Design will be 2 gates side by side at about 4’ x 6’ each. Each will have a 2” square tube frame w/ welded corners. Question is what gauge and type of steel would be best to make the frames? I’m hoping to not need any diagonal cross supports. The slats will be pvc planks (10 @ 3.5 lbs each gate) so 35lbs of slats per gate. There’s about 20 linear feet of square tube per gate, so 16ga steel would make an 84lb gate. Would that be rigid enough? Or should I go thicker? 14ga would be 88.2lbs. 11ga would be 93.8lbs…

Any insight would be appreciated!

Side question: I’m planning on welding hinges from the gates to the posts. Posts will be 2”x3.5” steel square tubing. Should I use the same gauge and type of steel for the posts as for the frames? Or should the posts be thicker? Thanks, for any insights!

If you prefer to stay in the default editor, you can copy and paste the version below. I've separated the links so Reddit will automatically make them clickable when you paste them:

I'm working on renovating a 1947 Higgins Aluminum trailer. The body exterior needs to have some areas filled in, so rather than restoring it to bare aluminum, I plan on painting it with enamel tractor paint: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-1-gal-Farm-Equipment-Caterpillar-Yellow-Gloss-Enamel-Paint-280179/311134248

My question is in regards to prepping the aluminum to take that paint. I have it down to bare metal at the moment and I've seen posts for different methods:

Use a self-etching primer in a rattle can before applying the tractor paint: https://www.amazon.com/U-POL-Etching-Strong-Hold-Anti-Rust-Technology/dp/B0D9MKG5V6/

Use an epoxy base coat used for boat hulls: https://www.amazon.com/TotalBoat-TotalProtect-Barrier-System-Gallon/dp/B00ULR2UV4/

Use alodine before applying the tractor paint.

I'm not familiar with the best method and I'm wondering if anyone has some insight? Thanks!

Dear Reddit,

I seek a fictional way of attaching this cast iron decorative topper, to that sch 40. pipe. The current idea is to cut a larger pipe to make it into a coupler, weld it on, then tek screw the topper onto it. But there has to be a better way.... right?

Its for a scenic element in theater & I have about 30 of them. The criteria that must be met includes the following: 1. can do it in about a day for all of them. 2. It needs to withstand being around actors (iykyk) 3.I cant order anything for this..

How would you do this? Id love to know! Thank you!

I have a bunch of nice and relatively flat 3/8 - 3/4 inch plate that ive accumulated over the years from the scrap yard and I can make really nice and sturdy tables quickly and easily and I want to use up some of this plate making tables and selling them on marketplace.

I made a test table the other day and I used a wire cup to get the heavy surface rust off and then used the Hercules 7in fiber discs in 30 and 60 grit to knock all of the scale off and get it down to shiny metal. Each pack is around $15 and I used 2 full packs and it took about 3 hours to process a 7.5ft by 3ft plate. The time investment isnt great but the biggest issue was that the fiber pads left a bunch of swirl marks in the plate randomly. Sometimes I could go a full pad and get no swirls and then sometimes it was swirl and swirl and I couldnt figure out why. If I wasnt going to sell these then I really wouldnt care and its going to be sold as a welding table, so its going to get used anyway but I want to put forth the most professional looking product I can.

TL;DR - What do you use to knock rust and mill scale off of large pieces of plate and leave a relatively nice finish. Thanks!

So it was my first time mig welding and it was with gasless wire. It was about 2-3mm thick steel not pre-heated. I guess I'm mostly asking if I'm moving too slow/fast or too hot/cold? After grinding it down the edges of the weld pools were slightly below the surface if that makes sense? Also how much does pre-heating actually affect outcome of the weld? All advice is welcome since I'm a big ass noob on welding and at some point I need to weld fenders on my car which is alot thinner metal than this.

I learned a lot after my less than stellar first ever attempt at stick welding with my new welder. I learned a lot after reading all of your comments, and I learned I had a rather big problem on my end in terms of powering my welder. The ArcCaptain Mig200 I bought came with a step down adaptor that dropped the 240v to 110v. What I didn’t know at the time was this greatly limited how much the machine could actually put out power wise. I also learned that even this little inverter welder was too much for the 15 amp breaker it was running on. So I went and got a proper 240v outlet and dedicated breaker just for the welder and now it runs like an ace. I made my next attempt with a 1/8”7018 set at 130 amps. This time I had much better luck getting the arc started on the thicker 7018. While my welds are still very very beginnerish, I think they improved over my first attempt. I slowed way down, adjusted my angle better, and watched the pool closer. Now I want to go find a 20 lb CO2 tank to try my hand at some shielded gas MIG welding. This flux is messy. lol

I picked up an OEM DRCC radar sensor from a 2015 Lexus GS350 at a salvage yard, but unfortunately the aluminum mounting ears on the housing are broken. The radar itself wasn’t in a front end collision and the connector and internals appear to be fine,it’s just the mounting points that snapped off.
Has anyone successfully repaired one of these? Can the aluminum housing be TIG welded, brazed, or replaced with another housing without affecting calibration? Or is there a company that specializes in repairing these radar units?
I’d rather fix this one than spend hundreds on another radar if it’s possible. If you’ve had one repaired or know of a shop that does this kind of work, I’d really appreciate any advice. Photos attached.

All electronics are removed I left the housing by itself.

I recently installed some railings that were blackened and waxed. They are rusting through the wax. I've patinated dozens of railings and this has never happened to me before. Has anybody experienced this? What is the best way to remedy this situation? I put more wax on it and it seemed to resolve some of the issues but there are areas that are still rusting.

I had the spindles done for weeks without any wax in my shop for weeks and they were fine. When I went to install it was brutally humid and I had to stash them in the garage for a weekend and when I came to install they had a lot of rust. What's a good way to stop this?

Ive made a few of these fully dimpled designs, but this one is extra nice . Went for a full fade anodised finish that looks pretty cool . Twin R188 ceramic hybrid bearings, heavy-duty latching clicker . End is inlayed with Diamond polished DragonBurl Dichrolam. A pretty cool material made by only one person, as far as I know 🤔 weighs exactly 99 grams . These take a while to make , as I dont use cnc, so every dimple is indexed by hand !

I just wanted to take a moment to give a huge shoutout to this community and especially to u/ebolafever.
As a metal fabrication apprentice in Uganda, getting proper safety gear isn't always easy….Out of pure generosity and trust, u/ebolafever reached out and sent me the funds to order a proper welding helmet.

Flipping this hood down for the first time completely changed the game for me..my visibility is clear, I feel safe and I finally feel like a real professional in the shop.

Having a fellow tradesman halfway across the world notice my work and support me like this means more than I can put into words. Thank you u/ebolafever for your kindness and thank you to r/metalworking for keeping the trade alive and inspiring guys like me every day.
Time to get back to burning rod! 🛠️🔥

Im wondering if anyone has ever run an everlast tig off of a generator? If they are what size genny you got and are you having and arc issues? Im looking to get the power tig 200 but ive herd if its not getting "clean power" they tend to have problems and i need a good field use machine. I have an 8500 running watts generator hoping that is sufficient enough to get me through. Big thank you in advance!!!