Show us what you welded today

[12V71]

its a mang steel frog on mainline. mang steel can be carbon gouged. rail steel your not suppose to

In the late 90's I was a part time manager, engineer, track inspector, tie replacer, etc. etc., for a small short line operation. Just outside of our exchange yard was a section of rail(s) 39 foot jointed rail, that had been burned by a 4 axle engine that apparently gone nuts on a stopped train and put 8 burns in the rails, the track guys (in the 70's) had built up the burns and added a joint bar at each one. No idea what they built up with but it was darker than the rail.

[SweetMK]

I have a hammer that is supposedly for cutting train rail,,
I figured there MUST be a video of someone doing that,,,

This is what I found,,



The next video after that,, a guy was trying to machine train rail.
He said the manganese in the steel causes the steel to work harden,,

He said "the train track is work hardened more than a divorcee's bed frame,," ~

[vwguy3]

What is the point of the water/liquid?

[vwguy3]

its a mang steel frog on mainline. mang steel can be carbon gouged. rail steel your not suppose to

Interesting, thanks.

[itcanbewelded]

I have been building some handrails for a guys second story balcony. He was afraid painted steel would rust to quick and decided he wanted to do aluminum and then paint that. His wife decided on a complex design for the center of each section. These panels are 60”x30” approximately and have right at 100 1/2” long welds. There will be 9 sections roughly 8’ long. First pic is of my jig table for the first stage.

First stage

Finished panel

[rancher76]

I have been building some handrails for a guys second story balcony. He was afraid painted steel would rust to quick and decided he wanted to do aluminum and then paint that. His wife decided on a complex design for the center of each section. These panels are 60”x30” approximately and have right at 100 1/2” long welds. There will be 9 sections roughly 8’ long. First pic is of my jig table for the first stage.

First stage

Finished panel

Awesome work! I like everything about it, and the jigs are sweet!

[tapwelder]

Nice work.

I did rail near identical to that design last year. Ended up having it plasma cut. I was only disappointed in the sharp edges.

I then took another job. With lots of parts, I cut and fixtured. I was crying about not having plasma cut it. Been 5 months for 10 ft of rail.

[cornchip]

got tasked with fixing a handful of someones cracked welds. these guys want to throw down one huge bead and call it good. either they dont know any better or are just lazy. i use 3 or 4 beads as i think it locks everything together better

[NotaVegetarian]

Nice job

[itcanbewelded]

Awesome work! I like everything about it, and the jigs are sweet!

Thanks man. I quoted the project 2 months ago and then tried to weld all those little welds with a push pull gun. FAIL. I am no good at TIG welding and wasn’t sure if it would work well anyhow. The hash bars 1/2” solid square and the outer frame is 3/4” tube. I ended buying a laser welder since i have more quotes out on handrails. Here is a close up of a laser weld on that frame.

[itcanbewelded]

Nice work.

I did rail near identical to that design last year. Ended up having it plasma cut. I was only disappointed in the sharp edges.

I then took another job. With lots of parts, I cut and fixtured. I was crying about not having plasma cut it. Been 5 months for 10 ft of rail.

I thought about that option. Like you say the edges are a problem. I don’t think my customer would have liked that look. If i had a plate laser to cut them with i would have pushed that idea a bit. The worst part about the design is the different angle cuts and having to make every joint as tight as possible for looks sake.

[cornchip]

Nice job

the boss which isnt a welder probly doesnt see doing the job twice as a big deal but heres what was involved.
1.5hr round trip drive time that i could of been doing something else.
wear and tear on the truck and welder.
fuel for the truck to get there.and back.
fuel to run the welder.
cost of rods.
two guys wages for several hour while at the jobsite

[senseichavez]

Finished up and got a coat of paint on a grinder/abrasives stand.


And then also made up a jack stand/jack storage rack (needs paint!)

[rancher76]

Finished up and got a coat of paint on a grinder/abrasives stand.


And then also made up a jack stand/jack storage rack (needs paint!)

Very nice work!