At our satellite branch, we have a full complement of Miller Welders, a pile of scrap steel, and some time on our hands. This is the first in a series of short, how-to articles on making stuff. First up is this easy-to-make pair of cylinder-head stands. We began with a trip to M&K Metal Supply in Gardena, California, where we raided the scrap piles for some decent raw material. In this case, we bought a 6-foot remnant of 3⁄8-inch square bar, and about a 4-foot chunk of 5⁄8-inch bar stock to form the base of each stand. Miller West Coast rep Joshua Sprinkle came by to help. He began by taking some measurements from a swap-meet cylinder-head stand a friend lent us, and then cut a length of square bar with a chop saw.We began with a trip to M&K Metal Supply in Gardena, California, where we raided the scrap We could have also used the chop saw to cut a section flat bar to form the base, but it would have taken a long time and also used up a good chunk of the blade, so we used a torch instead. The torch, hoses, and regulators came from Harbor Freight; we got the acetylene and oxygen from Airgas; and we’re using another piece of flat bar as a guide to make as straight a cut as possible.We could have also used the chop saw to cut a section flat bar to form the base, but it wo We also used the torch to heat the square bar where we wanted to form the bends. When the steel glows red like this, the bar can be bent easily by hand. Grab the end with a big pair of Channel Locks and push down.We also used the torch to heat the square bar where we wanted to form the bends. When the We measured the bends with an angle finder to make sure the were all about 40 degrees With all the pieces cut, we were ready to weld. Josh measured the base to find the center and welded the stand to it (the stand was cut from the same length of stock used to make the base).With all the pieces cut, we were ready to weld. Josh measured the base to find the center After welding the stand to the base, Josh centered the uprights and welded them on. Working with thick material makes for easy welding. You can really crank the voltage up and not worry about burning through anything. We set our Millermatic 211 MIG welder to its highest voltage setting—in this case, 10 volts for 3⁄8-inch material. Using the Auto Set feature, the machine determined the proper wire speed. Note that the welder must run on 230-volt power at this voltage setting. You could probably use a less powerful 110v welder, but you may need to make a couple passes over each joint to ensure the weld is complete.Working with thick material makes for easy welding. You can really crank the voltage up an Sources Airgas; 866/924-7427; Airgas.com Harbor Freight Tools; 800/444-3353; HarborFreight.com M&K Metal Co.; 310/327-9011; MKMetal.net Miller Electric Manufacturing Co.; 920/734-9821; MillerWelds.com By John McGann Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
