GrahamGKD
Forum Supporter
- Messages
- 1,422
Hi Folks,
I'm finally getting around to re-building my workshop and want to make some steel doors for the new concrete block building. They will be 'barn door' opening style garage doors in the region of 1.9 m high and 2.5 m wide for the two doors together. I've bought a quality deadbolt lock mechanism which is designed for metal doors and a good euro cylinder lock mechanism to operate it. I expect I will make by own weld on hinges. For each door I'm planning a box section rectangular steel frame with two horizontal cross pieces 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up. To fill in the frame I'm thinking some 1.2 mm sheet MIGed to the outside face. I will brace the corners of the frame on the inside with some thicker plate.
The question I'm grappling with is how big a steel box section to use - the place I get my steel from (a machine and fabrication shop) reckon that 30mm by 30mm by 2.5mm wall box section will be amply stiff enough when it is all welded together but I'm tempted to use 40 by 40 (still 2.5 wall). I've tested a length of 30 by 30 and it seems fairly rigid but not as rigid as I want for the completed job but of course it will be more rigid when welded into a frame, plated etc.?
The other side of the coin is the weight - I reckon I could be looking at 40 or 50 kilos per door if I'm not careful which is possibly a bit over the top (I don't want my shed toppling over when I open the doors).
I guess I have the option of using the smaller box section and then adding a stiffener to the inside if I'm not happy with the stiffness - I guess this would still be lighter than the 40 by 40 option?
Any thoughts please?
Cheers,
Graham.
I'm finally getting around to re-building my workshop and want to make some steel doors for the new concrete block building. They will be 'barn door' opening style garage doors in the region of 1.9 m high and 2.5 m wide for the two doors together. I've bought a quality deadbolt lock mechanism which is designed for metal doors and a good euro cylinder lock mechanism to operate it. I expect I will make by own weld on hinges. For each door I'm planning a box section rectangular steel frame with two horizontal cross pieces 1/3 and 2/3 of the way up. To fill in the frame I'm thinking some 1.2 mm sheet MIGed to the outside face. I will brace the corners of the frame on the inside with some thicker plate.
The question I'm grappling with is how big a steel box section to use - the place I get my steel from (a machine and fabrication shop) reckon that 30mm by 30mm by 2.5mm wall box section will be amply stiff enough when it is all welded together but I'm tempted to use 40 by 40 (still 2.5 wall). I've tested a length of 30 by 30 and it seems fairly rigid but not as rigid as I want for the completed job but of course it will be more rigid when welded into a frame, plated etc.?
The other side of the coin is the weight - I reckon I could be looking at 40 or 50 kilos per door if I'm not careful which is possibly a bit over the top (I don't want my shed toppling over when I open the doors).
I guess I have the option of using the smaller box section and then adding a stiffener to the inside if I'm not happy with the stiffness - I guess this would still be lighter than the 40 by 40 option?
Any thoughts please?
Cheers,
Graham.