[PeteM]

Not Otto but. Any time you can round a corner it will reduce stress. Often you will see patch plates with rounded corner, or when you weld windows into a boiler tube you round the corners of the patch to help relieve stress.

A sqiurcle!

[Coldman]

Don't sweat it. You will be protected by the standard "act of God " exclusion clause.


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[Farmwelding]

Don't sweat it. You will be protected by the standard "act of God " exclusion clause.


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For about three seconds-right up until the Feds get there!

[thatoneguy]

This is gonna sound somewhat arrogant, but I have more than enough experience and education for a project like this.

No offense intended. Everyone here wants only to help, but without knowing your specific qualifications, responses were offered with a fair dose of "please be safe" info. We've all cringed at those "I just bought a welder to build my airplane" or "what rod do I use to build a trailer" posts.

No believe me I get that! Lol I was just stating that because my original post was extremely vague and I wanted to clarify but didn't want to sound like a cocky S.O.B. Either.

[thatoneguy]

From a metallurgy standpoint, E70s-6 Mig wire or ER7018 stick (or ER7014, for that matter) will give you both sufficient strength and sufficient ductility to withstand wind stress and it's own weight.

From a design standpoint, notching and welding on the bias is the best choice you could have made for ultimate strength. This significantly increases the length of weld, and puts the weld in favorable positions for the loads it will see. It virtually eliminates sharp corners, thus eliminating stress risers. It also eliminates welds that are perpendicular to the line of load.

I also think it will be more attractive as a finished product than simply square-butting it.

Steve S

I couldn't agree more! And thanks for the feedback! I'm actually planning on only having 2 stopping points per side. Gonna start out welding overhead/vertical up and then once i hit the corner of the square tubing I will be welding vertical up, kind of. More of a 6G type angle than actually overhead since it will be suspended during assembly so I can get underneath it. I don't know if that makes sense but basically I am trying to limit my starts and stops as much as possible and will probably feather stops and tacks before welding into or away from them.

[thatoneguy]

Don't sweat it. You will be protected by the standard "act of God " exclusion clause.


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HAHAHA!!! Well in the off chance and highly unfortunate event that this big ol' thang ever did come down... I'll make sure to include that with my insurance claim!!!

[thatoneguy]

Not Otto but. Any time you can round a corner it will reduce stress. Often you will see patch plates with rounded corner, or when you weld windows into a boiler tube you round the corners of the patch to help relieve stress.

Never knew this but the more I think about it the more sense it makes. Thanks for the info!

[thatoneguy]

Another idea! maybe a 3/32"-1/4" gap with a backing plate??? I figure it can only help so why not? Already have material suitable to cut some backing plates so it won't increase my costs at all?????

[PeteM]

What ever you do, post some pics! I like seeing projects that are a work of devotion. That adds a little something extra to it that goes beyond tab A, slot B, wire size X, etc.

[thatoneguy]

What ever you do, post some pics! I like seeing projects that are a work of devotion. That adds a little something extra to it that goes beyond tab A, slot B, wire size X, etc.

Will do for sure. Ill probably post some here and then also make a thread in the projects section as well. I can definitely say that I haven't been this excited about a project in a while.

[homeboy]

I always think lazy and I'd make a terrible hooker because I hate to work on my back!! Dumb idea- securely tack the main cross together set each end on 2 stands higher than the arms length with a plank across. You can spin the cross 90 degrees at a time for comfortable welding cleaning etc. This is how I build trailers-main frame rails-spin -weld on all bottom fixtures -grind clean spin back and finish. Takes about 1/2 hr to spin but saves hours of time. Every thing sits on 3ft stands. Nuts????

[cj737]

I always think lazy and I'd make a terrible hooker because I hate to work on my back!! Dumb idea- securely tack the main cross together set each end on 2 stands higher than the arms length with a plank across. You can spin the cross 90 degrees at a time for comfortable welding cleaning etc. This is how I build trailers-main frame rails-spin -weld on all bottom fixtures -grind clean spin back and finish. Takes about 1/2 hr to spin but saves hours of time. Every thing sits on 3ft stands. Nuts????

Brains or braun, which is your better asset? I personally never believe it to be "lazy" to weld smarter. Any time you can be more comfortable and weld in a flat position, you will produce a better weld. If welding at eye level, you will see the puddle better and have less fatigue and strain on your body. Sounds pretty dang smart to me.

[thatoneguy]

What I think I'm gonna end up doing is because of how wide the horizontal arms will be and how heavy this thing is gonna be, I'm gonna get it all tacked up then weld one side, have some friends that are helping with other parts of the project flip it over, weld the opposite side and repeat. Weld opposite sides to maintain squareness. As for suspending it I thought about using jack stands but I don't have any tall enough to be able to spin it. Other wise I would definitely do it. And to buy tall enough jack stands would be way too expensive for my budget right now!

[Poland308]

Hang it from straps if your joists will support. Sounds like it's big enough you could sling it from several spots to spread out the weight.

[thatoneguy]

Hang it from straps if your joists will support. Sounds like it's big enough you could sling it from several spots to spread out the weight.

You sir, are a genius... I'll have to make some rigid and reusable mounts going through the ceiling because I don't want to have nasty holes cut through the Sheetrock. Now the wheels are turning.

[homeboy]

Don't have any idea what you have for stands but if they are decent size can you just make longer extensions to slip In with a pin to keep the bottom off the floor for stability? Clamp or weld on a crossbar to height req'd to spin and clamp or weld some X bracing if the stands don't have enough stability on their own. You only need a crossbar 2ft or less because steel on steel slides real easy. Just a bad habit of mine always trying to figure how to do stuff!

[Poland308]

Not a genius. It's just that doing field work in mechanical rooms I have a 50/50 chance of supporting stuff from under or above. Sometimes a combination of the two to be safe.

[thatoneguy]

I just have some 3 ton normal height jack stands. I think I'm just gonna do the supporting from the rafters idea. Build some rigid and reusable shackles hanging from them and tada!