Debris Box

 I do two cycle/handheld equipment repair at work but every once in a while the boss tasks me with a light fabricating project. This time around its a debris box for the back of a truck. The box will just sit on the back of a flatbed truck and can accommodate the chute of a wood chipper and in the future, a leaf loader.

 Oddly enough I've built a couple of these debris boxes before so I already know whats needed to make this a successful project. Thinking back, the first one was made of wood. This will be the fourth. "I see here on your resume that you've built four leaf boxes. Thats just the kind of man we're looking for".

 This stack of 4'x 8' 12 gauge sheet metal is like porn for gear heads. I was able to design whatever I wanted and just hand the boss a list of materials. Sweet.

 It took me a whole afternoon to cut all the 1 1/2" square tube and weld up one side. I bolted down the base piece on the bed rail and just built up from there.

  I like these larger projects because it gives me a chance to unroll my tape measure into areas where the numbers are actually still readable.

 I was able to recruit some help and to name names would be silly. A lot of guys helped and it was appreciated.

  So this is the way it will sit for the holiday weekend. Tuesday I should be able to work on it a bit and maybe finish Wednesday or Thursday. 

 I've been asked a lot of times already about why some of the sheet metal is on the inside of the frame and some on the outside. The reason the side panels are on the inside is to hide the seams behind the framework, allow the material to dump out better without getting hung up on framework and to allow one man to unbolt the unit from the truck. That wouldn't be possible with the bolt heads on the inside of the box with the nuts underneath. The front and top panels are on the outside for a number of reasons also. If the front panel were inside, how would it seal to the side panel on the inside? It would need to be welded its entire length to seal the seam and there would be no framework support behind the corners unless I added an extra piece. Also, there will be a sheet of plywood screwed to the inside to protect the front panel from stone dings caused by the material loader. Finally, the expanded metal roof can then just lay on top of the framework and be welded down. Ya its a simple project but if you think these things through then there are no regrets or wasted material.

Later.