What to make with I-Beams

admin

Hey guys... Ive got a question...One of my friends has a few I-Beams out around his farm that hes trying to get rid of. They are 8x8 and 1/2" thick, and in actually pretty dang good shape. And Im always looking for another project to take on. What could I build with these things? They are each 15' long and there are three of them. I think log splitters would be pretty cool, but not very profitable. What else uses beams like these and isnt like a building? lol. I really appriciate the help, thanks in advance. [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Those are pretty beefy....hmmmHow about a Jib or gantry crane for starters. Here's a site with pics.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:I always look for something to build around the house, but if you are going to sell them to the community they will need to be spec'd by a engineer of course since they are a lifting apparatus.Just to relieve you of any liability.Semper FiJesus may have been a Carpenter, but his dad was a Millwright" A grinder and a can of paint, will make a welder what he aint' "I've done so much, with so little, for so long, that now I can do anything with nothing!
Reply:Thats what I was just thinking man make a rolling crane for the one side of your shop you could use it to load and unload stuff and it would just be sweet project just get like a beefy chain hoist to put on it or something.
Reply:Lanse, if your friend is "trying to get rid of them" would he mind if you took them and traded for other types of steel that you could use for some of your other projects, like your fence unrollers?"The man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the State, because he derives special advantages from the mere existence of government."  Teddy RooseveltAmerican by birth, Union by choice!  Boilermakers # 60America is a Union.
Reply:Some sort of A frame crane was my 1st thought as well. They'd also be real usefull if you needed a bridge, shop beams or heavy columns..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:I am for the crane idea for two of them and a roll around a frame for the third.  lucky dog.
Reply:If I didn't have any use already in mind when they were offered to me, I'd go get them and put them in storage.  I wouldn't necessarily make something out of them just because I had them.  Especially since you've got a side business - one day a customer will come along with the perfect request and you'll have just the material you need.  It's like having money in the bank.I agree with you on log-splitter profitability, and anything else that's built in a factory somewhere.  In my experience, the only ways to profitably compete with mass-produced widgets for us smaller guys is for us to beat the widgets' shipping costs, be able to make one faster than one can ship from the factory in an emergency situation, or be able to make one that's modified to the customer's exact needs.
Reply:Well, a gantry would sure be a good idea and nice to have around here, but my thing is that I like money, and Id be buying these off of him for their worth in scrap, and thus would really like to make something profitable with them. I guess I could sell the gantry, but that would be a TON of potential liability. Plus, things like a CNC table are really far off in my future, and I dont really work with anything now that I couldnt move with an engine hoist. It would sure be cool, but not really something I could justify building right now...Im thinking more along the lines of things that I could make and sell that are based off of these beams. Whats the going rate for beams like this? I know of a used steel place around here that would probably take them, but the problem is that the steel that they sell is generally overpriced beat to hell crap. Theres gotta be something out there, keep the ideas coming guys [Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Main beams for a cattle guard?It's still a load carrying item and bad in terms of liability.  The cattle guard would only be excavated a foot or so, and I doubt anybody would be "under the load".Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:Now THATS a good idea Andy, thanks man!! The only thing is that no one here really has cattle, we're in corn country, and most of the small farmers are retired, and all thats left in my area are the families that farm 10,000+ acres of crops :/ Oh well... Ill still ask around, I just might get a taker...[Account Abandoned 8/8/16 Please Do Not Attempt Contact Or Expect A Reply]. See you on YouTube! -ChuckE2009
Reply:Originally Posted by Lanse I-Beams 8x8 and 1/2" thick,  They are each 15' long p:
Reply:Bad *** sawhorses!! Of course you'd have to put casters on them because you won't be able to lift them. A good frame for a 'channel' style welding table.  This is the one where you don't use plate for the top.  You use a bunch of channel (flat side up) to make the top.Storage rack for other scrap metal.I'll probably think of more right after I hit the submit button.Dynasty200DX w/coolmate1MM210MM VintageESAB miniarc161ltsLincoln AC225Victor O/A, Smith AW1ACutmaster 81IR 2475N7.5FPRage3Jancy USA1019" SBAEAD-200LE
Reply:I walked right by some large I-beams at the scrap yard last year because I couldn't think of a use for them.... The very next week I saw a guys shop project where he built a really cool welding bench/table using similar big I-beams.He welded 2 of them together spaced not too far apart (maybe 3'-4') and used casters so it was movable. He also mounted a vise to one end and a receiver tube on the other corners for attaching a metal bender and some other tools when needed. They could be 15' long or 7.5' long or 10' long with 5' cross pieces... closer together....with cross pieces ...or several pieces close together so you could clamp things down..much like a very large milling table. It sounds crazy ,but most things could be set on top of the contraption and assembled. It was very stable very large and I kick myself everytime I think about walking past those big beams without the idea light coming on.They are worth a pretty penny as I-beams,but if you need a big work table they might be handy. i guess it depends on what they cost you and what you need.
Reply:Super heavy duty mailbox posts.  Make some number templates and use your plasma cutter to cut the address numbers out of the web area.
Reply:They are not I-beams, they are wide flange beams. Size of a roughly 8" x 8" x 1/2" beam would be a W8X51, or 8" beam weighing 51 pounds per foot. Rolling gantry crane seems the best project so far.
Reply:8x8 wf is ideal for making skids for anything from tanks to feeders and even small buildings.  Take two lengths and turn the ends up at each end like a ski and you can drag almost anything behind a tractor or a dozer."The reason we are here is that we are not all there"SA 200Idealarc TM 300 300MM 200MM 25130a SpoolgunPrecision Tig 375Invertec V350 ProSC-32 CS 12 Wire FeederOxweld/Purox O/AArcAirHypertherm Powermax 85LN25
Reply:i've seen chassis builders use them as chassis jigs..tackleexperts.comwww.necessityjigs.comhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/mach...dingequipment/
Reply:Originally Posted by bruceri've seen chassis builders use them as chassis jigs..
Reply:A wicked arbor press.TA Arcmaster 300CM3XMT 304S22P12 suitcase feederX-Treme 12VSOptima pulserTA161SMaxstar 150STLHypertherm PM45OP setupStihl 020AVP, 039, 066 Magnum
Reply:Slice them into 18"-24" lengths, sort of round one end of the upper flange and make the other end kinda pointy and sell them as anvils?
Reply:Originally Posted by mudbugoneSimilar to what I was thinking with the bench/table in a large size...but then I could use something like that...As a money maker though....We need to figure out how to get paid like this guy ...(notice the feet) http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-s...AdIdZ310465382This was posted on another forum in a totally unrelated discussion,but those look to be beams of approximately the correct size
Reply:Be a shame to cut those beams up for piddly projects. It'll come back to haunt ya some day. Oil them down and save them or use them for swap material. Those would make good center posts for a barn, bridge beams for a ditch crossing, pilings for a pond, lots of worthwhile projects. Do what ya gotta do to keep the rust off them tho."The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living and the get rich quick theory of life." -Theodore Roosevelt
Reply:LOL..Nice Tables.. Artsy-Fartsy stuff always makes big bucks...It shows creativity Many years ago I had a Flower/Plant/Antique shop and picked up a rotted rusty falling down park bench on the side of the road and placed it in the shop for a display with a 7' piece of drift wood I'd picked up at the beach.... Mind you this was in place a grand total of less than 24 hours.... Some nut came in and had to have the bench I told him a $100 ...he took it! I told the lady that came in a couple of hours later I wanted $125 for the driftwood...she took it!  I gave up actually trying I just found weird stuff and put crazy prices on it...It sold...No accounting for stupidity.Notice the 30 foot I-beam setting beside my motorhome...I haven't figured a use for it just yet...Can't bring myself to cut it up... Attached ImagesLast edited by mudbugone; 09-07-2011 at 12:34 AM.
Reply:I cut some steel reactive targets out of on old I beam I sold them for 25 a piece