Pictures of My Homemade Porty III

[John Paul Sanborn]

I've worked for several people that use quadies on the jobsite. One guy drags everything big right to the chipper, another will cut the stuff up under the tree, load the ATV trailer and chip right off the trailer.

Each way has it's advantages.

 

[YUKON 659]

As promised here are the pictures of the finished port a wrap.

 

[YUKON 659]

Another view.....

 

[Tim Gardner]

Originally posted by Acer
The failed port a wrap I saw had been welded badly. But even if your welding is good, a home welder cannot avoid the effect of the heat affected zone. As the work cools down in air, the mechanical properties of the parent metal change, and this often leaves a brittle zone close to the weld. So even if your weld is spot on, you may have weakened the parent metal..that's why in manufacturing companies, fabrications will go through a heat treatment process to anneal the work and eliminate stresses due to welding, followed by controlled cooling to give the desired physical properties, something that could only be done in a kiln with temperature control.

If you know what you're doing, and are allowing for all this, then fine. If you're not sure, then don't put home made items in safety critical situations.

Dang acer, I better get busy building a time machine so I can go back and remove all the trailer hitches on the dump trucks that we used to pull heavy equipment that I built from scratch. Heck I better go back and remove all the welds and fabrications on the stump grinder too. A full size stump grinder will find a weak weld in an instant. While I am at it I better go back and remove out riggers, tanks, and welds on all the equipment we used. I doubt I could find a kiln in my area large enough to fit all that equipment in to control the cooling.

 

[geofore]

welding

Glad to hear I'm not the only one that learned how to weld when they were 12. There would be a lot of buildings in trouble if my welds where bad. Any weld I did I would trust my life to it's use. A lot of production stuff needs to be rewelded to trust it's use not that welding hasn't come a long way in recent years it's that third world countries haven't hit the learning curve yet and production lines are speeded up to make more money. Quality control is better in my shop because I can do it better myself. Fabricating is a good hobby, it keeps your skill level up and that realy helps when you need to fix something you broke out on the jobsite and just have to have it for tomorrows work.

 

[Acer]

Originally posted by Tim Gardner
Dang acer, I better get busy building a time machine etc etc etc:

Of course, I wasn't referring to your welding, Tim. You obviously know everything there is to know about absolutely everything

 

[Tim Gardner]

Originally posted by Acer
Of course, I wasn't referring to your welding, Tim. You obviously know everything there is to know about absolutely everything

No acer, if I knew everything then I would not need to hang out here to learn. I was simply making fun of your post. If I can weld a pentle type hitch from scratch and tow a piece of heavy equipment through the stop and go traffic of Myrtle Beach I can and did make several port-a-wraps that can handle 2,000 lbs plus. I did not make and put them into service right away in critical applications. I tested them first. Nothing fancy. Just dropping heavy loads on them. I think I managed to snap a new ¾ double braid one time. If all the welding shops across America thought the way you do they would have to shut down their businesses and let the large companies with all that fancy equipment do welding. I will not even begin to talk about all the small businesses that have to do fabrication and welding themselves just to be able to have the equipment and tools they need to stay in business.

 

[geofore]

making your own

With the changes in technology most things you can get online, overnight expressed to your home but it was not all that long ago you had to make your own or do without until they could find one and order it for you. A month or so later you'd get it. I used to fabricate rigging equipment in my garage and make parts for Safe- Way. I don't frown on folks making their own parts but your point is taken with the need to test to breaking the equipment before you use it on the job.

Yukon, you know as well as I do the shiney stuff gets legs and walks off first but stainless is nice. These guys argue about weight but my thoughts on it are strong is better. How often have you overloaded a piece on the job? Without the safety factor a lot of us would not have lived this long. If it is safe you live longer. I like the stainless because it stays shiney and it is strong but it is the first thing to disappear when you are not looking. Make extras, that one looks good.

 

[YUKON 659]

Thanks geofre, I tried to disguise it by glass beading it....it looks like a nickel finish!!!

Jeff

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Home made gear is all good, but in the case of a portawrap of that design I have to say I was dubious with what is at stake how much pressure is put on the welds in such a small attachment area.

I have a home made portawrap, but I modified the design a bit, I dont have a pic of it but basically the tube system is the same but instead of having the looped steelband its a "t" section made up entirely of tube with a mounting loop at the base of it. The advantage is that with the "T" section its held together by about 20cm of welds instead of the small contact of the normal portawrap pipe and band. (the horizontal tube insterts into the vertical tube)

The design is heavier but sits lighter on my psyche when the cut is going through. I have friends that are certified welders, and after welding since before highschool or kissing girls I know enough from them to know I dont know enough for my crew.

Looks like youve done a great job though, kudos to you

 

[YUKON 659]

David, nice job!!! Almost as nice as mine What type of material did you use to build it?

Jeff

 

[DDM]

2" tubing 3/4" Wrap 5/8" Tie off Quite strong actually I tested it in a non crucial area I Shock loaded it with a 3' X 10' oak Spar Snapped a 3/4" piece of stable braid didn't Harm the wrap at all.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Originally posted by DDM
Snapped a 3/4" piece of stable braid didn't Harm the wrap at all.

Where was the rope that snapped, holding the pulley, the port-a-wrap, or the bull rope?

 

[DDM]

Bull Rope, It was an old line It broke right over the Pulley at the bend.

 

[DDM]

My mistake that wasnt Stable braid it was 3 strand.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

To break 3/4" stable braid, you really gotta work hard. What was holding the pulley that was twice as strong as the 3/4" 3 strand?

 

[DDM]

It was either a Tuflex sling or a Tennex i cant remember which one.

 

[Nailsbeats]

Nice job one the porty, me and my bro made a couple ourselves, what a money saver. If you can weld good it's no problem, which we can because we do 40hrs a week.

 

[Magnum783]

Nice job one the porty, me and my bro made a couple ourselves, what a money saver. If you can weld good it's no problem, which we can because we do 40hrs a week.

I thought of you toady nails welded 35lbs of 6010++++ and 25lbs of 7018 rods all welds then had to be x-rayed and only one had a minor slag intrusion. I thought to myself after the inspector left Nails would be proud.
Jared

 

[Nailsbeats]

I thought of you toady nails welded 35lbs of 6010++++ and 25lbs of 7018 rods all welds then had to be x-rayed and only one had a minor slag intrusion. I thought to myself after the inspector left Nails would be proud.
Jared

You bet I would, that's a lot of iron. Musta chewed a whole box of snoose to get that done, lol.