Cutting welded inside corner

[zak77]

I'm going to be replacing the decking on my utility trailer in the near future and while looking at it i noticed these welds run the entire inside corner. The flat bar was welded in after the decking went in so it needs to come out. I'll remove the wood before cutting. What's the best way to cut those welds, both sides, to minimize damage?

 

[dcg9381]

sawzall.

 

[RedRambler]

To remove those welds I would get a bandfile sander like the one below. HF cheap option, but they do make nicer and pneumatic ones. I have gotten mine in some pretty tight spaces. I feel you would weaken that weld enough to then bend it up and down until the weld lets loose. Essentially you want to thin that weld out, but not the base metal.



HF BandFile Sander

 

[Gutman]

I'm assuming the side and front members are angle and the lumber is dimensional (1-1/2" thick), so I'm assuming you've got about 1-1/2" of space between the flat bar and the angle below.

I've had luck by cutting across the edge decking board about 1-2" from the flat bar and removing that board, then chiseling the remaining stub to remove it and then using a grinder with a cutting disc to cut the weld and the end of the flat bar. Cuts better with out the wood in there, but I've used a diamond cutting wheel into a metal and wood like that. Just smells. Same for the weld that runs across.

You'll be able to get close enough into the corner such that a BFH persuader should be able to bust the remainder of the weld. Once the boards are removed, you can pretty it up. I had stitch welds in a couple spots along the flat bar too.

Also give some consideration for bolting the flat bar in the corners for future.

 

[PCustoms]

To remove those welds I would get a bandfile sander like the one below. HF cheap option, but they do make nicer and pneumatic ones. I have gotten mine in some pretty tight spaces. I feel you would weaken that weld enough to then bend it up and down until the weld lets loose. Essentially you want to thin that weld out, but not the base metal.



HF BandFile Sander

How many days will that take?

OP why remove it?

Flex the boards in the center to get each end started, then remove the shims/lever and they pop in under the lip. Look on YouTube for a vid

Edit: first hit

 

[Firebrick43]

That would take a min or two with a properly sharpened cold chisel and or cape chisel and an engineers hammer

 

[tarmy]

Death wheel would have that done in no time.

 

[The Cobbler]

remove the wood as you said, don't be afraid to make the flat bar sacrificial if you need to and use cutting discs on an angle grinder

 

[tarmy]

^^^He said it more succinctly than I did. We always refered to them as death wheel. Wear eye pro, face shield and long sleeves in case….or when…is shatters.

 

[kerrynzl]

I'm going to be replacing the decking on my utility trailer in the near future and while looking at it i noticed these welds run the entire inside corner. The flat bar was welded in after the decking went in so it needs to come out. I'll remove the wood before cutting. What's the best way to cut those welds, both sides, to minimize damage?

What is under the wood [another piece of Angle that bears weight?]
If that is the case the flat bar is just a "trim piece" on the top side end.

You don't cut it, You leave it alone and cut the wood lengths carefully.

What you do is slide the wood all the way in at one end, and mark and cut it so it barely drops down past the flat at the other end.
Then you carefuly "tap" the wood back halfway [so it is under the flat steel bars at each end]

 

[djbmw]

Yeah... as others have said you're supposed to actually bend/tap the boards in under that facia piece. However, if you MUST remove it then an angle grinder OR a die gringer with an appropriate carbide burr bit will get it done in under 1 minute.

 

[michaelf]

Sawzall or cutoff wheel

 

[RedRambler]

How many days will that take?

OP why remove it?

Flex the boards in the center to get each end started, then remove the shims/lever and they pop in under the lip. Look on YouTube for a vid

Edit: first hit

Well it took Noah 40, but for the task at hand I’m thinking 3 days max.

 

[PCustoms]

Well it took Noah 40, but for the task at hand I’m thinking 3 days max.

Well, of infelt the need to cut it if use a reciprocating saw and be done in 3 minutes

 

[Tim in Indiana]

Plasma cutter, done in a minute

 

[zak77]

I think i'll have to go sawzall on this one. I'll cut the other welds out with a cut off disk so that way i can take that flat bar out completely. I wouldnt want to try to bend 1 1/2"x10" white oak boards 8' long by myself plus try and wrestle them into the pockets. The trailer will see a complete rehab anyways.

On a side note, does anyone know if a urethane clear coat can get put over an enamel base? I have extra clear coat from another project and wondered if this is doable to extend the gloss of the enamel. I painted this trailer about 10 years ago with rustoleum or Magic w/hardener but the gloss faded after a few years.

 

[ClappedOutBport]

I use an arc gouger, but that is probably not accessible to most.

 

[Hohn]

There are stick electrodes that are marketed essentially as cutting tools-- they mimic a gouger. Some 6010 will do this too.

 

[Hohn]

I think i'll have to go sawzall on this one. I'll cut the other welds out with a cut off disk so that way i can take that flat bar out completely. I wouldnt want to try to bend 1 1/2"x10" white oak boards 8' long by myself plus try and wrestle them into the pockets. The trailer will see a complete rehab anyways.

On a side note, does anyone know if a urethane clear coat can get put over an enamel base? I have extra clear coat from another project and wondered if this is doable to extend the gloss of the enamel. I painted this trailer about 10 years ago with rustoleum or Magic w/hardener but the gloss faded after a few years.

I'd be going the carbide burr route myself. Safer, more control, still pretty fast. Picked up one of these recently and it would work perfectly for your case.

 

[PCustoms]

I'd be going the carbide burr route myself. Safer, more control, still pretty fast. Picked up one of these recently and it would work perfectly for your case.

Fun until it chatters, cracks and explodes.

Sawsall....

 

[Hohn]

Fun until it chatters, cracks and explodes.

Sawsall....

This is a 1/4" diameter burr head. I have used it for 4 hours continuously hogging on some pretty tough steel (including grinding out a hardened bolt extractor). Zero chatter or cracking.

Maybe if this was a 1" ball burr you'd have an argument. But with this burr, you do not.

Any tool can hurt a fool.

How *exactly* would you sawzall this? You'd have to start at the bottom where you have access to the edge and cut towards the corner. OK, now how do you make that 90 degree corner? Can't do it with a sawzall blade without it exploding. And you can't start a new cut 90 degrees because it needs an open edge-- you can't plunge cut steel with a steel sawzall blade.

The carbide burr allows incredible control and you'll be able to surgically remove that weld with almost no perceptible contact to the base material.

One thing a sawzall is NOT known for is control. If precision wasn't required then heck just hack the trailer frame entirely there and re-weld. But then OP wouldn't be asking about removing a weld, he'd be asking how how to re-weld.


OP specifically said "to minimize damage".

 

[kerrynzl]

Any tool can hurt a fool.

The best quote of the whole forum!

 

[zak77]

After thinking about this for a little bit i believe i'm going to use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut on the inside of those welds then use a dremel to make a 45° to connect the cuts on both ends. Do this on both sides, plus welds in between, and off it comes. I'll just reweld it in after and since it's just a trailer and not in the way, it'll work and take minimal time. Either that or just bust out the plasma cutter and do something similar.

If i was sticking with the sawzall route i'd cut a slot for the blade to start into but my concern is the lower support being only 1.5" away, i see a few bent blades.

 

[tarbellb]

If you are rewelding anyways..... Can you cut the corner from the outside?

 

[PCustoms]

It's amazing how much this forum can overcomplicate things...

 

[MagKarl]

Don't cut the welds, bow the boards. It's easier than you might guess with a floor jack and a helper.

 

[PCustoms]

...

 

[tarmy]

It's amazing how much this forum can overcomplicate things...

What’s your point…

This here is GJ…and it says in the rules, in the fine print, that we ALL shall endeavor to make things so complex and difficult that at least one new tool is required. This rule ensures that real members, that belong here, will have cover with their wives/girlfriends, or both, to acquire said new tool, regardless of cost. Additionally, that new tool shall be either used, or not, for the project that was overly complex, whether it appears to be that way, or not, until such time as another new tool is acquired.

There, fixered.

 

[strength_and_power]

After thinking about this for a little bit i believe i'm going to use an angle grinder with a cut-off wheel to cut on the inside of those welds then use a dremel to make a 45° to connect the cuts on both ends. Do this on both sides, plus welds in between, and off it comes. I'll just reweld it in after and since it's just a trailer and not in the way, it'll work and take minimal time. Either that or just bust out the plasma cutter and do something similar.

If i was sticking with the sawzall route i'd cut a slot for the blade to start into but my concern is the lower support being only 1.5" away, i see a few bent blades.

Does your plasma have a gouge setting? That would do the trick.
6” cut off wheel on a 5” grinder with the guard removed?

 

[Jacko264]

Chain drill the welds then use mole grips to break the steel strip off easy to do
G

 

[LopezBart]

When I went to replace the boards on our 10K 18' equipment trailer, I had a bunch of rough cut 2x6 island fir (the local Douglas fir is a lot stronger & tougher than the stuff from lumberyards) that were left over from our house build. They weren't 18' in length, so I pieced the decking, and cut down the ends to fit into the slots at the front and rear of the trailer. I painted the steel on the trailer w/ Rustoleum rusty metal primer, and applied two coats of asphalt tar foundation coating over the paint to help protect the wood from the steel. The boards are fastened down w/ 5/16" trailer decking screws. The wood has all been painted now w/ copper naphthenate preservative....

If I'd had full length regular size boards, I'd just have flexed them into place. It's really not difficult. There are several youtube videos showing the process.

One thing to note is that rusty metal breaks down wood quickly; by preventing contact, you can extend the life of the decking. I should probably cover the black oxide screw heads with something - perhaps some paint - in the spring.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'd sooner cut the other end of the trailer apart than that front strip. My approach would be to cut the back, slide in the lumber, and weld it back together.

I redecked my 14' trailer and it was a ***** getting enough flex in the lumber. Granted, it turned out really nice as we went as long on the boards as possible.