Puget Dude’s creations and fabrications (Random project thread.)
- Thread starter PugetDude
- Start date
Jeff Ivers
Well-known member
Personally, I will have to take your word for this as I am simply not that familiar with a goat's posterior!"I'll get all the weld joints smoothed out and shining like a diamond in a goats *** when it gets here".
Well, Amazon Resale hosed me on the tube sander. 
It was advertised as " Mint"....
Arrived two days late on a two-day delivery in a taped-up box that looked like it had been dragged behind the delivery truck down a washboard gravel road, It was missing the handle as well as the 30 sanding belts that prompted me to select that particular sander.
Initiated a return and bought a different sander, but it won't be here until this weekend.
It was advertised as " Mint"....
Arrived two days late on a two-day delivery in a taped-up box that looked like it had been dragged behind the delivery truck down a washboard gravel road, It was missing the handle as well as the 30 sanding belts that prompted me to select that particular sander.
Initiated a return and bought a different sander, but it won't be here until this weekend.
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What do you do when you have a bunch of 1" Kee pipe fittings but per code handrail requires 1-1/4" pipe?
I like the look of the smaller 1" fittings with the 1-1/4" pipe for handrails, they are a lot more finished looking, IMO. Needed to build 6 sections of handrail to complement the "Mountain Industrial" look my bride envisions for this place- 2 for the inside stairs to the loft and 2 each for the front and back decks.
In order to make them work, I just sleeve the larger pipe with either 1" pipe or a 3/4" coupling. Either one is a fairly close fit with S40 pipe and works great with the Kee fittings. Used few couplings this time; they came out of the discard barrel next to the pipe rack at the local plumbing supply house.
I like to plug weld the sleeves in place, it gives me a nice square end cut to **** the fittings against without a weld to contend with.
Once I figure out the length, first step is to drill (3) 5/16" holes at roughly 120° apart.
Stick-out is about 1-1/8" to avoid interference at 90°. A quick tack weld in one of the holes allows me to tap the sleeve to center and square it up with the railing.
A nice hot rosette weld follows, only takes a few seconds to fill the hole. I really like to burn these welds in hot.
A quick pass with the M12 grinder and a 40 grit flap wheel takes off the protruding weld bead.
The smaller fittings snug up nice and tight against the larger pipe. (The set screws are installed on the bottom side during final installation)
I'll sand all the welds all flush with 80 and 120 grit belts on my 1.5 x 30" pipe and tube sander before handing them over to the powdercoater.
More to come.
I like the look of the smaller 1" fittings with the 1-1/4" pipe for handrails, they are a lot more finished looking, IMO. Needed to build 6 sections of handrail to complement the "Mountain Industrial" look my bride envisions for this place- 2 for the inside stairs to the loft and 2 each for the front and back decks.
In order to make them work, I just sleeve the larger pipe with either 1" pipe or a 3/4" coupling. Either one is a fairly close fit with S40 pipe and works great with the Kee fittings. Used few couplings this time; they came out of the discard barrel next to the pipe rack at the local plumbing supply house.
I like to plug weld the sleeves in place, it gives me a nice square end cut to **** the fittings against without a weld to contend with.
Once I figure out the length, first step is to drill (3) 5/16" holes at roughly 120° apart.
Stick-out is about 1-1/8" to avoid interference at 90°. A quick tack weld in one of the holes allows me to tap the sleeve to center and square it up with the railing.
A nice hot rosette weld follows, only takes a few seconds to fill the hole. I really like to burn these welds in hot.
A quick pass with the M12 grinder and a 40 grit flap wheel takes off the protruding weld bead.
The smaller fittings snug up nice and tight against the larger pipe. (The set screws are installed on the bottom side during final installation)
I'll sand all the welds all flush with 80 and 120 grit belts on my 1.5 x 30" pipe and tube sander before handing them over to the powdercoater.
More to come.
readhead
Well-known member
Will you weld the sleeves all around for the outside rails? I do like the look. The fittings will get powder coated also I presume.
Andy, I used S40 long radius 90's for the interior rails, strip ground the welds flush with 80 grit and polished them to 240 with the tube sander.
The exterior rails are all using 90° Kee elbows. They will mount to the wooden posts with decorative 1" 3-bolt pipe flanges. I bought the Kee fittings on a Zoro flash sale in 2015; the pipe flanges came from Amazon.
Everything is getting satin black powdercoat. The two sections of welded wire rails I did a couple of weeks ago are ready to be picked up; I plan to drop the 6 handrails off when I pick them up.
readhead
Well-known member
The reason I asked about the exterior rails was the potential of water getting in the pipe and freezing.
The stair brackets i bought on Amazon worked out really well. The top two holes actually lined up to the original 20 year old brackets that were on the origina log handrails. The detachable swivels made it fairly easy to mock them up and mark the locations to drill and tap the pipe.
I did radius the back of the swivels a bit to tighten up the fit on the pipe, used my MI2 right angle die grinder with a new 2" 40 grit flap disc for that.
Used some bright 10-24 x 5/8" screws I dug out of my collection? stash? hoard? to ensure everything fit; black screws are on order.
I discovered my old Dewalt abrasive cutoff saw makes an excellent pipe vise.
I haven't used it in a few years since I bought the 14" Evolution Cold Saw.
Stuck an adjustable roller stand on one end, with the quick release vise on the saw it makes sanding and polishing the rail sections a lot easier.
More to come.
I did radius the back of the swivels a bit to tighten up the fit on the pipe, used my MI2 right angle die grinder with a new 2" 40 grit flap disc for that.
Used some bright 10-24 x 5/8" screws I dug out of my collection? stash? hoard? to ensure everything fit; black screws are on order.
I discovered my old Dewalt abrasive cutoff saw makes an excellent pipe vise.
I haven't used it in a few years since I bought the 14" Evolution Cold Saw.
Stuck an adjustable roller stand on one end, with the quick release vise on the saw it makes sanding and polishing the rail sections a lot easier.
More to come.
The $50 pipe sander is working out fairly well. After succssfully executing the 25 year assassination plot against my old HF Grinder, I mounted it on one of the two 4.5" Porter Cable grinders I bought at TSC for $29 a couple of years ago on a flash sale. The 2" diameter snout on the PC grinder makes for a more secure mount, IMO.
The belt tracks OK on flat sections but the 90° elbows required a bit of finesse to keep it from throwing the belt.
Luckily I only had 4 of the welded 90° elbows to deal with. The rest of the railings are all using the Kee fittings for the returns.
More to come.
The belt tracks OK on flat sections but the 90° elbows required a bit of finesse to keep it from throwing the belt.
Luckily I only had 4 of the welded 90° elbows to deal with. The rest of the railings are all using the Kee fittings for the returns.
More to come.
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The sander wheels have a recess for a 20mm wide belt, but couldn't find any with a quick delivery. The Brown truck delivered the rest of the belts I ordered the next day from AMZ, at less than a buck a belt.Cool man!. Here's a hint for those 90's. Either get some 1/2" wide belts or split what you have with a razor blade (yes while its running)
It'll make slack belt burnishing way easy on those inside radius's's's's's.
Got the rails done before the narrower belts would even be shipped.
I'll report back from the Emergency Room after taking your suggestion to split the belts with a razor while the sander is running...
There’s no reason to make a big deal about it.I'll report back from the Emergency Room after taking your suggestion to split the belts with a razor while the sander is running...
It’s only as bad as it seems
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It's a miracle we've all survived this long.
larry4406
Well-known member
Nice fab!
I like that that belt sander attachment gizmo to a grinder. Link?
I like that that belt sander attachment gizmo to a grinder. Link?
SilverJimmy
Well-known member
Great, more to buy…..
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
It never ends.....
senlow
Well-known member
Well, now the truth comes out. That's a public admission of murder. I'm shocked that you could be so cold blooded as to murder a hard working angle grinder.
senlow
Well-known member
So, now you're backpedaling.
I think you’re taking this log demo thing a bit too far bud. What’s gonna replace that now……one of these outta rebar and diamond plate?Did a little tree pruning today...
The white stake is my property corner.
larry4406
Well-known member
Since when is a bulge in the pants an idea?Hmmmm.... I am getting an idea.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Depends on the job. ALA Pelican Pines.lol
Got the two welded railing sections installed on the loft deck today. The wire panels really open up the view compared to the log posts and railings. 
Went to Home Depot and sorted through half a unit of 2x6x12' redwood for a clear top cap for the longer rail section. Surprisingly, the first 2x6x8' in the pile that I pulled out for the shorter section. was perfect.
Hope to get those cut to length and clearcoated tomorrow, so I can install them this weekend. The mounting tabs are already welded in place, so it should be an easy job.
The pipe railings for the interior and exterior stairs should be done at the powdercoater in the next few days.
Getting close to the finish line on the projects we planned for this summer, although empirical evidence suggests that's a moving target.
More to come.
Went to Home Depot and sorted through half a unit of 2x6x12' redwood for a clear top cap for the longer rail section. Surprisingly, the first 2x6x8' in the pile that I pulled out for the shorter section. was perfect.
Hope to get those cut to length and clearcoated tomorrow, so I can install them this weekend. The mounting tabs are already welded in place, so it should be an easy job.
The pipe railings for the interior and exterior stairs should be done at the powdercoater in the next few days.
Getting close to the finish line on the projects we planned for this summer, although empirical evidence suggests that's a moving target.
More to come.
RickP
Well-known member
Nice work on those railings -- they look really good.
(and that view isn't half bad either!)
(and that view isn't half bad either!)
Got the clear 2x6 redwood caps installed on the railings. Ended up with a bit of an offset at the corner post - the 6x6 was not coplanar with the 2x corner trim on the house walls. Had to install the rails parallel with the edge of the deck and with an even 2" overhang on the rails, so it is what it is. 
More to come.
More to come.
readhead
Well-known member
Coplanar. Now there is a $10 word. I do feel your pain. I have run into that very problem many times.
M.Brane
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Delivery guy walks up the driveway today while I'm taking a break in the camp chair. Drops the packages on the drive in front of me to take a picture. Stares at his phone for a good 30 secs. Asks me the address. No dude that is 2 doors down you passed it. Picks 'em up, and says good to meet me. Walks off.Amazon dropped off a package today. Clearly they handled it with the utmost love and respect we have all come to expect from them.