Making Box Steel Stands

[upnorthal]

Hi

I've never welded in my life.

I'd like to be able to make stands for large five foot fish tanks with 40 X 40 mm box steel - probably 4mm thickness.

Is this too ambitious for a total newcommer to learn ?

I'm still reading through this site learning techniques etc. I take it joining two surfaces together at right angles is slightly harder ?

Cheers

Al

 

[mike os]

not really, but your welds need to be structurally sound.

Probably best to learn to weld on some practice pieces first.

what size tanks? ( I build them fairly regularly)

 

[upnorthal]

Hi Mike

Something like the one below

http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=368285

I actually think I could get away with 2.5 or 3mm thickness box steel instead of 4mm.

I'd probably change the design slightly to facilitate the hanging of doors and to the make cladding the unit easier.

Tank size wise, probably up to 5 ' L X 2' W X 2' high.

Having said that, my latest one (for my personal use) 5 ' L X 3' W X 18" (for SPS corals)

Is there a particular weld technique to research? I understand the importance of cleaning the material before hand etc.

not really, but your welds need to be structurally sound.

Probably best to learn to weld on some practice pieces first.

what size tanks? ( I build them fairly regularly)

 

[mike os]

with the middle leg section size is fine, thinnest wall for 40x40 is 2mm but 3mm will be easier to weld, 4mm imo is ott,

that said for mine I usually use 50x50x4 box on 25x25x4 legs

for the 3'wide I would want 2-3 cross members on teh top to give a little more support to the middle of the base... I usually use angle for it, or whatever offcuts seem right.

welding wise it is all but joints, with a decent mig or arc at 3-4mm you would not need any joint prep beyond cleaning.

I would practice on some 3mm flat untill I was confident I could get some reasonable & reliable penetration into both sections, the tutorial section of teh main site has a few usefull articles.