[av8or1]

So I welded those in, then the 6 center gussets. Finally I installed the final caster wheel. At that point I had completed the primary tasks of the build:

storage rack 61.jpg (252.11 KiB) Viewed 3297 times

storage rack 62.jpg (85.27 KiB) Viewed 3297 times

[av8or1]

Clearly however in this new configuration with the top plates, new legs and additional gusseting, the rack was too heavy for me to strong-arm into a standing position. 'Not a problem when you have a mobile gantry crane:

storage rack 63.jpg (60.53 KiB) Viewed 3296 times

Or a tractor. Or a forklift. Or ... other means. However I didn't have any of those and didn't want to merely yank it up by attaching it to the back-end of Da Beast via chain. So it would be the gantry for me:

storage rack 64.jpg (51.23 KiB) Viewed 3296 times

[av8or1]

I lifted it first by one side:

storage rack 65.jpg (52.5 KiB) Viewed 3295 times

And then the other. Soon enough it was on its feet:

storage rack 66.jpg (47.52 KiB) Viewed 3295 times

[av8or1]

However not all would end in a bed of roses. I suppose it's fitting to continue the "keepin' it real" business while ending the overall build story. It was a valuable lesson learned and seemingly worth sharing. And that lesson is to exercise patience, patience and then more patience when engaging in this type of activity. And weld the $@Q&*$@$^!@(!#~! out of stuff. First thing's first. I fell a bit short WRT patience this afternoon, though not horribly so - just a tad - enough so as to create an issue that would need addressing immediately after the storage rack was on its feet.

You see, I pulled the rack into position and with the hoist at almost full travel, it wouldn't quite stand. Just by the slimmest of margins. So I pushed on one of the feet in an attempt to swing it upright. 'Heard a crunch. Yeah, shouldn't have done that. I noticed that this foot had now broken due to the stress that I had placed upon it during that push attempt combined with the overall weight of the rack. Sigh. What to do? Simple. I went to that same end, lifted it by hand and the rack turned right side up. Easily so. Sigh again. Now that it was on its feet, it was time to assess the damage...

Initially I thought that I had broken the caster plate away from the all-thread, but no that wasn't the case. As it turned out, the captive nut that resides on top of the foot and thus within the tubing broke away from the foot. Thus you could literally push the caster plate and caster up into the tubing. Yep, that's a captive that has separated from its welded position. Which leads me to the second lesson: if you tack something into position and leave it that way, ensure that it won't be structural. I had an instinct *not* to do that when I did it, but I also thought to myself "nah, it'll be ok like that." Yeah, no it won't. All 6 of those captive nuts were tacked to their respective foot with 6 tack welds, one on each side of the hex nut. I remember thinking that I should weld them out with at least one continuous bead around the nut once those tacks had cooled. But I didn't. And it came back to bite me. So I suppose it's kinda like the saying I occasionally use: "if it's worth building, it's worth overbuilding." Well, if it's worth welding, it's worth welding the ##@(&(&@#@ out of it.

[av8or1]

So what did I do about it you ask? Well I sat back and had a think. There were three options really:

1) Leave it as-is (uhhhhh...yeah, not a-gonna do that)
2) Cut off the foot, re-weld the captive, re-weld the foot into place (uuugggghhhh)
3) Weld the all-thread to the bottom of the foot, thus rendering that leg un-adjustable (yikes!)

I dunno fellas, the sun was setting and somehow it just wasn't worth it to me to pursue option #2. So I went with #3 and just welded the all-thread to the bottom of the foot. Sure, that's the cheap way out and it ruins the purpose and all of the effort that I incurred in order to have an adjustability yield, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. If I need adjustability, I'll just have to slide a piece of wood underneath it or leave it as-is and adjust the other legs to compensate. Not a horrible result, but not ideal either. Oh well, stuff happens in every build including mine. Do better next time...

And so that was that. The weld holds that foot strongly in position, so no structural concern thereof. Just a loss of adjustability on that leg.

[av8or1]

The build wouldn't end on a downward note however. The son insisted on trying his hand at welding. Despite my attempts to persuade him otherwise (to wait a bit first), he would have none of it. I have educated him about the process in general in the past to include the importance of safety and of good preparation. And as it so happened, a couple of the tack welds on one of the top plates had broken loose when I tossed the storage rack on its side in order to weld-in the middle legs a few days ago. I had planned on re-tacking those anyway, so I geared him up:

my son 1.jpg (231.48 KiB) Viewed 3314 times

Secured adequate footing in the form of a chair from the garage:

my son 2.jpg (94.92 KiB) Viewed 3314 times

Briefed him on what we would do together and what his role would be; then we had at-it:

my son 3.jpg (75.33 KiB) Viewed 3314 times

And so today my son, at 5 years old, made his first welds. I chose to go with the mini-me Century FCAW for this task, since that would be the simplest option for him to grasp and execute. "Just pull the red trigger, watch the weld with daddy and then stop pressing that trigger when I tell you to" ... he did just that.

And papa couldn't have been prouder.

Fantastic way to end the build.

Thank y'all for reading, I appreciate it!

[DavidR8]

Despite the mishap that was an excellent way to end the day! Thanks for sharing yours son’s first welding adventure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BillE.Dee]

Great Great...I was teaching my grandson to weld at age 6 (now 9). Now he won't even come see Pop unless Pop is welding. Should he come over, we loose track of him. Start searching and there he is...in the drive wearing his hood, gloves and one of welding shirts. I do consider that a "direct hint" as to what will happen next. Gotta love it !!
gramps

[homeboy]

So what did I do about it you ask? Well I sat back and had a think. There were three options really:

1) Leave it as-is (uhhhhh...yeah, not a-gonna do that)
2) Cut off the foot, re-weld the captive, re-weld the foot into place (uuugggghhhh)
3) Weld the all-thread to the bottom of the foot, thus rendering that leg un-adjustable (yikes!)

I dunno fellas, the sun was setting and somehow it just wasn't worth it to me to pursue option #2. So I went with #3 and just welded the all-thread to the bottom of the foot. Sure, that's the cheap way out and it ruins the purpose and all of the effort that I incurred in order to have an adjustability yield, but that's the way the ball bounces sometimes. If I need adjustability, I'll just have to slide a piece of wood underneath it or leave it as-is and adjust the other legs to compensate. Not a horrible result, but not ideal either. Oh well, stuff happens in every build including mine. Do better next time...

And so that was that. The weld holds that foot strongly in position, so no structural concern thereof. Just a loss of adjustability on that leg.

As a suggestion as it appears you have left a quite a bit of all thread exposed and the captive nuts are all just tacked you could unscrew the other 5 and weld a nut UNDER the mounting plate and then no worries about any more captive nuts breaking off when the shelves are loaded. Then adjust them to match the one welded caster.

[av8or1]

Despite the mishap that was an excellent way to end the day! Thanks for sharing yours son’s first welding adventure


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!

[av8or1]

Great Great...I was teaching my grandson to weld at age 6 (now 9). Now he won't even come see Pop unless Pop is welding. Should he come over, we loose track of him. Start searching and there he is...in the drive wearing his hood, gloves and one of welding shirts. I do consider that a "direct hint" as to what will happen next. Gotta love it !!
gramps

Wonderful story gramps, take care of that young un!

[av8or1]

As a suggestion as it appears you have left a quite a bit of all thread exposed and the captive nuts are all just tacked you could unscrew the other 5 and weld a nut UNDER the mounting plate and then no worries about any more captive nuts breaking off when the shelves are loaded. Then adjust them to match the one welded caster.

Good thought. I might just do that, we'll see. Later though. I am ready to move on to the next project. I seem to have this phenomenon in which I lose interest if I work on one project too long. Don't know if it's just me or what but... I can overcome that by forcing myself to finish it or do touch up work etc. But it becomes more like work at that point. I digress. Thank you for the feedback!

[av8or1]

Well there she is, in position and ready to go to work:

IMG_18102020_171616_(920_x_690_pixel).jpg (45.32 KiB) Viewed 3264 times

Now I just need to put all of this crap back in:

IMG_18102020_171644_(920_x_690_pixel).jpg (56.28 KiB) Viewed 3264 times

[av8or1]

Well fellas this rack is definitely pulling its weight by creating previously unthinkable amounts of space throughout the workshop!

IMG_19102020_182618_(920_x_690_pixel).jpg (60.17 KiB) Viewed 3183 times

[Granddaddy]

You might run 2 pieces of angle iron side-to-side underneath. Stitch them to the crossed rails. You'd be surprised at how much strength that will add in the center preventing the "sag".

Yeah, that will help I think. I built a 4' X 10' layout table much like your storage rack but everything is 1/4" wall, I ran a 2" angle around 3 sides to keep the legs from spreading and letting the middle bow. I would have liked to used 2" square tube but I had so much money in it I had to scale back a little and so far so good.

I really like your cutting table, you do really pretty work !! I can relate to your dilemma of getting anywhere to plumb, my shop looks like a honda bomb went off in it. my plan today was actually to have my grandsons here helping me to move most everything outside and onto tarps to try to get half way organized so that I can get some projects on wheels but my momma and her husband came down for the first time in over a year so I hung out and visited today. tomorrow hasn't been touched I guess.

Thanks for the posts, I enjoyed it and appreciate it.

[Granddaddy]

that is an awesome gantry, did you build it? if so is the build posted here?

[av8or1]

Thanks for the posts, I enjoyed it and appreciate it.

Thank you for that, glad that you enjoyed the build!

that is an awesome gantry, did you build it? if so is the build posted here?

Thanks again. Yes, I did build it. Although the primary structure was built prior to my being aware of this forum's existence, I did post "catch up" style pictures and some detail. Later on I added the ability for the gantry to be mounted on trailer wheels, and as I recall I did document that in this forum as I went along. The thread is here:

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=15597

[Granddaddy]

thanks av8r, I'll check out the link.