Project Help, Hog Trap, Hanging Feeder, Saddle Racks

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Conquered bridle racks welding horse shoes together but now I am planning to move on the project ladder.For the hog trap, I've got all of the panels I need.  I am making a spring door the pivots on a center pin.  Plan to make it 4' x 8' but where I am very stuck is what material I should use to frame the trap.  Cost is the #1 factor but obviously it has to hold up.  I had someone recommend making it with 1x1x1/8 angle but I didn't know if that would be strong enough.  I will be stick welding so angle would probably be easier to weld than thin square tubing, and heavier tubing would be more expensive and heavier to load.  Need to be able to have 2 men lift this into the bed of a pickup.  I already have the panels I need so It is just the frame I need to get figured out.  LWS would sell 20' sticks of 1x1 angle for under $10 which sounded like a great price but I am concerned about strength with an 8' span.Second the hanging feeder.  We had cows destroy our feeder legs and so we are wanting to upgrade to a full on hanging feeder.  We have some old drill stem pipe so that is what I'll use for legs in 12' or so sections.  The part of the project I am having most difficulty is just how exactly to go about the top portion which obviously would be the most important.  The best Idea I have at the moment is to take a small piece of plate potentially round and attach 3 pieces of larger pipe at a 15-20 degree angle.  The issue I am getting is how much would that piece of plate cost, is it very strong and would I be better off attaching in another way.  Lastly saddle racks.  I believe from looking at some local feed stores most are made attaching a piece of bar stock or rebar to a piece of 2" pipe.  The main issue Ive got with this is I don't have a torch,  is it need to bend 3/8-1/2 bar or can I just stick it in my vice and push like heck?  Also how much per foot am I looking at with buying rebar per foot?  Hate asking my LWS 50 questions about prices because I am so cheap.any and all help is greatly appreciated.
Reply:if you already have the panels for the hog trap, why don't you just weld the edges of them together and skip the frame- it would still hold, and be much lighter.  You don't need heat to bend rebar that size - we do it using a couple of bending keys or berkley benders for sharp angles and just hand bending for broader angles.Weld well; grind less.
Reply:I've trapped lots of hogs.  The 1/8" angle will do you fine, but you'll need to add a cross brace halfway down the 4x8 for strength.  No offence intended fo LMSyrus, but without a frame the panels alone WILL NOT hold a hog except for very, very small ones.  Take a look at texasboars.com and you can find out all you need to know about building hog traps.As for the hanging feeder, if you've got some drill stem for legs, make three legs that pivot on bolts at the top.  You'll need a small piece of plate with something hanging off the bottom to run the bolts through.  Then weld some chain between the legs, and add some plate to the bottom of each leg with a strong loop off the side to hold some rebar stakes.  Drive stakes in the ground to hold the legs and the cows and hogs won't knock youir feeder down anymore.  If you wan't to get fancy, you can telescope the legs so you can level it on uneven ground.LynyrdAn old redneck who lives out in the woods.
Reply:Lowes here has hog traps for sale.  There appear to be 4 x 8 and are constructed of aluminum angle with the square wire panels (forgot what they call those type of wire panels) It would certainly be better in the weight department than steel albiet a bit more expensive to build. One thing is certain though, regardless of what you build them with it willl be cheaper than buying those at Lowes! They are proud of those things. Question: what do you do with the hogs you trap? bang?StephenMillermatic 251Miller Syncrowave 200Miller 30A SpoolgunHypertherm Powermax 30Etc., etc., etc.............Cancer Sucks!
Reply:We have trapped over 300 hogs in our trap. We used a very simple design. We used 3/8" rebar for the frame. We built it 4x8. We used chain link fence instead of a panel. For the door we had a door that slid down tracks to trap the hogs. The slide was 1" channel with a 3/4" plywood door. We tried another trap with the spring loaded door and did not have as good a luck. For some reason the hogs just wouldn't enter the trap. We also had to put a top on it as some of the smaller more agile hogs would climb out. Also as Lynyrd said you need to break the 4x8 side in two for stregnth. The only hog we ever caught that I was worried about the integrity of the trap was a 220lb Russian boar. Needless to say he ended up on the pit just like all the rest.LukeMillerMatic 212Mkita chop sawand a head full of ideas
Reply:Scot:As for saddle racks, if you're thinking of wall hanging versions you can't get any less expensive than the old 4X4 with an eye bolt and a hook on the wall. I have four of these in my tack room and the work great, cost next to nothing. I have the traditional stand alone metal stands for portability.Even though I have a stick, mig, oxy/act systems, sometimes good old wood just fits the bill.Good luck.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...