Bed rails

[robert]

This stuff is hard on drill bits i just realized i could use the plasma cutter to punch holes in this stuff to make things with. Plasma sure makes working with metal easier.

[Gadget]

Bedrails, the staple of any home tinkerer....I pick up all I can find and yes they are hard on drills and band saws. I cut mine with a chop saw when I need a smooth cut. Plasma for punching holes in them is a good idea too.

[Uncle Ed]

I think bed rails was a primary consideration in buying my unit. I hate to see stuff wasted and after fighting with saws and drill bits on this stuff I wanted to get some licks in of my own

I also have a few thousand wire coat hangers but gave up the idea of tig'ing with them as too much a pain to get the coating off them. However, I was thinking of using them as decoration framework material. Stuff like X-mas lights and such.

That gives me an excuse to get a small spot welder

[robert]

Bonus is their usually free.

[jbman45]

Remember that bed rails are heat treated so they stand up under fairly long stretches so they are a hardened steel which is why they are so hard to drill. If you pick a spot to drill, heat it with a torch (oxy/acet) to red then let cool and you will have annealed that spot and it will drill easier.....

[robert]

Yeah i heard their like railroad tracks with a high carbon content.

[Uncle Ed]

I saw where they are made from railroad tracks.

I grew up in a railroad family. The others have bits of railroad history on their shelves and mantles - mine just happens to be bracing my kitchen sink and table

CHEW! CHEW! scrubscubscrubscrubscrubscrubscrubscrub

[robert]

Heating it where your going to weld it might help to, its kind of brittle. The people that throw them away probably dont have a welder.

[inot]

Are they still making heavy steel bed frames? The last one that I picked up was out on the curb next to a flimsy modern frame made from thin tubing.

[jbman45]

I still see a lot of angle iron bed frames, just as they have been., and use them a lot. Must be the cold weather you are having up there...people just not getting rid of their junk! New stores still sell them as well so they are definitely out there.