small bridge

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This is about half of this heavy equipment bridge we built.  It splits in half to load on trucks.  It is intended to carry loaders as they drive off and on a chip barge.  The concrete deck will be poured on site.  This was a team effort.  My part was making the torch guides to cut out the keyholes in the cross beams.  Fortunately I didn't have the pleasure of sliding those along the top flange of the main beams. Attached Images
Reply:What size are the beams?DewayneDixieland WeldingMM350PLincoln 100Some torchesOther misc. tools
Reply:The two main beams are about 36 inch high and tapered at both ends ... shop welded beams.  The cross beams are around 14 inch.. Not sure.. everything is metric nowadays.
Reply:Wow, a big bridge...huge compared to the tiny stuff I work on. Thanks for sharing the picture lotech! See ya' in the weldchat tonight!John -  fabricator extraordinaire, car nut!-  bleeding Miller blue! http://www.weldfabzone.com
Reply:Originally Posted by lotechmanThe two main beams are about 36 inch high and tapered at both ends ... shop welded beams.  The cross beams are around 14 inch.. Not sure.. everything is metric nowadays.
Reply:One piece per trailer ... over 500  3/4 inch bolts down the center.  I was the guy who had to do the temporary bolting you see.  Four inch hinge pins at one end to allow it to move up and down with the tide.
Reply:Whoa.  Dont think thats gonna break anytime soon.  Does something like that ever wear out?Various GrindersVictor Journeyman torch200cf Acet. 250cf oxygenLincoln 175 plus/alpha2 gunLincoln v205t tigLincoln 350mpEsab 650 plasmaWhen you can get up in the morning, Its a good day.Live each day like its your last.
Reply:Hard tp say if it will wear out.  We were told the present structure has 12 inch square timbers for the deck and it has to be replace several times a year.  We are wondering if the concrete will stand up.  There are lots of anchoring studs to tie everything together.  The ramp will be in use 24/7   I have been involved in building logging bridges.  They also are skookum.  they used two beams around five foot high tied together.  They have to take fully loaded trucks at speed as well as CATs.  After use the bridge is dragged away to the next location.
Reply:Great looking job! How about some pictures of the torch guide/jig you made?As impressive as the finished product is, I like to see how others got to there.Just my  opinion, not from a book, just from the road.Howes Welding Inc.www.howesweldinginc.com
Reply:Gee Tessdad I never thought about the little jig I made as being interesting.... I will look around next week to see if it is not into the scrap bin yet.  All it was was a few pieces of quarter by one inch flat bar tacked together with the right spacing so that when the torch was run around the inside of the Tee it cut out the correct shape.  I did take a trial run using the same torch and tip on 3/8 plate to confirm the distance from the edge that the kerf ran.  That determined my spacing.  The jig was raised with some extra 1/4 shims tacked underneath so that the torch ran along it easily.  I put some marks on it so the fabricator could line up the jig with my center marks I had placed on the web of the beam.  My roots are in structural so I take copes, blocks and hole gages without a thought.
Reply:I found a pic of the tee slotting waiting to be slid onto the main beams.  Not the best flame cuts but serviceable.  There was a bit of fighting since the beam tends to close on the cut.  It had to be slightly sprung open for installation.  You don't want to be filling large gaps on a project like this. Attached Images