Rookie wanna-be weldor starting to make some cool things!

[NoVa Rider]

Three, and like JVB said, thanks.

K70 has an incredibly neat operation -- his workmanship looked top notch.

He has pretty much what anyone who wanted to do everything metal themselves would wish for. The automated bike lift was just a bonus.

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by NoVa Rider

Three, and like JVB said, thanks.

K70 has an incredibly neat operation -- his workmanship looked top notch.

He has pretty much what anyone who wanted to do everything metal themselves would wish for. The automated bike lift was just a bonus.

Yep. 3!

Didn't realize that was you!!!

Good meeting you today as well!!

Get all the goodies home safely? Let me know when you run out.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

Yep. 3!

Didn't realize that was you!!!

Good meeting you today as well!!

Get all the goodies home safely? Let me know when you run out.

I have a feeling at I will need a trailer when we come back for the GS!

Jim

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

I have a feeling at I will need a trailer when we come back for the GS!

Jim

Not a problem. Just make sure to have some of that prefix beer with you.

You saw how I have my neighbor trained, didn't you? Heheheh...

[9Dave]

Found some more pieces parts at the scrap yard yesterday (on the left) to add to what I've accumulated so far for FrankenGantry. I think I've finally got the design that I want sorted out.

Here are the materials so far:


The tubing is 4X4. The piece on the left is 8', and there are 2 6' pieces, and one about 3'. The I beam is 6" with 6" flanges by almost 10', and the OD of the pipe is about 2.375". There are 4 pieces 8' and a couple shorter ones. On top of that, I have some miscellaneous angle and plate accumulated.

The metal wheels on the cart on the right will get cut off and mounted to the gantry bases. They are 6" tall X 3" wide cast and good for about 2,500 pounds each if I believe what I read.

Originally, I was thinking I would use some 2.5" square tube I have for vertical supports, 2 pieces of pipe on each side for diagonal braces, the 4X4 X 6' tubing for bases, and the I beam for the top member. Then I was thinking about putting a piece of 4X4 tube at the top on each side to mount the I beam to, sitting on top of the 2.5" tube.

But, I really want a 10'+ clear span between the legs so I can easily park a trailer underneath. After I found the 8' piece of 4X4 tube yesterday, I changed plans a bit.

New plan is to cut the I beam in two for the bases. Join the 4X4 tube into two 10' tall vertical supports, and buy a new piece of I beam for the cross member (if a suitable piece doesn't show up at the scrap yard some time soon. ) . Based on what I've seen & read, a piece of S6 12.5# I beam is sufficient for a 12' overall beam length with a one ton limit, about 11' clear span. I'll confirm that before aquiring the beam.

Now all I need is for the weather to warm up a little. I have no real need to get it done in a hurry, and it's just a little nippy in the barn right now.

[CaptTeach]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

I'll pass on the Romex idea.

Not a heavy enough jacket to be lying on the floor doing extension cord duty.

Plus, it's not very flexible.

SO or SJ cord is what I would use, but it's expensive. Buy the cord and the proper end caps, and you're easily at double what you can buy premade for. And that's just material prices - not counting a second of your time running around gathering everything up. The big brown truck will put one on my front porch that's ready-to-use for half price.

Plus, if I ever get a camper with a 50A plug, I can use it there as well! Always thinking ahead. Heheheh

Yeah - it's not very flexible - but I bought a 250ft spool to make my runs (shop is 90ft deep) so it was kinda there and my 'extension cord' is only about 20ft to get me around the work zone. HMMMMMmmmmm I have a shore power cord I got with a sailboat.................

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

Not a problem. Just make sure to have some of that prefix beer with you.

You saw how I have my neighbor trained, didn't you? Heheheh...

I did, and will do!

Jim :cool:

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by 9Dave

Found some more pieces parts at the scrap yard yesterday (on the left) to add to what I've accumulated so far for FrankenGantry. I think I've finally got the design that I want sorted out.

Here are the materials so far:


The tubing is 4X4. The piece on the left is 8', and there are 2 6' pieces, and one about 3'. The I beam is 6" with 6" flanges by almost 10', and the OD of the pipe is about 2.375". There are 4 pieces 8' and a couple shorter ones. On top of that, I have some miscellaneous angle and plate accumulated.

The metal wheels on the cart on the right will get cut off and mounted to the gantry bases. They are 6" tall X 3" wide cast and good for about 2,500 pounds each if I believe what I read.

Originally, I was thinking I would use some 2.5" square tube I have for vertical supports, 2 pieces of pipe on each side for diagonal braces, the 4X4 X 6' tubing for bases, and the I beam for the top member. Then I was thinking about putting a piece of 4X4 tube at the top on each side to mount the I beam to, sitting on top of the 2.5" tube.

But, I really want a 10'+ clear span between the legs so I can easily park a trailer underneath. After I found the 8' piece of 4X4 tube yesterday, I changed plans a bit.

New plan is to cut the I beam in two for the bases. Join the 4X4 tube into two 10' tall vertical supports, and buy a new piece of I beam for the cross member (if a suitable piece doesn't show up at the scrap yard some time soon. ) . Based on what I've seen & read, a piece of S6 12.5# I beam is sufficient for a 12' overall beam length with a one ton limit, about 11' clear span. I'll confirm that before aquiring the beam.

Now all I need is for the weather to warm up a little. I have no real need to get it done in a hurry, and it's just a little nippy in the barn right now.

Looks like your project is shaping up! Very nice! Sounds like yours will be a fixed height?

Nippy? The heat is in the tools. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that one on a jobsite.

[kirkster70]

I'm starting to get very particular with my work, especially when it's someone else's bags.

My TIG uniformity is improving by leaps and bounds, but still not exactly how I want it. I want the exposed weld to remain for strength. I don't want to grind down any more corners on any of my work.

The solution? I employ what I've heard a couple guys on the site call the "sick bro weave".

Using no filler, I dial back the frequency on the Dynasty for a soft outside corner blend. Then I go back over the existing weld and wash the toes just a little wider, making the bead more uniform in the process. I do this on every weld, even the ones in the back and on the bottom that most ignore. When I used to paint, customers always liked the extra attention to detail. I try to use what I learned back then to move forward with what I'm trying to do now. This should give me full strength on the welds while also being aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

I'm very happy with the outcome. Once the GS's racks are complete, it will be a whole new experience dealing with the powdercoater. I'm also waiting on lid gasket material to check that my clearances are what they need to be.

Getting there!

[knobbyjoe]

Nice, Moving beyond functional to TIG art form.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

I'm starting to get very particular with my work, especially when it's someone else's bags.

My TIG uniformity is improving by leaps and bounds, but still not exactly how I want it. I want the exposed weld to remain for strength. I don't want to grind down any more corners on any of my work.

The solution? I employ what I've heard a couple guys on the site call the "sick bro weave".

Using no filler, I dial back the frequency on the Dynasty for a soft outside corner blend. Then I go back over the existing weld and wash the toes just a little wider, making the bead more uniform in the process. I do this on every weld, even the ones in the back and on the bottom that most ignore. When I used to paint, customers always liked the extra attention to detail. I try to use what I learned back then to move forward with what I'm trying to do now. This should give me full strength on the welds while also being aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

I'm very happy with the outcome. Once the GS's racks are complete, it will be a whole new experience dealing with the powdercoater. I'm also waiting on lid gasket material to check that my clearances are what they need to be.

Getting there!

Wow, significant improvement over what I saw, which was already very good!

By the way, I used some of the material you gave me to do this:


Raw stock from a generous Kirk!







Going to replace this crap rack and fit this space.
Some of the WORST welds I have ever seen, but they should hold for my application.

Jim

[9Dave]

Originally Posted by kirkster70

Looks like your project is shaping up! Very nice! Sounds like yours will be a fixed height?

Nippy? The heat is in the tools. I can't tell you how many times I've heard that one on a jobsite.

Yep - fixed height at about 11' or so under the beam. It will just live in the shop, and if I want to take it out for a walk, I have a 12' door.

"The heat is in the tools" BAH! While some of the tools can produce a whole lot of resistive heat, unless it gets above 40, there is no reason I need to be playing in the shop.

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by knobbyjoe

Nice, Moving beyond functional to TIG art form.

Thanks! One day soon I'll have welds nice enough to stand on their own w/o going back over them.

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by JimVonBaden

Wow, significant improvement over what I saw, which was already very good!

By the way, I used some of the material you gave me to do this:


Raw stock from a generous Kirk!







Going to replace this crap rack and fit this space.
Some of the WORST welds I have ever seen, but they should hold for my application.

Jim

Looking good, Jim!

[kirkster70]

Originally Posted by 9Dave

Yep - fixed height at about 11' or so under the beam. It will just live in the shop, and if I want to take it out for a walk, I have a 12' door.

"The heat is in the tools" BAH! While some of the tools can produce a whole lot of resistive heat, unless it gets above 40, there is no reason I need to be playing in the shop.

I got to thinking - with a 6" flange, isn't that an "H" beam? Make sure your trolley will adjust that wide.