Project 1 from DaveO: Luggage Rack revisit

Some years back when I first wanted to try my hand at welding I built a hitch receiver luggage rack. It has served well but every time I used it I would see the horrible first-try welds and cringe. The welds looked more like the results of a bad sneeze than anything else. Last time we used it I noticed the plywood deck starting to delaminate and some rust at the receiver end where the paint has scraped off. So in addition to repainting and replacing the plywood deck, this past weekend I ground out most of the welds and re-welded.

The construction components are a length of 2" OD square tubing; The frame and uprights are angle and to provide some containment I ran stainless cable around the top end of the uprights. The useable deck size is 2 ft. deep by 5 ft. wide, a little larger than the Harbor Freight model that inspired it.

First part of the original build was to lay out the frame: I mitered the corners with a chop saw, then cut the uprights. I bought the 2" OD tube at a steel supplier and a 5/8" bit to drill the hole for the hitch pin. To be sure the opposite side hitch pin holes matched up exactly I clamped the 2" tube to the drill press table, drilled a pilot hole and the 5/8" pin hole on the top surface; then drilled the pilot hole and pin hole for the bottom surface through the new 5/8" hole on the top. I drilled bolt holes on all four sides of the frame to attach the deck, and used a 2" hole saw to cut holes around the perimeter of the deck to run ropes or binder straps.

I used 6011 electrodes; the mitered corners are butt welds and the uprights are lap welded on both sides. The frame joins the hitch tube with a fillet and lap welds, and I added four lap welded gussets underneath for additional support. For this rebuild I left the few respectable looking welds in place and ground everything else out to re-weld them. Next steps are to add a new plywood deck and repaint.


Photos: one of a lap weld, camera too close. I welded everything horizontally and was in an awkward position and either didn't finish this weld because I couldn't see or dug myself that little crater at the end. The other photo is the end product.
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