dave" wear it "and quit trying to make exuses to hide the fact you are a know it all with an inflated ego, and think that everone else is beneath you and your skills.


If Lanse wants to build something more power to him and anyone else who has the ambition to do so,but it is interesting on how you can always find fault in everthing that is not your idea.

The proof is in the pudding the last few weeks since you started crying about your last job,people got sick of hearing it and told you to quit or shut up. Like I told you b4 you are not the only one who knows how to weld. Contary to your belief.
 
I still don't see where you've offered any suggestions of things Lanse could build. Several people have stated Lanse needs to start off with simpler projects to gain more experience. There's been several good suggestions for Lanse. Before you build anything, you have to be aware of what could happen if it breaks. Owning a welding machine doesn't make you a welder. Where'd you take your apprenticeship and what tickets do you have? One of the most important things you learn, in any trade, is what Lou said, "Don't bite off more than you can chew". Since you seem unable to understand that, I'll try to translate it for you. It means, Don't tackle a project beyond your capabilities. If Lanse was working with a qualified welder would be a different story. You don't become proficient in welding after only 6 months, no matter who you are. I imagine this thread is going to go poof like the other ones. Good grief! Dave
 
Mike,

LOL.. I don't mean any offense LOL.. Just not all good with wording.. Just wanted to state the fact that he's no "kid", and he does just as Lanse wants to do to make spending cash..

I'll side with ya that some of the older generations can work harder still than us kids.. I'm not what I'd consider lazy (however the last week or so I'm lacking motivation) and more than once I've been showed up..

Brad
 
I would build garden carts, small dump trailers to go behind riding mowers.I used to buy wheel barrows on sale and resell them.Small stuff sells faster.I knew a fellow who made a tripod that held a flower pot and had a plate on top that could have the house number or owners name on it.The legs were made with scrap water pipe and small chains held a ring for the flower pot.
 
Over-build it. Build it how you think it will hold, then add another brace. I could build a car, but since I'm not an engineer and don't have the stamping abilities the factories have, it'll weigh 10 tons.

I'm not hi-jacking or stirring the pot, I'm offering alternate possibilities. Ones that have worked well for me. When you are dealing with something where you can turn your materials, if you can lay down a decent bead with good penetration, you can build a lot.

A log splitter is pretty simple. So is a carry-all. And a boom pole, using heavy enough materials, but he is asking about recycling materials, so I would rule that out. Building something like these, you can move your material around and make all your welds laying flat. Since it is November, even if he only started the classes this fall, I bet they've got horizontal welds about covered.
 
It wasn't so much your post scotc on this thread. You don't get proficient at welding in a few months, it takes years. You can't just hope your welds will hold and keep adding more pieces if they don't. Until you have the experience, you won't know if it's over built or not. That's why commercial stuff is usually designed by engineers and there are quality standards for the welds. Otherwise it'll be just like your example of a car. Nobodies going to pay for something that is slapped together and looks like Rube Goldberg made it. There are some exceptions though but it's usually because someone is trying to save money and buys the cheapest thing they can find. Dave
 
Check Lincoln Welding as they have three books full of plans and ideas for making farm and tractor equipment. They have a web site but I'm not sure what it is now.
 
Hey Charlie Brown "good grief",

Production welding and repair shop work for over 30 yrs. As for the tickets you would know where they were if they were up ???????
 
Asking what tickets or training you have is a simple question. I figured you'd have trouble giving a straight answer to such a simple question. Dave
 
I know it's a remote possibility, but whenever I see these types of threads my first thought is “Product Liability Insurance”.
 
I have to disagree. To weld something laying flat, it wouldn't take long at all, to get proficient at it, provided the subject has any ability at all. The more difficult positions, yes I will agree there.

When I took my night classes I couldn't do much more than stick stuff together and burn myself overhead. I think I spent more time on it than anything else. I think the instructor ran all our other welds through a press to see how we did.

I can't remember what the positions refer to, vertical position, I think is welding horizontally on a vertical piece of metal, horizontal is welding across metal laying flat, right?
 
Not all flat position welds are easy. Especially multipass welds. I've had to repair journeyman welders flat position welds on occassion. You can never practice welding too much. Dave
 
Lincoln has 2or3 plan books in print.Two books you should have are Welding Helps for Farmers and Farm Arc Welding published by Lincoln.Out of print now.If you are interested in the tripod flower pot holders I can tell you what I remember about them.I didnt build them but drove Wilton around in his brothers pick up selling them.
 
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