Straight Bussin, no cap fr fr.

[DeMac]

Go Large

10 gauge wire is larger then a 14 gauge wire. I have had to run a 10 gauge wire on a truck because the truck was really long.

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I side with Omnibot on the larger size 10 guage. When I was looking up the diagrams that I posted on the previous page, I noticed that some of the more reputable kits for trucks & buses come stock with #10 conductors and a #8 ground.

 

[Omnibot2000]

Ok, so when you said smaller you meant smaller AWG. Not thinner wire. I got 12ga, should be fine for it.

You should be fine. Generally 14 gauge is 1-2 axle braking. 12 gauge is for 3-4 axle braking. I had to use 10 gauge once on a truck because I had over 50 feet of wiring to run. Had to kick it up one size

 

[Omnibot2000]

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I side with Omnibot on the larger size 10 guage. When I was looking up the diagrams that I posted on the previous page, I noticed that some of the more reputable kits for trucks & buses come stock with #10 conductors and a #8 ground.

Agreed. Depends on the controller capabilities and what your attended purpose is.

Most importantly, follow the directions of the controller.

 

[nikitis]

Update on Hitch Mount.

I fitted the hitch to the C-Channels. Fits great. Held in with a C-Clamp on both ends. Marked the holes to drill.

Attempted to drill. I got 1 and 1/2 holes drilled out of 6, and wasted like 20 drill bits. That steel is hard as *#&#!

I dunno what it is about steel from 30 years ago, but I sharpened the bits and used oil and everything, and I sharpened the bits down to a nub.

I gave up and brought out the plasma cutter. Problem though, it's sideways and it's really thick so it won't puncture a hole, and infact only made the steel harder it seems from the heat.

I'm kind of at my wits end with this bus and drilling holes in it. I just cannot get through it without spending $600 in bits.

So I think instead I'm going to finally break down and purchase a Mag Drill. The bits they use and the pressure I can put on them easily enough should make this trivial assuming the bits can penetrate this steel. I've been having more and more need to drill large holes through thick steel lately. I'm just done trying to drill through by hand. Between the king pin job and this, I'm through. $250 mag drills are cheaper than $600 in bits.

 

[fo4imtippin]

Update on Hitch Mount.

I fitted the hitch to the C-Channels. Fits great. Held in with a C-Clamp on both ends. Marked the holes to drill.

Attempted to drill. I got 1 and 1/2 holes drilled out of 6, and wasted like 20 drill bits. That steel is hard as *#&#!

I dunno what it is about steel from 30 years ago, but I sharpened the bits and used oil and everything, and I sharpened the bits down to a nub.

I gave up and brought out the plasma cutter. Problem though, it's sideways and it's really thick so it won't puncture a hole, and infact only made the steel harder it seems from the heat.

I'm kind of at my wits end with this bus and drilling holes in it. I just cannot get through it without spending $600 in bits.

So I think instead I'm going to finally break down and purchase a Mag Drill. The bits they use and the pressure I can put on them easily enough should make this trivial assuming the bits can penetrate this steel. I've been having more and more need to drill large holes through thick steel lately. I'm just done trying to drill through by hand. Between the king pin job and this, I'm through. $250 mag drills are cheaper than $600 in bits.

i am on my second set of bosch m35 cobalt bits. I have drilled over 100 1/2 holes in my thick tempered frame rails and ajoining metal. The first set i lost the 1/2 bit because the cobalt is so hard and it caught when it punched through and shattered. I lost the 3/8 bits and and all the other ones by breakage as well. Haven't sharpened any of them. The frame is easy. I use a clamp that can be configured to squeeze for expansion and then i just put it behind the back of the drill and push it through with slow speed. I use cutting oil if it wont just run off the side. I'm surprised your plasma cutter wont go through the metal. I got rid of my pilot arc head and went back to standard and it cuts thicker and cleaner, just have to get to metal first.

 

[Omnibot2000]

Invest in this for drilling frames. Drill smallest hole with a regular bit to start the reamer and then use the reamer with a t handle drill.

Use lots of lube and be slow and carefully. If the reamer catches at high speed you can break your wrists.

If you pre drill all your holes, the reamer will sink 6 holes in 20 minutes.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

i am on my second set of bosch m35 cobalt bits. I have drilled over 100 1/2 holes in my thick tempered frame rails and ajoining metal. The first set i lost the 1/2 bit because the cobalt is so hard and it caught when it punched through and shattered. I lost the 3/8 bits and and all the other ones by breakage as well. Haven't sharpened any of them. The frame is easy. I use a clamp that can be configured to squeeze for expansion and then i just put it behind the back of the drill and push it through with slow speed. I use cutting oil if it wont just run off the side. I'm surprised your plasma cutter wont go through the metal. I got rid of my pilot arc head and went back to standard and it cuts thicker and cleaner, just have to get to metal first.[/QUOLong time toolmaker here. Going from Ø3/8 to Ø1/2 is not enough of a step.

 

[Kentucky Dreaming]

Sorry. I hit the wrong button. If you want a Ø1/2" hole, drill with a Ø1/4" pilot drill.

Taking out thin shavings with the final cut almost guarantees getting the drill pulled out of your hand.

And if you do it on a drill press, you will helicopter the workpiece and vise.

 

[fo4imtippin]

Sorry. I hit the wrong button. If you want a Ø1/2" hole, drill with a Ø1/4" pilot drill.

Taking out thin shavings with the final cut almost guarantees getting the drill pulled out of your hand.

And if you do it on a drill press, you will helicopter the workpiece and vise.

Ha yeah i wasn't stepping. Its because my strongest drill lost its clutch a few years ago when i got the electric chuck in some grout mix. I bought a pack of like 30 1/4 cobalt bits and those are typically my pilot bits. For the heavy steel, sometimes works better to cut the full hole as it holds the cutting fluid. My bits all break when im pressing really hard and they punch through and then go crooked and the drill catches and spins around. Avoided some serious injuries but got a few crushed hands along the way. I have since bought two drills and their clutches are worthless. I should find the corded drill i have and use that. I really wanted a mag drill for mine, but i couldn't have put it in half the places i needed to drill a hole anyway.

 

[Albatross]

What I wouldn't give to have the craftsman corded drill my dad owned in the '90s...

That thing was a monster, and nothing I've used since even comes close to it.

 

[Ronnie-SKO]

Invest in this for drilling frames. Drill smallest hole with a regular bit to start the reamer and then use the reamer with a t handle drill.

Use lots of lube and be slow and carefully. If the reamer catches at high speed you can break your wrists.

If you pre drill all your holes, the reamer will sink 6 holes in 20 minutes.

This is what I do as well. It also has the advantage of being an accurate hole, rather then the slightly oversize hole a drill bit makes.

 

[nikitis]

Yeah I tried to use smaller drill bits first, but they are dulling nearly instantly. I go slow with cutting fluid, but it's still dulling the bits very quickly. I went through 5 small bits and didn't get through. Then stepped up 4 sizes just to get one hole done. After that one hole was done, I counted and went through 15 bits total. That's far too many bits for such a small job, and I still got 5 more holes to make.

Stepping up is easier, but I can't step up when I can't even get through it at the smallest level.

I think "Core" drilling is the way to go. And I could fit a mag drill where these are at. Having the added pressure of a press combined with a core bit means less I have to actually cut material wise, and it comes with an automatic fluid feed.

I also am cutting 5/8 sized holes which is larger than 1/2 size for the hitch.

Having to use so many bits every time I need some large holes done is just unacceptable in my mind and is wholly inadequate. If I'm going to have to throw down that much money on drill bits, it makes sense to me to go towards a tool that can do many of these holes effortlessly. I do think a reamer bit could work better than what i'm doing if I could get through it in the first place with small bits, but those are dulling or shattering on me and breaking off in the holes and I can't get them out when that happens easily.

 

[nikitis]

Got a little farther on the drilling. I order a cheap mag drill, cheapest I could find and used, and ordered a high end Annular bit with Tungsten Carbide Tips. A guy did real world tests on this bit among all the other available ones, and this one came in second place. It was $60. The first place bit had nearly the same results as this one but was $138. Both have the Tungsten Carbide tips.

I will use this bit with the mag drill, but it will take a week to get here. I will likely end up finishing drilling by hand. I did end up finding a method that is sort of working though extremely tedious.

I start off with the smallest bit I can find. The first drill takes the longest. I go in 2mm, then sharpen the bit, spray WD40 on it and the drilling spot. Rinse and repeat about 15 times till it goes through. If I don't take the bit out and sharpen it every 2mm, it dulls completely and goes no where.

I've also improved my sharpening by hand skills using a stone grinder, and I'm getting pretty good at it. I worked my way all the way up to 1/2 bit and I didn't even have to sharpen it but once and it went through quick. I'm starting to understand the angles required to make the bits carve into the metal more, and while it's wrist breaking, it is working. I've finished 3 of them, and the bolts fit, working on the 4th, just have to run one more 5/8's through it and 4 will be done, then I have to start doing the last two.

See pics.

 

[nikitis]

Update on the custom hitch. The mount holes are bored. Both sides fit perfectly.

Now that I know I can mount it taking it down to weld on the 2 in receiver and the backup chain plates. Once welded I'll paint it then she's ready to install. More pics coming soon.

 

[nikitis]

Update. Got trailer hitch fully welded together, and painted. Waiting for it to dry then will bolt it up. Pics below for the paint job. What do you guys think for my first trailer hitch build?

 

[skoontz]

I imagine others will chime in here, but those welds do not look like good welds. They do not look like they have proper penetration into the steel. The hitch may feel solid, but without proper penetration, the hitch may come apart with a trailer attached. You've done great work on your bus so far, but for safety reasons, I think you should redo the hitch

 

[Omnibot2000]

I imagine others will chime in here, but those welds do not look like good welds. They do not look like they have proper penetration into the steel. The hitch may feel solid, but without proper penetration, the hitch may come apart with a trailer attached. You've done great work on your bus so far, but for safety reasons, I think you should redo the hitch

I do have to agree. Crank that heat up, get a puddle going and either push or drag that weld. Push generally stronger to my under standing but drag works too.

 

[nikitis]

I appreciate the concern. The welds are okay. They popcorn a bit but upon close inspection they do penetrate the steel deeply

I only have a 110v Lincoln and doing flux core.

Flux core uses a reverse polarity setup which draws it out the weld a little more and makes a popcorn like look. Flux core, it's not clean but it's very strong. The flux in the wire allows it to bond with the steel it's being welded to more than traditional 220v welding, just not as clean looking. It's literally impossible to stack dimes on a 110 flux core setup due to the way it draws up the steel.

I've been pulling a mini-excavator on a trailer I built with the same welds and I check them periodically for cracking. I've not yet experienced any cracks. 12k lbs total weight of trailer + excavator, and it's been holding up great.

I also in addition to using flux core, I also cut a V groove into all of the weld spots with a grinder death wheel so I have a much wider crevice I welded into, so there's deeper welding you aren't seeing in the pictures. So for every weld line you see, I have 2 layers of weld. One in the Crevice, and then another layer on top.

It's not my first time welding stuff, just my first trailer hitch. I've yet to have anything I've welded come apart on me with this Lincoln and I've done a lot of weight testing over the years. That being said, I will pull some lighter loads first with it and inspect it after every pull carefully to be sure, but I'm not worried about it. I'm mostly using the hitch for light loads, not planning on pulling my cars or excavator on it.

I wanna use it for a 200 lb carry cart mostly.

I did push welding

 

[fo4imtippin]

I do have to agree. Crank that heat up, get a puddle going and either push or drag that weld. Push generally stronger to my under standing but drag works too.

I agree, this is like solder on the surface. The last thing i would weld with uncertainty is a trailer hitch.. Now you have to spend more time cleaning paint off to reweld those than to fabricate the whole thing.


You are probably at the limit of your flux core wire. If you are using .030 wire, you can weld up to 1/8 (maybe 3/16) and .035 can go up to 1/4in or so. Now that you have to penetrate the surface weld, you are going to have to probably have someone use some shielding gas with 200a to burn through that puddle and melt the popcorn into the base metal.


I used dual shield on my hitch and crane where they are matters of life safety if the welds break.




I go back to my suggestion of the curt 15924 which will absolutely fit your bus and your welds wouldn't be as critical in its design.

 

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

nikits.
throw it in the back and bring it down to me and we will run my stick machine over everything.
i hate flux core because it looks like **** over mig with gas or a 6010 root and 7018 cover.