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I need to a railing for our deck we are finishing. I am a DIYer but haven't done much steel fab and welding and am considering fabricating the railing for our deck we want to finish. I have a chop saw, band saw, ESAB 215 multiprocess welder, welding table. The railing would be fairly simple nothing curved or small pieces, something similar to shown on the pic with standard tubing for the top rail. How difficult is it to fabricate deck railing? Is this something a novice welder could do? Any pointers or resources you would refer me to? As far as materials go small tubing and possibly channel nothing elaborate. I will have a metal stair that is 4' wide with about 3' drop, decking I haven't decided on. The stair railing will be connected to the deck railing on one side.
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Reply:if the fall from the deck won't break any bones by all means go for it.i.u.o.e. # 15queens, ny and sunny fla
Reply:Definitely doable if you have enough hood time to know good welds. You will need to draw it out, plan your materials and cuts, and take your time. I use prepunched channel and that makes it much quicker and easier. There are a few tricks depending on your design. Also you will want an angle finder to layout your stair rails. My best advice is to post some pictures with your design ideas. You will get lots of suggestions and help on how to proceed. Don’t get ahead of the help. Hold off on ordering materials until you finalize your plan because I’m confident you will improve on your first idea. You will enjoy the project and be able to admire the results every day.Burt _____________________Miller Syncrowave 250Millermatic 211Miller 375 Plasma Cutter Hobart Handler 12010FtDrillBit.com
Reply:docwelder
Originally Posted by docwelder
if the fall from the deck won't break any bones by all means go for it.
Reply:I'm going to agree with Opus in one regard. If you really aren't a weldor yet... don't bother. I just reworked an expensive piece of farm equipment that a bunch of hacks modified. Huge welds that were stuck to nothing, most of it got knocked off with a big hammer and thrown in the junk bin. Rails need to be both solidly welded and aesthetic. I don't do rails but I see plenty that I should have bid on in commercial buildings. Hmm... maybe a retirement job?
Reply:Many of these are made with 1/2" square 16 ga. tubing. Be sure you get the kind that's already primed, because cleaning the crap off of it is a real headache.I made a long porch rail some time back. I did the whole thing with .035 NR-211 except for welding the support posts to the bases, where I used 1/8" 7014. The thread is at https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...nally-finished!This is one of those projects that looks simple, but little details keep popping up. What about this, what about that. How will you keep the vertical pieces evenly spaced? How will you keep them perfectly vertical and parallel with each other? Are you going to weld them between the horizontal pieces, or on one side of them (like I did)? If you weld on one side, that opens up a whole new can of worms. How will you allow for "waves" and irregularities in the concrete (trust me, it is NOT flat)? How will you make your support posts perfectly vertical? How will you make the horizontal pieces perfectly level? What if "perfectly level" and "parallel to the concrete" are different? Are you going to try to weld everything in place, or weld the entire section in your shop, then take it to the deck? This is one of those projects where you spend a lot... a LOT... of time just thinking. Commercial shops that weld this stuff use big jigs, like the wooden one in that top YouTube picture. They just lay the pieces in the jig and weld them together. Zip, zip, zip, all done.Here are a couple of videos that talk about some issues that can come up. Good luck, keep us posted!Last edited by Ruark; 04-15-2020 at 03:22 PM.-Ruark"Become one with the puddle, grasshopper" - Welding InstructorLincoln 3200HDHobart Stickmate LX235TWECO Fabricator 211i
Reply:Several of us have built railings. Specific questions yield better answers.Terrible welds yield a "different kind" of answers
Are you in an area that requires permits and inspections? If yes, finding out the specifics where you live will save everyone a bunch of time.Railing height and ability to withstand force, and picket spacing are code issues to be looked up before design.Correct anchoring and any additional bracing required underneath (wood decks) is next.For the stair railing, look up the code for allowable pipe size for the grasping surface and the height from the stair tread for it.It will also include the requirements for the top and bottom terminations.Another option is to do standard wood posts and top rail, then use steel for the pickets and lower rail - more of an accent.Here is my favorite railing that I've done - others on this site have done much nicer ones
https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...ics&highlight=Dave J.Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance. ~George Bernard Shaw~ Syncro 350Invertec v250-sThermal Arc 161 and 300MM210DialarcTried being normal once, didn't take....I think it was a Tuesday.
Reply:
Originally Posted by MinnesotaDave
Here is my favorite railing that I've done - others on this site have done much nicer ones
https://weldingweb.com/vbb/showthrea...ics&highlight=
Reply:
Originally Posted by Ruark
That's a nice rail, Dave. I'm curious, why did you wrap the 1/8" bar around the decorative pieces, instead of tack welding them?
Reply:Thanks for all the useful feedback, I appreciate those who have a lot of knowledge in this field and are happy to help those that have very little or limited knowledge in welding. The purpose of the pic was to convey a general idea of the look of the railing, not meant to refer that I would be duplicating it. I did look up some videos like Raurk posted, thanks for those. I am familiar with code requirements and can design it for appropriate loading, where my profession is structural engineering. The main reason for my question was I wondered if it was something I should consider tackling or not after more practice, and the level of difficulty. The railing will connect to a wood deck with wood some existing posts that support the deck and extend up above the deck to connect the railing to. I would need to supplement with some steel posts as needed to satisfy the load demand. The stair railing would connect to a concrete landing at the bottom. If I end up deciding to do it I will post some pics and I'm sure questions that I run into.
Reply:I've seen some new age style of railings recently utilizing cable in place of the horizontal pieces. This style eliminates some of the welding and if you are an engineer this design may appeal to that aspect
Reply:
Originally Posted by ronstruc
I am familiar with code requirements and can design it for appropriate loading, where my profession is structural engineering. The main reason for my question was I wondered if it was something I should consider tackling or not after more practice, and the level of difficulty. The railing will connect to a wood deck with wood some existing posts that support the deck and extend up above the deck to connect the railing to. I would need to supplement with some steel posts as needed to satisfy the load demand. The stair railing would connect to a concrete landing at the bottom. If I end up deciding to do it I will post some pics and I'm sure questions that I run into.
Reply:The math is the hard part when making railings, not the welding. But that being said, your welds must be somewhat decent especially on the baseplates that you'll need, seeing as you said it was going Ina wood deck. I've made a couple railings myself, why do you want to use tubing for the top rail?I can guide you through the process from start to finish if you wish. Check out my thread for ideas https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=appSome everyday railings (and other cool stuff)I would point you to King metals, they sell the pre punched channel , for use by those who don't have a punch, if you order the 8' lengths they can ship UPS. And buy the 1" solid posts, 1/2" pickets and molded cap rail from your local steel supplier.Last edited by MetalMan23; 04-17-2020 at 10:40 PM.
http://www.philswelding.com
Reply:ronstruc
Originally Posted by ronstruc
. . . The main reason for my question was I wondered if it was something I should consider tackling or not after more practice, and the level of difficulty . . .
Reply:
Originally Posted by MetalMan23
The math is the hard part when making railings, not the welding. But that being said, your welds must be somewhat decent especially on the baseplates that you'll need, seeing as you said it was going Ina wood deck. I've made a couple railings myself, why do you want to use tubing for the top rail?I can guide you through the process from start to finish if you wish. Check out my thread for ideas https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/top...ink_source=appSome everyday railings (and other cool stuff)I would point you to King metals, they sell the pre punched channel , for use by those who don't have a punch, if you order the 8' lengths they can ship UPS. And buy the 1" solid posts, 1/2" pickets and molded cap rail from your local steel supplier.
Reply:Actually, that's a good point - the actual welding in this project is nothing. The task is in the planning and execution. These things are sort of like a spider web - adjust this, it throws this off over there, adjust that, it throws that off over there... or you get multiplier effects, where if this is 1/8" off, it'll be an inch off down at the other end, that sort of thing. When I built the one in my posts, these kinds of things were just endless. But again, the actual welding here is nothing.-Ruark"Become one with the puddle, grasshopper" - Welding InstructorLincoln 3200HDHobart Stickmate LX235TWECO Fabricator 211i
Reply:It's possible to do it yourself if you have ironworking skills. But suppose you haven't worked with metal products before and haven't made anything similar to a railing. In that case, you can first read how to do it properly by experienced craftsmen or people who want to improve their home https://www.ftcc.com.au/blog/diy-hom...as-on-a-budget. My dad made the metal products, and he made our house railing himself, but he had all the tools he needed to do it. His father had a welder in his garage, and he welded us a stair railing, and he did it very quickly. |
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发表于 2021-12-8 15:51:19