Trailer ball mount upgrade

Are you kidding me? My partner brought over his small trades show trailer that I made for him nearly 8 years ago to have the bearings repacked before going to Connecticut in a couple of weeks. The only reason he brought it over was because I had asked when was the last time the bearings had been repacked. 8 years ago he said.
When he showed up I noticed the tongue of the trailer was about 4 to 5 inches too high.
You need a drop hitch adapter for this thing. yeah I thought it was way too high in the front.
So while I clean repack replace the seals and the spindle nut keepers he heads to town to buy a drop hitch and a ball.
He returns with a ball that has a 3/4" shank and a drop adapter with a 1" hole. This was all they had he said. No problem I'll just make a bushing for it I told him.
Simple right? Just saw off a piece of the 3/4 ID 1" tubing I have in stock I thought.
NOOOOOO, nothing is ever that simple any more, the hole was a punched hole through 3/4" thick material causing it to have over .100" taper or 1.145" diameter on the bottom and 1.022" at the top. So I made a tapered bushing
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Yes I tend to be a bit anal when it comes to towing

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Thanks Frank S! We've added your Tapered Ball Hitch Bushing to our Trailers and Towing category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-tapered-ball-hitch-bushing"> <img src="/uploads/254464/homemade-tapered-ball-hitch-bushing.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-tapered-ball-hitch-bushing">Tapered Ball Hitch Bushing</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/Frank+S">Frank S</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/trailer'>trailer</a>, <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/adaptor'>adaptor</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Good save, Frank. You are right the hitch and tow should be close to level.

Not to mention "being anal" might keep a trailer from becoming a Hyundai hood ornament.

Nah, nothing anal about it at all! Whenever we take the 'van away, I see SO many poor hook-ups... I used to sidle up, say G'Day and ease into a convo about the problem with their chains, their ball height, their electrics hookups etc with very little appreciation...I don't anymore, not worth the aggravation. Just hope they don't come a guts and hurt or kill someone...Cheers
Jim

That is some taper there. Great quality control, do you know where it was made?

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Originally Posted by NortonDommi

That is some taper there. Great quality control, do you know where it was made?

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All the parameters to clean punching are well established. Pics aren't clear enough to see fracture ring, that would clue amount of clearance they have between punch and die. The resulting slug reflects that too, amount of deformation, the raised edge (upper), and radius of the down side.

I'll say it was made in a lean-to shed right next to where the clamshell hitch I posted about came from.
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The cross bolt holes to position the height didn't line up. No QA or QC, all the parts were bagged, broken down for a compact package. They probably didn't even know. Upon the opportunity to review, believe me; I did a full broadside.

The only thing I know is it wasn't a Reese or draw tight. it came from one of 3 places True Value, ACE hardware or Tractor supply 5000lb rating made for a 1" shank ball the welds looked to be supreme quality but in my opinion, you do not punch the shank hole in hitch adaptors just to save a few penny's of labor cost.

Punching is more than acceptable; but tooling must be correct for a proper result.
Everything; punch form, die size, not excessive wear to guide bushings (set up issue) sufficient stripper pressure, positioning of material, application of punch lube, tonnage, condition of press...

Up here in Godzone the gummit passed laws preventing people from making tow hitches unless they pay the gummit lots of monies for a special license. Good in theory but there are still idiots doing the actual work, they are getting weeded out though. Seen some bloody dodgy stuff but all 'legal'. Tow bars bolted through the floor pan with 10 mm bolts and standard washers with those stupid useless split bent bits of wire under the nut are a favorite.
As Toolmaker 51 pointed out nothing wrong with a well punched hole but a nice fit like your bush Frank is better. Shouldn't have to do though.

"I'm from the gummit and I is here to hep ya"!!! :angry:

There are times and places where punched holes are perfectly acceptable, just as there are times when they should never be used as part of a manufacturing process.
Punching introduces stresses in the base metal radiating out from the punched hole which becomes compounded the thicker the material is. When a punch and die are either worn or of mismatched diameters the stresses introduced are even worse. Having a stripper that clamps down onto the base metal rather than just being in a fixed position above it helps to control these stresses in part which also reduces rolling deformation.
Times when a punched hole should not be considered is when the material if thicker than the diameter of the hole to be punched. the exception to this rule is when the material is heated to reduce the tonnage required to punch the hole. There is also a formula relating to the minimum distance from the edge of the material that a punched hole should be placed the square of the cross section of the slug should never be greater than the than the square of the remaining base material. That is the simplistic explanation as a rule of thumb not the actual formula. In this case the material is 3/4x 3/4 from the edge of the hole to the edge ot the material the hole is 3/4x1" for drilled holes the formula is slightly different but not much

re post *12: Location of features and proximity to edges, per Frank S.
I've mentioned many times an article I treasure, written just prior to initiating wholesale foreign importations. Several pages, by true experts within industry, dozens upon dozens of what they knew would occur. It included precisely the conditions we've discussed, quality control, poor practices, shortcuts in good design, even difficulties contacting actual manufacturers.

They weren't guessing, they knew human nature.

They couldn't have guessed how many layers of re-selling there would be; separating end user from responsible party. Who doesn't believe that's intentional?

So many years ago when I worked on the ICG Railroad as a rail detector car operator. They then practiced punching holes in the rail for the bolts to secure the rail coupling plates. It was discovered the process created stress fractures which were exacerbated by the pounding of the heavy engines and cars. This caused more failures at the bolted couplings.

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Originally Posted by hemmjo

"I'm from the gummit and I is here to hep ya"!!! :angry:

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Never truer words with one known exception that would require a few beers for the telling.

I tend to be the same way about plasma or oxy fuel cut holes. When I tell a burner I want the holes burned 1/8" smaller in diameter than the finished hole needs to be. Their first response is but we can burn to within a few thousands in that thickness.
Cylindrical or conical I ask, and usually get the blank stare as if they have no idea what I'm talking about.

I went to our local True Value yesterday and found the source of the drop receiver. It is a Master Mechanics brand. I own several MM branded tools such as combination wrenches sockets and such and have no qualms about their quality or durability. I looked over the other receiver inserts and noticed that out of the 20 or so on display only one other had a seriously tapered punched hole the rest not so much. Some of them were drilled holes not punched, there were also different prices for what looked to be nearly the same adapters, as well as different load ratings. What this tells me is knowing my bean counting partner like I do he purchased on price not realizing some possible quality differences. I usually purchase on appearances of quality not paying too much attention to the price if within reason.

re Frank S, post *17.
Since I'm both Incoming Quality Inspector and Bean Counter, my conclusions are nearly identical. The real issue isn't just Master Mechanic alone.

Just about any mass produced items sold under private labels fall into sketchy territory. HF, is the most visible; any items on display hook could have identical appearance, AND different part numbers. That signifies what amounts to 'similar items from different manufacturers under same general description'. Most noticeable on sale items; where price applies to specific item numbers (more accurately production codes) only. Undoubtedly tied to a particular contract; material cost, labor, quantity, shipping, maybe infinite variables.
It will continue, probably worsening until sellers put screws to those suppliers, or are more selective awarding contracts. There are too many consumers that cannot tell difference between, say, a drilled or a punched hole, so it's not likely to occur.

I don't see it a issue purely with capitalism; it's really the fault of consumerism in bed with marketing, while non-participants get the rogering.

"It will continue, probably worsening until sellers put screws to those suppliers, or are more selective awarding contracts. "
I think this is part of the problem. I have seen many examples where an importer brings in a product and as it is good value it sells well, they then switch providers for a cheaper lower quality but keep or slightly raise the price. Only losers are the 1st manufacturer and the end user.
Where I live this happens a lot as most machines are imported and no matter where from manufacturer builds to a price point. The Chinese lathe I bought is a good example. When 1st introduced they were pretty darn good quality, by the time I bought one the importer had switched supplier for a lower priced but very similar lathe. Only a few small differences cosmetically which were sold to me as the 'new model'.
Still happy with it but annoyed to know that it is no-where near as well built as what I thought I was buying.

I looked through a selection of other brand receivers Saturday the Reese Brand laid side by side to the Master Mechanic were identical right down to the amount of taper in the punched holes the ones that had a 3/4" punched hole had a distinctive lip inside the hole a 3/4 shank ball fit nicely at the top but the bottom had nearly 1/8" clearance all the way around. Only the 10,000 lb rated ones had 1 1/4" drilled holes through 1" thick plate welded to 2 1/2" sq tubing

NortonDommi has it squared up. The earliest products tend to exceed what is currently available.
Best proof I know points to ENCO, which appear to be the first, if not largest' importer of foreign made tools. They're gone, yet used products still take in good prices at auctions. My favorites, the Dickson-style QCTP and holders and 12" V-H rotary table, nearly a combined rotab/ indexer, hell for stout. Still have my cloned Kant Twist as well...

Saw this same issue abut 2 months ago.
Being lazy, I drilled the tapered hole to size, then made the bushing with straight sides.