5 bucks for a bed frame

[mikescooling]

Hey guys, I was driving in the city and next to me is a scrapper with a king size bed frame in his truck. I waved at them and yelled 5 bucks for the bed frame. So now my brew stand takes life. I know it's not as good as others, but in my heart I am ghetto. I was thinking, I'd make it keg high and 3 kegs big on top, with not a lot of space from keg to keg. Any Ideas on where to put the strongest steel? top, legs?
Thanks Mike

 

[Dan]

Nice score Mike! I would think on the top and legs the side braces not so much. If the metal your frame is made of the same as the frame I used for just a small burner stand - it's super strong and very tough to drill through! Are you welding?

 

[mikescooling]

Hi Dan, yea this stuff is 1/8"th steel. I am not a good welder, but I know one. Do you think MIG is ok? I'd cut/clean and clamp everything so my guy just has to weld. Or could I bolt this sucker? My welding guy is 65$ an hr but works super fast. I don't know bolt or weld?

 

[Dan]

I don't know how to weld and not familiar with the difference between TIG and MIG. I was just asking about welding because the litttle burner stand I made I drilled holes and used nuts and bolts to put together. Maybe 24 1/8" holes and it took 4 drill tips. I might have just had crappy tips. It all came together though and solid as a rock and might have cost less than welding, but it was a small project.

Sounds like you doing all the prep work and a welder finishing it off is a good idea. I'd check with your welding guy on which method is best and ask for quote on the entire project. Then you could decide which method is more economical welding or nuts and bolts (with some good metal eating bits)

 

[Junkster]

Hah! Waving down a scrapper - I LIKE it!

 

[roadymi]

Horizontals need more strength than verticals. The more angular bracing the better.
Mig welding will be fine......remove all paint and rust.

If you can work it out being able to gravity flow into the mash tun is handy.

 

[mavrick1903]

Love your acquisition method. Mig is faster than Tig. Tig can be more versitile, as switching fill wire is easier.

If you're prepped and ready for your welder to strike arc after arc. All your parts cut to fit, and ready to rock. Shouldn't be too bad.

 

[thomas80]

Like Dan, I'd suggest the top. Pretty nice that you managed to get a bed frame for $5.

Hey guys, I was driving in the city and next to me is a scrapper with a king size bed frame in his truck. I waved at them and yelled 5 bucks for the bed frame. So now my brew stand takes life. I know it's not as good as others, but in my heart I am ghetto. I was thinking, I'd make it keg high and 3 kegs big on top, with not a lot of space from keg to keg. Any Ideas on where to put the strongest steel? top, legs?
Thanks Mike

 

[outside92129]

MIG is perfect for this job. Maybe you can find a cheapo unit on craigslist/ebay and weld it yourself? Welding is always a good skill to learn.

 

[OneHoppyGuy]

Before you decide to build a stand from a bed frame, you might want to sleep on it.

sorry, couldn't resist

 

[mikescooling]

OneHoppyGuy is funny, LOL. I have an Axy/acc torch set (oxy123cf tank with a Acc B-tank). Anyone think I should give gas welding a shot? I braze all the time, but I don't even know what kind of rod gas welding takes and also what kind of flux, or even if it's a good idea? The only up side to gas welding is I have the torch. If Mig is a lot better than gas welding, I'll spend the bucks on a new tool. Any thoughts?

 

[Junkster]

If you already have an Oxy-Acetylene rig I would say give it a try. Before I got electric welding equipment, that's what I used for everything. I don't think a "B" tank will last too long 'though. I think regular copper clad steel filler rod is all you need for steel - no flux.

The bed frame steel I've found seems to be tempered, so it's harder than mild steel & if you plan on drilling, use good quality drills, lo speed & lube. I cut the stuff with a portable band saw with no problems but a drill press helps for the holes! If you don't know how you're going to mount various components and you have enough bed frame angle, consider welding 2 angles in parallel with each other to form a continuous slot to attach other parts with bolts /washers. Self-drilling bit-tip screws may work too, but I've not tried them on bed frame steel.

 

[phoenixs4r]

Gas welding would work, just takes longer.

Bed frames are the cheapest cast iron **** I've ever welded/built anything from. Not saying don't do it, but if you plan to build a brewstand from it it will need more reinforcement than normal. I built mine from bed frames, it really wasn't a fun experience. I used a cheap buzz box 110v flux core machine at its highest power and got full penetration. Good luck.

PS. Drilling bed frame metal sucks massive donkey dick. It took 4 bed frames to build a two tier all grain system, HLT up top, mt/bk lower tier with pump in between.