That's Not a DIY 3-Point Hitch, Dummy

3-point hitch

Several of the staffers have worked on farms at one time or another, so they're reasonably familiar with the idea of a 3-point hitch. The operative phrase is, quite clearly, "3-point"; meaning that the system has thee points of attachment; typically describing a geometry similar to a capital letter A. That geometry is what made one of those former farmers submit today's DotD nomination, an eHow.com post by Cameron Easey titled, "DIY 3-Point Hitch Frame" (now found at GardenGuides.com).

Easey, here making his sixth appearance as a DotD, was clearly confused by the question. Instead of running to Wikipedia for the definition and description of a 3-point hitch, Cameron googled it... and found a hitch adapter that attaches at 3 points. With that in mind, Cameron went into MSU¹ mode, concocting instructions for making what appears to be some sort of drawbar.
Our farmers were not impressed: a drawbar is not a 3-point hitch...

Here's what Easey said to do:

• Cut "square metal tubing" to a length of  28 inches.
• Drill a ⁷⁄₈ -inch hole in 1½ inches from one end.
• Cut a 24½-inch length of "metal tubing." Weld it to the center of the other piece.
• Drill a ⁷⁄₈ -inch hole in the center of the long piece.
• Reinforce one hole with "2-inch square pieces of metal," and add a ball hitch.

First. that's not a 3-point hitch – we don't see an A anywhere in that design. We think it's some form of drawbar. Second, the dimensions are curiously exact; enough so that Easey must have copied them from something... what, we're not sure. And third, our Dumbass of the Day didn't have any references even remotely related to those  instructions; just a couple of links to products that aren't a three-point hitch and a general reference for welding aluminum (which wouldn't be suitable for a 3-point hitch anyway).

Oh, yeah, and "2-inch square metal tubing"? It might work for a lawn tractor...

¹ MSU: Make Shit Up.

copyright © 2020-2022 scmrak

DD - TRACTORS