Where to buy?

[Baz-Cem]

Hello all

Not a welding product but will use a welder to make a product

A customer wants a dog run, easy to make but not so easy find a good price for the steel.

I need to find a supply of steel sheets 1m x 2m at 0.5 - 0.8 thick and also some welded mesh on the roll 10 2" x 2" 6ft high.

I would prefer ungalved as it would be galved later.

Thanks for looking and any advice you can give.

Baz.

 

[Hitch]

So your building a framework, welding sheets on and mesh, then getting it galvanised?


It will be a hell of a mess when they bring it out of the tank.
Sheet that thin will distort un unbelievable amount due to the heat.

Perhaps a galvanized framework, then some pre galv'd sheet screwed/riveted/bolted on after.

 

[Baz-Cem]

Thanks m8,

Valuable info there m8, I didn't know it would warp in the tank.

Also would save me money on the galv job as well

Thanks,

Baz.

 

[murex400]

If you’re making the frame work out of tube don’t for get to drill drainage holes for the galv to run out, my self I would make the frame work up weld in the mesh sections. Then bolt it all together after it’s been galvanised and then add the sheets fixing them by pop rivets

 

[Wozzaaah]

Spot on answer from Hitachi, Def get your frame dipped then put the mesh and sheets on after. You can sort out any cut ends and holes after with cold-galvanising spray or Galvafroid. Also Like Murex said, make sure you vent it properly or they won't dip it and you'll have wasted a journey. Oh, and don't use oil-based anti-spatter spray either, I used Rocol stuff on a job and though it's good stuff it wouldn't pickle round the welds, it formed a black 'glaze' where it was hottest. Wasted journey, day spent shot-blasting the glaze off then another journey to get them dipped! Costly mistake.

 

[Baz-Cem]

Wozzaaah,

This spray you speak of, is it as good as galv or would it just be better to buy the bare mesh make the panels complete and dip them whole?

Baz.

 

[Wozzaaah]

Cold galvanising spray is available in hardware shops and is supposed to be pretty good stuff as long as the metal is absolutely rust-free. The stuff I got is this Galvafroid is quite expensive but I believe it's one of the best products about for protection. A 1.9 litre tin will set you back over £60! Again, the metal has to be spotless for it to work properly. Hot dipping is the best option for maximum protection but like Hitachi said, flat sheet will warp horrendously when it's dipped. Another problem with hot dipping is when the zinc runs off it can leave spikes and bits behind which doesn't look very nice.

 

[Ratty]

is it me or is something amiss with the 'preview thread' before posting? This is the 2nd time I thought I was previewing only to discover I had already posted Maybe I'm just having a bad-hair day

 

[Ratty]

It is possible to get stuff professionally hot-spray galvanised. It is actual metal rather than a paint. i.e. a special gun is used to melt the metal (in a wire form) before it's sprayed. Not as good as dipping but a pretty good alternative and no distortion problems. I would imagine any company offering hot-dip would also do spray. I used to use a local place called Ripblast (their details turn up in google but the website doesn't appear to be live) which did sandblasting and hot-spray galvanising (but not hot-dip) so sandblasting companies might be worth an ask too. It's also possible to get hot-spray bronze coatings (and probably other metals too) - I looked into it for some sculptural work, the drawback was I had to buy the bronze wire as it wasn't something they normally did. Can't remember the cost now, it seemed huge but then I was a poor student!

 

[Wozzaaah]

I've never heard of hot-spray galvanising but after a quick google I found these people in Devon that offers it. It looks very labour intensive though so I'll bet it's much more expensive than dipping. The galvanisers I use, McArthurs in bristol definitely don't do hot-spray, just hot-dip.

 

[irondarren]

Hot spray galvanised, otherwise know as metal spraying, or zinc spraying. It works on a similar principle to mig, but two rolls of zinc feed down a torch, and at the very end of the torch, these two zinc wires touch, causing a short circuit like mig. The zinc becomes liquid and is then forced by high pressure air outwards. This happends so quickly it produces a constant stream of zinc spray. THe base material that the zinc is being sprayed on must be shot blasted prior to zinc spraying, other wise it doesnt stick. Not the best of explainations of metal spray but a basic ide of how it works

 

[Baz-Cem]

Thanks for all the help folks

Does anybody know where to buy un galvanised weld mesh on the roll?

Alot safer to weld up this stuff than the already treated mesh. Send it complete to dipped then.

Baz.

 

[Hitch]

If you dont vent stuff yourself, they will sometimes vent it for you, at a charge per hole. And they wont be neatly drilled holes, just blow holes from a gas torch.

As for buying mesh, theres a lot of mesh suppliers about, and most certaily there will be one in S/Wales.
Heres my local one...
http://www.dyersmetalmesh.co.uk/
Doesnt look like they do rolls of s/c mesh.

Could you design the frame to accomodate available sheet sizes?

 

[Hitch]

Just incase anyone is interested in Galvanizing, the two major groups are Wedge and Joseph Ash, with nationwide depots.
A few bits of info on that website.

Another common galv process for small parts is spin galvanising, dipped in baskets then spun, to remove excess, so no lumps on edges etc.

That brings me onto another point, deburring edges properly and putting a very small chamfer on holes etc, helps stop lumps of galv sticking to the job.

 

[Baz-Cem]

Hitachimad,

Thanks for the reply m8,

The cheapest place I've found for galv mesh is Ebay, far cheaper than my local suppliers. Awkward sizes as well.

I used to work at a factory that used big steel coils and they had 2400 x 1200 galv sheet packageing. I need to find somewhere like that again that is willing to sell me the scrap sheets.

Baz.

 

[murex400]

here the ones i use for Galvanizing http://www.galvanizing.co.uk/frame.asp?contact

 

[Hitch]

Quite often if its suppling a factory the manufacturer will make coils specially to suit the customers requirements.

But that sounds like a standard sheet size, what size mesh is it your after?

 

[Baz-Cem]

Hitachimad,

Pretty much standard would be 6ft high x 2 metres wide.

We used to get 10 - 15 ton coils of steel with different coatings on them from standard to plasticoat which we would cut down to the size the customer would need to go through their formers.

The plasticoat coils were for Yardmaster sheds. Most of my mates have now got sheds made with the scrap

Its a shame the place went bust, could have got the galv sheets very cheap from them.

Baz.