Slot Hitch Tounge 2.0

Started on the new hitch tongues yesterday. The new versions will all be done on the iron worker from now on. Each one will be sheared instead of cut on the band saw, and the holes will all be punched instead of drilled.

Even though prices of flat stock have almost doubled since I made the last batch last Fall the price of the new ones will stay the same as the old ones because the labor time to make them has decreased by 90%.

I planned on having them done yesterday but early Spring is really wild around here. This post will also have some pics of how the new versions are made.

First step is taking 1/2 a stick (10') of 5/8" x 2" steel, getting it on the machine and setting the backstop at 8". Once that is done we just feed the steel in till it hits the stop, press the pedal on the machine and it takes 3 seconds to shear it and raise for the next piece. In about 3 minutes minutes the entire stick is sheared and stacked on the welding table.

Next steps are punching the holes.

The new pieces will have a little larger hole on the hitch pin end. Previously the hole was drilled to 3/4" The new ones will be punched to 13/16" The first pic below shows a new punched hole over an original drilled hole for comparison.

The reason is punch dies (unless custom made) are always done in 1/16" increments. The reason for this is if you have a longer bolt the shank, or non threaded portion of a longer bolt is the actual size of the bolt. Nothing being a perfect size and roundness makes it hard to put a 3/4" bolt shank in a 3/4" hole, hence the 1/16" upsize. Same as with the shearing, there is a hole made every 3 seconds.

I bet you didn't know this was going to be a fabrication class as well lol.

This step is a quick punch change to an 11/16" punch for the slot pin. In a little over one minute 14 pin holes were punched. Less than the time to drill one. Each one gets slid into a slot hitch as it comes off of the machine to make sure the slot pin drops in each each one easily. I really like this machine.

Next step will be a quick run over with a flap disc on the mag vise to remove any possible sharp edges.

The new pattern is cleaned up and labeled. After a quick trip to the mag vise and flap disc the others are cleaned up and ready for paint. Since setup is quick and they are so easy to make now I don't have to make so many at once. Now there's more time to do other things.

The first new batch is done and painted, they will be satin black from now on. Will update them in the store soon.