some tig mig and brazing and even some bondo, steel window replica

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Couldn't find the appropriate tee bar, zee bar or "lower case h bar" for the project.    My teebar jig, simple enough.  There are several of these spacers on a strip of metal with strap butted and clamped to the spacer.  welding on opposing sides minimized warpage.  Tig fused teebarmitered framenotched styleMuntins inserted into stylebrazed backstitched and messy cleanup.  I thought brazing would minimize warpage, it did not.  I did clean up with a nice seam another reason I used it.  I even tried to braze in my forge, it worked just too time consuming and lots of guess work.Acid washed window in framecustom hingePartially prime, bondo in final seam.  I didn't want to cause any warpage as I completed the "lower case h bar".  The window closed dead flat after much twisting and bending.  Last edited by tapwelder; 01-27-2008 at 01:38 AM.
Reply:man-o-man that is one heavy duty window, I hope you don't have a whole house full of these to make lol.You did a fantastic job on that, what in the world is it for??G3miller... 225g, s32p, 250x, 304, 12vs, MSW41     victor o/a thermal dynamics cutmaster 50 lenco panel spotter        hobart hf-boxG3 Farms.....raising cattle, hay, kids and hell, ...oh yeah I'm a fire sprinkler contractor by trade.
Reply:Nice job.  Days work,  2?   3?   That is a lot of cutting, brazing and fitting.In the end, it looks great.DavidReal world weldin.  When I grow up I want to be a tig weldor.
Reply:G3farmsThis is a basement window at a house.  I restored about 50 windows at an apartment complex that was being converted to high-end condos.  However, I never had to build one.  I just fabricated and replaced muntins.  If I could find the proper material then more would not be difficult.  Most of these windows get replaced.  By the way I went to Tennessee Technological Center off Papermill road at Knoxville.  The one in Nashville is a appears to be an identical structrue.Davida day or 2 or 3 is correct.  I got $950 for this window.  I thought it would be a great profit. Time wise it was worth 950. About $20 Material.  I thought it would take a day.  Without a clear cut plan it took a week, including experimentation.  A second window would be a day and a half for me working alone. I have haredwareIf anybody has opportunity to aquire, then it would resale for more than scrap.  I have run across a couple of other welder who were looking for this material.Thanks for the compliments.
Reply:I like how that looks. Everything came together very flush. Really nice job.
Reply:Looks great..
Reply:nice workChuckASME Pressure Vessel welder
Reply:I am getting ready to build about 8 windows and 2 doors just like that. Like you said it was hard finding the T-bar but I did find a place here in houston , they said they are cutting it from 3"  wide flange beams. I also have rebuilt many of these but never built from scratch.lookin forward to itsteveBTS Welding
Reply:Steve,I have a metal cutting circular saw from Northern Tool.  It cost $120.  It will rip 1/8  inch strips off steel with no problem.  It was great for trimming steel.  That saw really helped out, nice clean straight cuts.
Reply:Thanks,Nice to know. How did you do your notches. Do you have a punch or did you use a drill and die grinder"steveBTS Welding
Reply:I used a milling machine.  For that operation you could probably do it in a drill press is you have a wah to move the under the the endmill.  Also, note that the muntins are overlapping.  In either direction one part of the tee continuous.  I read somewhere that was the proper way to do it.  It add incredible amount of strength, and reduces he amount of welding needed.It is really strong.  I stood on the intersection and it didn't flex more than 1/8".  I was trying to get a bow out of the muntins.  The window was completely assembled.Good luck with your job.  Pretty easy, controlling distortion is most time consuming.
Reply:Originally Posted by tapwelderSteve,I have a metal cutting circular saw from Northern Tool.  It cost $120.  It will rip 1/8  inch strips off steel with no problem.  It was great for trimming steel.  That saw really helped out, nice clean straight cuts.
Reply:Just a tip. Today,  I visited the contractor / client for whom I built this window.  Prior to building this window he had ordered several for  a company in NY.  The guy in NY charged $2000 per window. Also, I fabbed the hinges to match the original hinges.  The ordered windows used a stock hinge that will not work with the existing opener.  The hinge pin is too far away from the window so the axis is off.  Hope this helps somebody who might have a window rehab.Also, if any of you guys cast brass there is a market for all types of window hardware.  I just modified some latches that were purchasd for $200 each.  I charged $100 each to silver solder a 1/8" brass spacer on.Last edited by tapwelder; 06-17-2008 at 10:29 PM.
Reply:That looks great.Do you have pics of it installed?
Reply:No pictures yet.  The window has been installed, the are still working around the area and have it covered.Thanks for the compliment.
Reply:quality work... niceUnit in my fab shop dept:my good hand and team that trust me...A lone welder make art... a village full of welder make Miracles...