estate railings

[steve t]

pricing some estate railings up, wondering how you join them, as far as I can remember a bit of tube at top of post to join the round and holes punched twice as wide as flat and let them overlap and drive a wedge/ clip in, non round here to study,am I barking up the right tree?

 

[the snooper]

@Kent he will be able to answer this

 

[Wendelspanswick]

pricing some estate railings up, wondering how you join them, as far as I can remember a bit of tube at top of post to join the round and holes punched twice as wide as flat and let them overlap and drive a wedge/ clip in, non round here to study,am I barking up the right tree?

I've done them in the past. For the rounds I welded a short piece of the same OD diameter pipe to the ends of all the bars then used a slug of steel as a tenon to join the lengths together. This looks more aesthetically pleasing than an over sized piece of pipe joining the bars.
For the flats I join them by making a joggled bend or step about 75mm from one end and drill and tap 2 holes for countersunk machine screws although I have used domed head rivets on high class jobs.
The uprights have a slot punched slightly wider than the flat on two posts with the third post having a slot slightly wider than 2 flats and this is where your join comes.
This is if using 6m long flats with a 2m post spacing.

 

[wyn]

The last ones i did, i cut the flat rails and round top rail so they went half way into the 50x12 post and butted the next 6m length up to them. welded it all up on site so no joins were visible.

The posts were concreted in with the top rail fed through the holes to line everything up then all the flats fed through and welded.

The posts were at 1m spacing.

 

[Kent]

I Weld the bars fully on a brick bond layout
Away from the posts. All the bars are welded both sides were they go through the posts

Fastening at the posts will give you horrid flat spots

 

[steve t]

This is a galvanised, supply only job so looking for a handy way to connect for the lad that's installing it.

 

[Hitch]

Last time I did galvanised ones, I just made them up in panels that bolt together... Punch all the posts and plug weld in the backs of the posts.

 

[bletchmonster]

I do same as Hitch, welded up 3m panels, galved and bolted together. Makes a very rigid, solid job.
That bloody rigid that going round bends and down steeper slopes is a right pain. I'm nearly finished making a jig to set panels up, I can do slopes, I can do bends. doing both at the same time is exceeding my brains duty cycle. My bonse will only compute 2 dimensional tasks.
One minutes thinking about it and there's a burning smell and an audible click.
10minutes before I can try again

 

[Kent]

This is a galvanised, supply only job so looking for a handy way to connect for the lad that's installing it.

Ok that's something I wouldn't do. Seen it don't like it
You can buy it in made in Poland? I think from a firm in Hull? Search it on the net you won't make it for the money might as well buy it in mark it up sell it on

 

[bletchmonster]

Aye Kent, but sometimes you want to make stuff stronger and better quality than the off the shelf stuff.
I dream of the day when I can make my fortune flogging container loads of imported stuff that all I have to do is mark up the price a bit. But its not what we do is it.

 

[Kent]

Aye Kent, but sometimes you want to make stuff stronger and better quality than the off the shelf stuff.
I dream of the day when I can make my fortune flogging container loads of imported stuff that all I have to do is mark up the price
a bit. But its not what we do is it.

It's exactly like that being requested- why make it, mass production cannot be matched

I fully agree with making stuff better but bolt together fence is bolt together fence galv is galv etc.
It's fitted at stoneyhurst college, it's not skinny like at b& m bargains etc. Might do



I do it same as wyn basically but that way can't match 'tother on price.

 

[the snooper]

Ok that's something I wouldn't do. Seen it don't like it
You can buy it in made in Poland? I think from a firm in Hull? Search it on the net you won't make it for the money might as well buy it in mark it up sell it on

could be this one Swift Engineering

 

[Wendelspanswick]

When I was doing my smithing and fabrication work full time the only way I could compete with the mass produced stuff or the big boys was to offer a high quality bespoke service for which the customer had to appreciate was going to cost more.
I realised this when a chap called in to enquire about me making him a door knocker, nothing fancy just a heavy iron ring with a small square twist on a split back plate but he wanted it hand made on the forge. I asked him what sort of price he was thinking off and he suggested between £150-200 and I nearly spat my tea out. Bear in mind that this was over 20 years ago when the average daily wage was about £100 if you were lucky and the job a half days work if I really stretched it out and did hand cut Rose head nails to go with it.
I kept my mouth shut, did a meticulous job, charged him £140 and he was over the moon, I ended up doing all the window casement stays and latches on his windows, all his door furniture, curtain poles, most of his light fittings, rose arches for the garden and even made a set of iron and glass bed side tables, all of which he paid me for handsomely.
The thing was he was happy to pay over the market rate as he knew that the items I made for him were unique and he was happy, and rich enough, to pay for the privilege.
On the other hand I used to get people ring me up about 2 days before Christmas asking me to make a fireside companion set as an Xmas present for £30, you could buy a set from the local fire place showroom for the same money but people assumed you could make them a bespoke set on short notice for the same money as they could buy a mass produced set from the far east!
You have to target you market audience correctly.

 

[Kent]

Yep I send a lot packing who don't want to spend the money for a proper job. Thing is a cheap job will haunt you with complaints and be a reverse advert for your work.

Told a guy yesterday that b+m bargains do £ 60 gates. Making a trellis this next day or two but it isn't a £ 20 one from the super store

However I have no reason to not sell one on made by others and make a bit of profit via the fact the customer couldn't buy at my price to bring it in- if they could I should tell them I know from experience some will still tell me to get it

 

[steve t]

priced it at sixty euro a metre supply only, phoned up a big supplier in Dublin and they were the same price so worth making my own, very hard to put a mark up on that, thanks for replies.

 

[Kent]

priced it at sixty euro a metre supply only, phoned up a big supplier in Dublin and they were the same price so worth making my own, very hard to put a mark up on that, thanks for replies.

The guys in Hull are real cheap

 

[Kent]

This is a job being threaded

 

[Kent]

Following threading you just tweek the posts square. Tack it up then weld up fully

 

[steve t]

looked at their site, it was a bit lighter than I would use, and by the time you convert to euro and ship to Ireland not much in it.