I have been asked to weld up something like this:
Before I said I could weld, I was told they just wanted some galvanised steel welding up to make I bike rack. Like a fool I said "No worries, I would do that and I will see if I can make it look a bit nicer than the old school bike racks. If you have any thoughts just ping them over to me" . The picture above is what they chose and I should interpret it as I see fit. I am interpreting the frame and bars as square steel, replace the round chain wheel with a round thing, possibly a car brake disc with some pedal arms welded to it.
I am just struggling to make the wheels out of straight bits. I could just make hexagons but was wondering how easy it is to bend steel pipe - you can see the approx size of it - as I don't fancy loads of pie cuts and welding that lot together.
Any suggestions?
I think you need a big bender?
yes you need a big bender. depending on the kind of tubing you use, you may also need a blowtorch to persuade the steel to go there. and some ratchet straps for the extra inch or 2 while you weld it
Ask a local engineer to bend and tack it
Whose going to galvanize it?
Watch some of Colin Furze's YouTubes, he bends a lot of steel.
Frankly you've got no chance of making circles out of any steel that would resist a thief with a butter knife without proper engineering kit.
wanted some galvanised steel welding up to make I bike rack
You may know this already, but you need to be very careful welding Galvo stuff.
Depending on the gauge of pipe,you can get spring sets for bending.
Get yourself to the world of google 😉
That's tube not pipe.
Tube bender not a pipe bender.
You'll have more luck with YouTube and Google that way
That's tube not pipe.
Tube bender not a pipe bender.
You'll have more luck with YouTube and Google that way
You can describe a circle without making one - the vertical lines in the wheels in your example would still look like a circle if you took the round outline away.
I am interpreting the frame and bars as square steel,
Do you think the target audience are going to get the 1990s Pace reference? 😀 Square tubes don't really say 'bicycle'. It would have more bicycle vibes if the frame tubes were round and the wheels were square
I was told they just wanted some galvanised steel welding up
do you mean weld something and get it galvanised? Or weld galvanised steel? Welding galvanised steel is pretty yucky health wise and the results will be something that isn't galvanised anywhere it has been cut or welded. If the plan is to paint it like the ref pic anyway don't bother galvanising as paint (and powdercoat) finishes over galv fail prematurely
If you want to fabricate then galvanise then that takes a lot of planning and prep with tube to make sure what you make doesn't blow up in the face of the guy galvanising it or get handed back to you as a very expensive collection of tubes full of solid zinc 🙂
If you're asking these questions then your aspirations may (or may not) need more skill than you have and more money than they're expecting to pay [if it's all got to be galvanised after construction].
And as said.... Don't try and weld galvanized steel without the proper precautions].
And the thing in the picture looks like it would make a pretty crap bike rack - unless the bikes were really narrow and some had very small wheels. 😬
You need rollers to roll a hoop, a pipe bender is for putting a single bend of a prescribed angle.
I have a fancy hydraulic pipe bender but I'd have to sub out the 'wheels' for your bike stand.
Can you buy pre made steel hoops? The rim of a small trampoline / trampette is about the right size but probably a bit thin.
Edit: Quick Google finds these people:
https://jorgensonrolling.com/Rings_and_Flanges.html
With the right kit, very easy. The sort of gauge you're looking at, by hand in a shed - hard.
Can you make the rims out of chunky flat bar instead (not that it will be much easier but it won't kink as easily)
Ok. Not galvanised, painted.
Not round wheels, octagonal.
It the wheels are about 75cm top to bottom, that will fit most wheels and being octagonal , there will be 2 full height slots per wheel.
Thanks for the advice, especially the bit about welding galvanised steel. Ihadn't googled before posting as this place tends to be more informative, accurate and humorous.
Rebar. As thick a gauge as you can find.
Ring round your local builders or metal suppliers, ask them if they'll cut some off a roll, then weld the ends together.
It does come in rolls, honest!
No idea how expensive it would be for the material. But could you get a length of chain and weld the links? Could make a circle with that I'm sure. Not sure how strong it would be. IANAW
Also worth bearing in mind that all welding fume, even mild steel is now classified as carcinogenic so powered filter welding mask or mobile welding extraction really.
My suggestion is that as pictured it is not an ideal bike rack. Parking the front wheel in the rack is a bad idea. It can be easily damaged. Locking by the wheel bad obviously. Even end on it is an expensive way to lock two bikes side on to it.
How much are they expecting to pay? You can get ready made Sheffield stands for around £100. So installing a row with two bikes locked at each is not prohibitively expensive.
Or a bike shaped stand for £275 plus VAT
https://streetfurniturestore.co.uk/product/bike-shaped-bicycle-stand/
I’m led to believe that filling tubing or pipes with sand helps with bending it without it creasing, but bending it into circles, I have no idea whether that is feasible.
My suggestion is that as pictured it is not an ideal bike rack. Parking the front wheel in the rack is a bad idea. It can be easily damaged.I'd go further and say it's a terrible bike rack. They put a load of those "wheel slot racks" in at a place i worked years ago, no one used them as they just gouged and bent the rims when everyone was moving their bikes in and out of the rack (locking was less of an issue as we were in the middle of nowhere). We just used to lock our bikes to the frames of the sheds under the overhanging roof. Until security cut all the locks and put the bikes in the shed instead. The security company paid for all the damage (i got a nice new lock and a new front wheel) and then the racks were all replaced.
Filling tubes with sand only helps a bit and only on thin wall. Even then it is foundry sand which contains things like bentonite clay. I made a mix with kiln dried sand, cat litter (bentonite clay) and the cheapest blender I could find to powder the clay. Worked a bit. Needs massive amounts of leverage for 28.6mm x 0.8mm wall cromo. OP isn't going to make any kind of hoop without a very big ring roller.
but was wondering how easy it is to bend steel pipe
As already stated, with knowledge and the correct equipment its pretty easy but a roller will be required to achieve a continuous radius, not a chance of getting a decent job without one in my experience (I've been a welder/ metalworker for 30 years now)