Milking Parlor

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I designed and built the stalls for my milking parlor. All materials were 11g 304. Even the air cylinders to control the gates are built with 304. I'm not a professional welder, but the metal fabrication courses from college saved me a huge amount of money upgrading 47 year old stalls. The major components were welded together over a few months as I could find time. A new building was built over the existing parlor to allow for a rain-or-shine demolition of the old setup and installation of the new system. I wish I took more photos of the build process, but I was more focused on getting the job done than documenting the process. And as I was putting the final pieces in place, my wife calls and says she's in labor. I never got to see the first run through. I've been told it went well and the stalls are cow-proof. I've attached a few photos I took with my phone. Attached Images
Reply:Nice. Good to have you join us.What machine/ process did you use? There's only really one weld pict and I really can't see the bead. I'm guessing mig from the tiny bit I can see, but that's just a blind guess. Your dairy or was this done for someone else?.No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Nice Job Manning, Welcome!!  Alot of work goes into the dairy business for sure!! From the stantions to product pipeline. Thanx for sharing.
Reply:Great work. My grand parents had a dairy farm when I was a kid. God that is alot of work.Dave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:Originally Posted by ReebsGreat work. My grand parents had a dairy farm when I was a kid. God that is alot of work.
Reply:Nice job!!! My dad used to sell & service milking equipment including the parlors. I went on to milk cows later and now weld also.Again -NICE JOB!
Reply:Everything was tigged with a Lincoln Precision Tig 185. I used a foot control for the components assembled in my shop and a hand control for the installation. For ease of cleaning (and things can get 'splashy' in a milking parlor), I try to run my beads as smooth as possible and even hit them with a fine flap wheel. I built it for my farm (I work with my two brothers).Two photos of the welds. One is some gates stacked with a shot of fillet welds and the other is some cabinet hinges I was putting together. Attached ImagesLast edited by manning; 04-08-2012 at 10:32 PM.Reason: two weld photos
Reply:Having been in several parlors and stared at teets at 3 am more than I like to remember as a young fella... that is a BIG job refitting the parlor with new steel and fixtures.  I suppose an epoxy paint?   Depends on where ya' are I suppose.   Here's a little fact I learned yesterday, wrap brain around this.  A local alfalfa farm has 3300 acres and makes the big bales (1500# I think?) anyway the big ones... it ALL goes to China?!  for  dairies. My? was aren't most asians lactose intolerant. Nope, turns out that is an old wives tale... dairy size, milking herd.... 40,000+. Yup, 40,000 milkers plus heifers to deal with.  So tomorrow morning as you run thru the string  in a coupla hours, be glad you are not doing 40,000 today, sheesh. Welcome,  glad to see you aboard.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools
Reply:40,000 cows! There's no way I'd ever want to do that. We milk 80, but built my parlor to handle 100. We're going to stay small and enjoy it. We grow all our feed for the cows and market all our milk as bottled milk, ice cream, and yogurt through our own small chain of stores (we only sell our own products). Our stubborn, self-sufficient mentality is probably why we built our own parlor instead of buying one. It's hard to change four generations of hard-headedness.
Reply:Manning:More power to you and your brother. That's the kind of spirit that makes America great.However, I'm with Reeb here as well. Way too much work and dedication needed for this cowboy......Having horses is bad enough.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:I don't think my nerves could handle farming, too many things out of my control.Dave ReberWadsworth Ohio
Reply:Lost art to vertically integrate the dairy clear to the customer.  In Az in the late 50s and 60s there were several who did that. I worked for one in Mesa who bottled and delivered. Small operation, clean s a whistle and a good place to work... 'cept they had Jerseys and this string were onry... never met a milker they couldn't kickThe best in Az is Shamrock, a big operation of high quality.Lincoln Power MIG 215Lincoln WeldPak 3200HDLincon ProCut 25Lincoln WeldanPower 225 AC/DCIf all else fails... buy more tools