Here in the Midwest it was especially cold this winter so it was difficult for me to do much work welding aluminum in my little shop behind the house. So rather than waste the cold months I figured I'd practice doing some simple fabrication and welding with mild steel. For me it's much easier to weld cold steel than cold aluminum (even with some pre-heating) , maybe as my skills improve that will change. So I was practicing making miter cuts on the bandsaw, and welding little scraps together having a grand old time. Before long a germ of an idea formed for a simple low height stool I could use in the shop, which quickly turned into an adjustable height stool, which eventually morphed into the madness pictured below. I've always loved the look of old school hot rod and motorcycles that had parts swiss-cheesed to save weight. So this is my little homage to guys like Ol'89r who had to actually build race bikes rather than buy them. I have a buddy who is a powdercoating engineer so I'll see what he can do with it. I welded three stainless steel 5/16" nuts into the corners of the top triangle to fasten a 1" thick MDF seat. Eventually I'll get some padding and make a vinyl cover for it as well. A fun little project that taught me some useful things about weld distortion and joint fit up.
I think it's an issue on my side. I was using Google drive and I think the permissions got mushed. I'll make them direct attachments later today.
Very cool Rich. Lots of lay-out time in that little project. Nicely done. Hi BW. Good to see you back.
Thanks Terry - As you pointed out to me way back when, proper fit up is one of the the real keys to good welding, and nice fab work. It's for sure a huge weakness for me so I've been trying to find ways to practice those skills before I move any further on my bigger more significant projects. The fact that it's fun doesn't hurt.
