So I took this pictorial a while back. Lots of people don't like videos and prefer to read. That being said I'm a visual guy so lots of pictures. Really hope this helps some folks be able to make these exactly like I do Now it's been a while since I took these or made some so I might be missing something , feel free to ask and I'll be happy to explain Also it will take a little bit to type and load all these lol.

So anyway, pivoting drags , some people love them for various reasons but whatever. Here hoe you can make some fox sized ones if you like to weld .



So here's our material list and measurements you need to cut


No you can cut all this with whatever but personally I like to use a chop saw for the bigger stuff and a pair of cutters for the 1/4". Also little tip. If your planning on making lots of these , just cut out a bunch of parts and have them in reserve. Makes life much easier


Cutting the 1/4" with a pair of cutters is quick and it also makes it have a bevel that helps with welding



Cutting with a chop saw or any other abrasive disk will leave you with a burr which I highly advise getting rid of before welding.other wise your not gonna be able to butt you material up and honestly it can work but it will be pretty sloppy. My favorite way is using a old flap disk on a angle grinder. Throws way sees sparks and does it quicker and with less nosie then a regular grinding stone




Ok now it's time to make our prongs . Now with thai style of drag for this size critter I make my prongs out of kne solid pice of 3/8 hot ot cold roll. Honestly if your able id bump up a size bigger but my shop didn't have any and didn't wanna go right up to 1/2" cold roll.
Now you can wel this pice up with three pieces but you'll need a flat table and honestly it's a little bit of a pain to get everything just right. ALSO ! If you want SUPERIOR PLOWING ACTION USE ROUND STOCK!! Rebar will work if you want this to be a tracking drag but if you want it to dig in and go into the ground easier it NEEDS TO BE Round STOCK. The slick need over it let's it penetration with much less resistance compared to rebar which I ribbed. Bais imagine taking a needle. If you made like rebar image how much haier it would be tho shove that in your skin vs a smooth normal needle same thing goes for digging into the ground .
So anyhow making your prong is a bit of a balancing act. You don't want to too wide or it will dog walk too much and will wash out too quickly, meaning when it gets caught in the ground a root system sect it has too much of an angle and will unhook much easier. Too narrow and it is more prone to skipping across the ground and also missing sappling and other brush when being dragged though that type of terrain..a narrow drag also will not " clean out" as well.
But anyhow luck for y'all I did all the experiments and sent a about two doez out to get tested and seems my measurement here work so just lay out your pice like so

Now the way I bend is kinda came mane but it's really easy on the back. Just clamp your pice in a vice a hair above your mark line and use a cheater pipe to bend it into a little over a 90° angle . You want a little bit of an inwards angle. Also highly advise getting I pice of pipe as clos fitting to your rod as possible.




And boom N your probably gonna mes sup you first few but once you get a hang of it they all should could out pretty dang close !

Ok so now come the welding . And to help with that I made up a few of these little jigs. Noting Fancy. Three pieces of angle iron that will keep my rebar in place and easy to clamp



Now for this drag where you two pieces of rebar double upped give you more weight and a wides surface are with help the drag sty stable. Also rebar iis alot cheaper then bar stock lol

So I just clamp them in my jig but then up nice and square and zappy zap zap. Now I will say though I like to butt the rips on the sides of the rebar up before welding. This gives you a nice look and a little valley for you weld to go


I live to give tit three 1-2" long stringers on each side now it's time for or little spreader bar. This is just the pice that we sue to build our pivot on. Now a really cool thing about doubled rebar is it ver early to weld your centers. Just mark center in you spreader and put it between the little v the double rebar tends to me on the end. And again I try and match all the ribs together. And I will say , ext to the eye this is probably you most important weld so make sure you dona goo one on both sides

Ok now our hinge. Again pretty simple with our jig. Take your two nuts And sif then on to your prong. Now on the nuts you want to make sure you get some that will give you a good bit of clean out room ESPECIALLY if you bury you drags. If your nuts are to snug any dirt or nude can get int heir can clog up the works and your dag won't be 1/2' as effective as it should be. Especially in freezing conditions. Want some slop in there like a AK-47 if that makes sense. Anyhow put them on as shown make sure their nice aleven and level and tack them on. Also if their get kinda cattywamus you'll end up with a drag theat won't freely pivot so be careful

First of all very nice work on the design and making of the Drag You did not strat cutting corners or allow the layout get sloppy .They do look like a great item to have some of As I was looking through your post I thought a at least a couple places and ways I would put some to use Certainly be a time saver when actually setting up your line Fasten to a trap and ready to go .And a great pictorial of how you do it .

Don’t be hesitant to archive yourself. Nice job.

Good job on the innovation.

Sorry I have finished it yet. Working on a 40hr online course I'll try and get the rest typed up today

Awesome. This is the type of stuff this board used to be about.