Anyone using old steel bed rails for project builds?

[gearhead1]

I use it all the time, most is easy to work with. I had one that I could not drill - scrapped that stuff.

 

[hackwelder]

3 legged BBQ stand.....

gas bottle holder for welding cart...

 

[Bib Overalls]

60 years ago, when I was eleven or so I built a go cart using bed rail. Did all the cutting with a hack saw. When I was done my hands were a ****** mess (but I won).

The old gent who welded it up told me bed frame was made from the lowest grade of scrap and not much good for anything else.

Followed his advice for over 50 years. Then, a project and a set of bed rails came along. Thinking that was then and this is now and besides, I have a monster of a Chinese chop saw I made the first cut. There was a lot of noise, fumes and sparks, and when the cut was made I noticed my pristine abrasive blade was at least an inch smaller in diameter.

I think that old man from way back when knew what he was talking about.

 

[keith5064]

Props to previous members for this idea. Added a slot for the handles to my floor jack...made out of bedframes..came up on quite a few of them lately..

 

[toplessHO]

60 years ago, when I was eleven or so I built a go cart using bed rail. Did all the cutting with a hack saw. When I was done my hands were a ****** mess (but I won).

The old gent who welded it up told me bed frame was made from the lowest grade of scrap and not much good for anything else.

Followed his advice for over 50 years. Then, a project and a set of bed rails came along. Thinking that was then and this is now and besides, I have a monster of a Chinese chop saw I made the first cut. There was a lot of noise, fumes and sparks, and when the cut was made I noticed my pristine abrasive blade was at least an inch smaller in diameter.

I think that old man from way back when knew what he was talking about.

I dont think the old timer was right
Its high strength steel not junk steel,thats why its so hard to work with.

 

[Craptain]

I use it for the type of stuff for use in or around my shop or house, but would think twice about using it for much else. My first Bed rail project, like others here, was a welding cart for my Mig.

 

[brianh]

A trick I found for drilling it is using carbide tipped masonry bits I regrind them with a diamond wheel they bore right through.

 

[MarkG]

Works fine for certain things! Just don't build a bridge with it. This is my table mounted bike work stand. (only seatpost shown for clarity)

 

[KenS]

Goodwill-- renewable source of cheap bedframe/angle iron.

 

[mpotts]

I have a bunch of old steel bed rails and wanted to ask if anyone has used them to build something useful for the garage? I hear the steel is dern near impossible to cut but thought I would ask. Thanks for any input!

My wife and I made storage shelves out of bedrails for our metal building in the loft area which are on 5 ft centers. Just laid the assembled frame across the square tubing and put 4x8 plywood in.The legs were pointed down which kept the rails from sliding out. No cutting , drilling or metal screws needed.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I've picked up several discarded steel bed frames from work in the scrap pile. Cuts just fine with an abrasive disc. I cut off the sections with extra tabs and brackets and keep the straight angle pieces. I've used it anywhere else I'd use angle steel. A lot of it is still standing up in the corner of the garage.

 

[rockettauto]

Finding free steel is like getting a hot chicks number.

Nah, free steel doesn't lead to disappointment very often

 

[kaymccampbell]

I love old bed frames. Great source of free angle iron. My blast cabinet sets on bed frame legs. I've used them to fix trailers, old trucks, rotten cars, you-name-it.

 

[The Cobbler]

my latest fab with bed rail was flavourizer bars for my Weber gas grill , they work just fine, and the only cost was a bit of electricity & some wear on the abrasive wheel . oh, and a 45 minute burn followed by a wire wheel on grinder to get rid of the paint

 

[Old tool guy]

45 min to burn off the paint? Were the burners on low?

 

[The Cobbler]

nope. it was due for a good burn and it got it .

 

[SquirrelsTools]

Made an A frame with a °45 degree front loaded gusset attached to a 4in slab anchor and pulled a Subaru frame straight once haha.

 

[driftpin]

A crawlspace doorframe I made w/bedrail. My first welding project of consequence. Strong-enough for what it's gonna be used for. It will be hinged on one side, I think 3" SS hinges will work. I might use only two hinge plate holes on each hinge attached to the frame. The wall is stucco-coated CBS construction so the wall hinge plates will get probably 3/16" phillips head tapcon screws of around 2".

Inset into the angle iron, I plan to use something like 3/4" X 1/8" steel strap laid flat to fasten some fine SS mesh screen sandwiched between the angle iron and the steel strap.

I mitered the corners, I tried to use a 14" chop saw, it cuts vertically-positioned stock like angle iron, but when it hits the horizontally-positioned angle, the cutting is slow. I could re-position it to be in a vertical plane but that entailed futzing with the angle position bracket on the chop saw. I realized using an angle grinder w/a cut-off blade would cut the stock much quicker, but maybe not as-pretty an oblique angle achieved.

On the interior angles, I didn't know what to use to flatten/dress the bulky welds, maybe some sort of a small-diameter stone and a die grinder? I didn't want to spend the time with a hand file.

I'm gonna try the tip to anneal the metal before drilling. I have an oxy-acetylene torch, I assume that you get it cherry-red hot, and then before it cools, do the drilling?

I wasn't going for 'perfect' but just strong-enough ('perfect' isn't in my welding skills lexicon as an achievement yet). Once it's all-done I may take it to the powdercoater instead of using some oil-base paint. I was planning on putting a couple of drain holes on the bottom horizontal angle iron leg, so it wouldn't collect and hold standing water. This is South FL, we get ~60" of rain a year.

 

[JohnKal]

Made a “log rest” for my splitter. I was sick of bending over the splitter to pick up the pieces.

 

[The Cobbler]

....

I'm gonna try the tip to anneal the metal before drilling. I have an oxy-acetylene torch, I assume that you get it cherry-red hot, and then before it cools, do the drilling?

you heat the metal to cherry red, then let it cool slowly . that potentially "softens" the metal to allow it to drill easier

 

[isb cornbinder]

i grab bedrails anytime i find them got a stash behind shop.the legs of my smoker is made out of bedrails. anybody think bedrails smell funny as your welding them are is it just me.

There is lead in the paint.

 

[Monza Harry]

@Driftpin beware heating this locally will cause warping issues. May not matter, but knowing this may save some grief. If you are worried about drilling this just buy a cheap cement drill and keep it wet with oil [cutting oil is best but any will work, some just smell worse than others]. Turn slow and feed hard until breakout, then slower than slow, carbide chips easily on breakout. I drill this all the time with normal HSS drill bits, but properly sharpened drill bits are quite capable. Learning how is a difficult journey that takes most a good year plus in the shops I have worked in to be able to drill harder Alloys consistently [myself included]. So don't be hard on yourself as the pros have taken a long time to learn and have had multiple teachers. [See above, again myself included] A few hints, the angles and lengths viewed from the front don't matter as much as the relief from the side, most end up with a flat relief which will just make heat and maybe some dust. Harry

 

[DGersic]

I didn‘t find these bed rails especially hard to cut, drill, or weld. Made a rolling base for my bandsaw. I meant to paint it this summer, but haven’t gotten around to doing that yet, so it’s still brown.