Estate rail

[Kent]

I much prefer this type of fencing to the bow top railings now seen EVERYWHERE , but scrolls made of 12x3, outside, ungalvanised and with one coat of 'black paint' are a real pet hate-Wrought Ironwork my heiney.

Yeah those are the 70s style stuff I spoke of earlier -YUK! but I am also developing a deep disregard for decent ish work left with bare galv . I do like some of the work being done in the States by a few great firms, it has more originality than our much copied weld in component stuff.

 

[roofman]

You want to see their stuff in the flesh, it don't look so hot as the photo lots of socket joints and bolts. Cheshire rails? explain? that's a CDI job in the photo is it not? they advertise in The Field

here in cheshire theres white metal railings on almost every field boundry and seems to be just cheshire for a strange reason...localy known as cheshire railings

 

[Gareth J]

Awesome. I can't believe you drilled all those holes... Time to invest in a punching machine/garrote!

 

[Kent]

View attachment 63341

here in cheshire theres white metal railings on almost every field boundry and seems to be just cheshire for a strange reason...localy known as cheshire railings

Not unfamiliar with the Cheshire area myself, its certainly seems localised to areas once controlled under big country Estates - Cheshire being a prime example. Never heard the term before you used though and assumed it was a company name using another firms picture.

 

[Kent]

Awesome. I can't believe you drilled all those holes... Time to invest in a punching machine/garrote!

One of those jobs when you start your committed to carry on drilling. To think I thought £14 each CNC plasma cut was too dear - before I started drilling!
All ears if someone knows any better ways that are economic in terms of gear?

What I used was a pilot drill through a template approx. 6mm then a hole saw at 22mm or 18mm depending. When fitting I learnt that even 2mm clearance aint enough if your post isn't going to be square to the direction the bar comes in at so I took a big round bastard cut file to many of them. Oh and I burnt through and chipped a lot of expensive hole saws!

Whatever it needs to get through 10-12mm thick black bar, if I cant find a better way I recon I will deffo get the next lot out for plasma cutting from plate.

 

[Bede]

I'd have just chucked a 9mm pilot, then 18, and a 10mm pilot, then 22. How come you chose a hole saw? You only got a small pedestal drill?

Good comments in this thread about modern 'wrought iron'. I've done a fair bit myself but I always get irritated by folk wanting cheap tat. I try to avoid it unless it's for a mate or we're dead quiet. Nobody wants to shell out for something that's half decent. I hate being restricted!

 

[Gareth J]

They use a whacking great punching machine at a steel fabricatorsb I used to work at. It looked and sounded like something out of mad Max and they called it "the garote". I think it'd be capable of punching through that ok. It deforms the plate a bit around the hole but no major worry if you're welding both sides.

Was primarily used to punch holes in perlin cleats but also chomped angle and flat the other side of the machine.

I imagine it cost a few grand in its decrepit state so buying is probably not worth it unless you had masses to do but maybe a steel frame building fabrication company could supply you with the punched out posts

 

[Bede]

I used to do a lot of council type railing for a big local company and they supplied all the materials, cropped and punched. The standard was apalling. I often had to run it through my big flypress to flatten it out to a suable state. It's not a method I'd use for decorative stuff. Punching is very coarse.

 

[awemawson]

Presumably though originally that's how a blacksmith would have done it - punched hot straight from the hearth, and could even be done on site with a portable forge

 

[Bede]

Blacksmiths weren't cheapskate cowboys though!

 

[Kent]

I'd have just chucked a 9mm pilot, then 18, and a 10mm pilot, then 22. How come you chose a hole saw? You only got a small pedestal drill?

Good comments in this thread about modern 'wrought iron'. I've done a fair bit myself but I always get irritated by folk wanting cheap tat. I try to avoid it unless it's for a mate or we're dead quiet. Nobody wants to shell out for something that's half decent. I hate being restricted!

Not mega small but single phase 650 watt motor. I did a few like that and it worked out slower and I was forced into clamping it up for each hole, the hole saw had far less grab and gyration to it. Have you ever tried a step drill? I wonder about that as the incremental size increase is so much less yet I wonder about how long before it dulls

remember I only used a small pilot then the finished size hole drill.

 

[Kent]

Presumably though originally that's how a blacksmith would have done it - punched hot straight from the hearth, and could even be done on site with a portable forge

Don't fancy that one bit, imagine the practicality of doing all them holes one at a time handling wise and the time To be fair those guys alternative was a brace and bit

 

[Bede]

No, never bothered with one of those stepped drills. They look like something out of a kids' 'my first toolkit!'

 

[Kent]

No, never bothered with one of those stepped drills. They look like something out of a kids' 'my first toolkit!'

Yeah Thing is though are they time / cost effective? I think I will have to see if I can get one the right size of steps as I could just adjust the depth stop and crack on. But how the heck do you sharpen one

 

[Bede]

With a cutting disk!
I've got a few drills of finished size that I used to use on long running contract railing jobs. 22mm dia with say 20mm of the end turned down to 10mm dia. Sharpen up with a 3mm cutting disk carefully and pilot and finish in one process.

I sharpen my drills with a fresh grinding disk on a 4 1/2" grinder held in my vice sideways by the guard! A cutting disk is easier to use on my self-made step drills. It avoids cutting too much into the shank of the turned down pilot.

 

[awemawson]

Surely a mag drill and broaching cutter is the way to go these days

 

[Gareth J]

I still recon it's worth considering punching. If there's a heavy fabrication place nearby, why not take an example of the holes you want done and see how bad the deformation is. May not be clean enough for garden stuff but on more agricultural things it could save so much effort...only takes one tap of your toe per hole

 

[awemawson]

You can even get portable hydraulic punches that look like a very heavy duty G clamp, powered by either a petrol or electric hydraulic power pack that would doit on site or back at base. Spendy but if that's your business probably worth it. An example (not checked it's capacity) :

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/...e-punching-machine-hydraulic-4745-855445.html

 

[Bill Edwards]

Surely a mag drill and broaching cutter is the way to go these days

I too would think this the best approach - minimal metal removal and far nicer than a hole saw.

 

[Kent]

I have considered a mag drill but it might also need to include a big old fixture bench to support the bars, locate the correct place to drill. drain the coolant etc. When you consider all that and the cost of a decent mag drill that can live with a lot of work............. After all said and done its a faster cut I am after yet standing me at less than sending them out to CNC Plasma. I wonder if I could make a fixture to hold std flat bar and cut the holes with hand held plasma even? Perhaps I will just shop about the plasma cutting work first next time