Thought I would document my build in case anyone else has cold feet. I was (am) a total welding novice. Before starting this project I had never even held a welding gun. Surprising what watching hours and hours of welding instruction videos on YouTube can do for you.
To step back a bit, I received an unexpected bonus from work and decided to use part of it for a brew stand. I had been brewing on the ground, chairs, folding tables, passersby who didn't move quickly enough, etc. Spent a lot of time considering the Blichmann Top Tier but ended up deciding against a vertical setup. A few quick google searches came up with very detailed plans for a single-tier rig. Locally I found a shop willing to build it for $680 using 1.5" sq tube, though estimates ranged from there up to $1200. The commercial stands were just right out of my price range.
Around then I started realizing I had a week's vacation to use before the end of March and no plans for it. I also found a local metal shop charging anywhere from $1/ft for 2" angle to $2.50/ft for 2" square, all for regular steel. Throw in that he would do my entire cut list for $10 and we had a winner!
Found a mint Lincoln SP-100 welder on CL for $120. This was from a local shop that specializes in manufacturing SS machines for food prep. Guess they'd bought the welder years ago and quickly found out it was too small for them. I'm going to say it had had 2-3lbs of wire run through it at the most and then been sitting unused for 5+ years. They ran a test bead for me and the manager (somewhat?) jokingly offered me $150 for it.
So here are a few beginning pics. When I say I had never welded I mean I had NEVER WELDED. Actually always kind of scared me, all those sparks flying around and stuff. First is the welder, then the very first welds I've ever done (including seeing and being surprised by how fast it would burn through), my first try at a butt joint, and the materials pile. All structural pieces are 2" square, the flat stock is for brackets (more on those later), and 1/2" square are for burner stand-offs, and the stainless sheet is for the wind guards.
To step back a bit, I received an unexpected bonus from work and decided to use part of it for a brew stand. I had been brewing on the ground, chairs, folding tables, passersby who didn't move quickly enough, etc. Spent a lot of time considering the Blichmann Top Tier but ended up deciding against a vertical setup. A few quick google searches came up with very detailed plans for a single-tier rig. Locally I found a shop willing to build it for $680 using 1.5" sq tube, though estimates ranged from there up to $1200. The commercial stands were just right out of my price range.
Around then I started realizing I had a week's vacation to use before the end of March and no plans for it. I also found a local metal shop charging anywhere from $1/ft for 2" angle to $2.50/ft for 2" square, all for regular steel. Throw in that he would do my entire cut list for $10 and we had a winner!
Found a mint Lincoln SP-100 welder on CL for $120. This was from a local shop that specializes in manufacturing SS machines for food prep. Guess they'd bought the welder years ago and quickly found out it was too small for them. I'm going to say it had had 2-3lbs of wire run through it at the most and then been sitting unused for 5+ years. They ran a test bead for me and the manager (somewhat?) jokingly offered me $150 for it.
So here are a few beginning pics. When I say I had never welded I mean I had NEVER WELDED. Actually always kind of scared me, all those sparks flying around and stuff. First is the welder, then the very first welds I've ever done (including seeing and being surprised by how fast it would burn through), my first try at a butt joint, and the materials pile. All structural pieces are 2" square, the flat stock is for brackets (more on those later), and 1/2" square are for burner stand-offs, and the stainless sheet is for the wind guards.