Solar light stakes

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I got a couple of those cheap solar stake lights, the kind with the lamp and stake that slot into a piece of stainless tubing.  I figured they would look pretty good at about chest height on either side of my mailbox, so built two stakes out of some heavy chain I had lying around.All dimensions are on the attached diagram.  The basic idea is that the thin stainless tubing that came with the lights gets brazed into heavier (sch 40) mild steel pipe, which is welded to the chain, the links of which are welded together to get it to stand up straight.  The stake that goes into the ground is a length of round stock, cut at a 45 to give a sharp point, welded to the bottom end of the chain, then with a piece of thick flat bar welded on the side to prevent it being tipped over and give a foot rest for pushing it into the ground.  I used about 18" of 1/2 CRS for the stake, and about an 11" length of 1/4 x 2 flat bar for the side foot rest thing, but the exact dimensions will depend on what you have and what your soil is like.  A design change I would suggest is either bending the end of the flat bar to give a larger surface to step on, or preferably welding on another larger piece of steel, maybe 2x4, to give a step plate.I built these in the shop, then installed them at my house.  The first step I did was weld the chain links together.  I would suggest hanging the chain to do this, as while it is a bit more of a hassle while welding than laying it down on the table, the end result looks a lot better.  Also make sure to weld ALL THE WAY AROUND where each link connects.  I was in kind of a hurry while doing this, so only welded the top side of each joint, thinking it would be OK.  One of them broke during installation, so I ended up on the ground trying to stick weld it back together.  Not fun.After the chain was done, I cut the SS tubing that came with the lights in half, so one piece made both stakes.  Then I measured about 6" longer then the new half length piece of SS tubing, and cut 2 pieces of sch.40 blackpipe to that length.  As noted on the diagram, make sure the ID of the pipe is as close as possible to the OD of the stainless tube, to allow for good fitup during brazing.  I then flattened a few inches of the end of each pipe in the press, to improve fit up to the chain.  These were then welded to one end of each of the chains.  As this joint is welding the round end of the chain to the flat crushed end of the pipe, I had a lot of gap filling to do (but that is what MIG is good for  ).I then cut the round parts of the stakes that go into the ground, and welded them to the other end of the chain from the pipe.  I will mention at this point that it is VERY important to maintain the linear alignment of the chain, pipe, and stake as you weld them together.  I just eyeballed it, but I am sure there is some way to line them up against some kind of reference surface.Finally I welded on the flat bar to the bottom end, then brazed in the SS tube in the top.  I kept the rusty finish for cool look, but clear coated.  I actually ended up going through four lights- one was defective, and another was destroyed during fabrication Hope you enjoy. Attached Images
Reply:Ok now what are you going to use for the DOG?
Reply:Brave guy. That's extra points for the highschool kids with baseball bats!
Reply:Make sure to fix it so the cheap lights can be easily replaced when they quit working.
Reply:Pretty neat. Any after dark photos?When I was a kid there was a guy down that road that welded a big old anchor chain for the post of his mail box. I always thought it was really cool.
Reply:Originally Posted by BistineauMake sure to fix it so the cheap lights can be easily replaced when they quit working.
Reply:Originally Posted by TIGguyBrave guy. That's extra points for the highschool kids with baseball bats!
Reply:Originally Posted by TIGguy highschool kids with baseball bats!