This will be the last big piece for me to build for this project! It is a 12′ by 12′ stage, built as a 2-piece structural frame, with a 4′ radius on one corner, and to receive a 1″ thick translucent glass floor, which is backlit with LED lighting. My portion is to build the frame sections, and to address all the needs for the installation of glass tiles and LED lighting. We had a meeting at the beginning of tis week to finalize all aspects, and after some layout in AutoCAD, I’m cutting, grinding, bending and welding away! Here are some pictures of what has happened so far!
The frames will be made from 2″x2″ square tubing, so the first task was to figure out a way to bend this tube as consistent as possible to a 4′ radius. Here is my first test piece on my saw.
Checking the spacing of the cuts to get the right curve for the piece. I cut a template on my plasma table to help with the process.
After cutting the piece to the correct length with the right spacing of the cuts, it was time to get serious!
All the parts of the frames are cut and ready for welding.
Clamping the template to the bent tube to ensure it all stays consistent.
Tack welding the inside.
Welding the two outsides of the tube. After cooling down over night, the tube had very little distortion caused by welding.
Welding the inside seams of the tube.
Because of shrinking after cooling, my radius on the tube was tighter then the template as shown here.
Same thing on the other end.
A view from the other side.
I heated specific areas on the outside with my acetylene torch, to shrink it back a little.
It moved enough to get very close!
The other side.
Starting to weld the first frame members to gether. My welding table starts to look tiny! I’m glad to have all the stands to level and hold the pieces in place for welding.
Checking the level to make sure the frame is nice and flat.
Clamping the curved section in place,
It lined up nicely! Thanks for AutoCAD!
Adding interior frame members.
I love these welding squares! They are not cheap, but worth every penny!
