How to Make some Flow Forge Treads

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Hi all,In the UK we have some grating called Flow Forge, and fabricators used this mainly for walkways, Fire escapes, etc.. its good hard wearing and virtually weather proof once its been galvanised.You can buy pre made steps or treads but they are pretty expensive so, could i believe my eyes when a member on my forum asked me how he could make some, especially when i've spent the past few days making a load for myself, anyway i did a bit of a write up with some pictures for him and thought I'd stick it here also, just to show you all how easy it it to do Firstly i made a jig the width of the steps, I used a bit of offcut channel and a few clampsThen i made some end plates out of 80mm x 6mm and punched 2 x 14mm holes for the M12 boltsThe flow forge grating i cut to width using a grinder and a cutting disk, To cut the length i took the full length of grating and cut it on the bandsaw. Its quicker easier and cuts it nice and squarenext we need to put the end plates on the jig, i used bolts to hold them flat and upright, Then stick the grating in there, make sure that you have the top face on the bottom, its easy to get confused  Now we need to tack the tops of the flats all way along both sidesWhen its done both sides we take it out from the jig and get ready to weld the flats
Reply:And this is what it looks like welded up, Some people weld both sides but i just weld one side, Thats plenty strong enough.Tack the tops of the flatsand then sand flushAnd there you have it, so easy and far cheaper than buying ready madeYou can make an imporovement by add a 3mm durbar strip along the frond end, to act like a non slip tread
Reply:That's alot of friggin' work but came out awesome! I built some staircases to access a beach for a hotel a few years back and welded everything 100% prior to going to sending them off to the galvanizer in Boston. I was told they'de hold up and galvy up better...especially important since they were to spend two tides a day submerged in seawater. Again, nice job on that stuff. POVERTY...is the Mother of InventionMillermatic 211Millermatic 140Miller Thunderbolt XLArcOne 100STS inverter w/TIGThermal Dynamics 38XL Victor Oxy/AcetyleneJancy Slugger Holemaker IIJet 5x6 BandsawNever enough time & sleep.