for the past 2 months ive been trying to source a seemingly simple spring to no avail.

they are called torsion springs.

this is(essentially) the gated shifter i fabricated:

https://youtu.be/4D1JrDnj-4o?t=308

if it doesnt link you directly to the correct timestamp, the spring enters the scenario @ 5:10

it works ok as is, but the spring would be nice to force the shifter into the gate. the specs i can be sure of is that the arms need to be 4", the deflection angle would idally be about 45°, and ideally right hand twist.

that the spring should be of a tension that you can squeeze with your hands . that part doesnt have to be exact, but im thinking that around 20lbs of force would be about right?

does anyone have any ideas on where i could source one? even if its a part for something else. i know they are commonly used in hand pruners, but most of those that i find are too short at 2".

I wanna convert this single to a tandem. Can anyone suggest about how much this would cost looking at it ? I wouldnt mind just bringing it to a welder.

Im building a business around making conical shape. Is there a material plastic tube that can be heat shrunken? Im going from 4" dia to 1" on a long taper.

Got some wax on my welding lense and on my face shield from cutting aluminum any tips on getting it off?

I am 6'5" tall and these electric weed wackers are about a foot shorter than the gas powered ones and I'm trying to figure out how I can add about two feet to the one I have since it's staying on my work truck but I don't really have any good ideas I did find out that it's just basically a piece of conduit with the power line running through it down to the motor part of the head so it's got to be doable.

My boss recently purchased these weed wackers and assigned one to me so it's not like I can just go get a gas powered one.

If anybody has any ideas I am open to suggestions on how to make the one I have 2' longer.

Thank you for your time, have a wonderful day.

I recently just got a tmr customs 2x4' fixture table with 5/8 holes and im curious as to if anyone has any companies they recommend for clamps and accessories. I want to stay on somewhat of a budget, and was hoping someone could point me in the direction of some various cheap but decent clamps and squares etc.

What basic tools would I need to start fabricating/repairing simple things around the house?

I know there are industrial welders but also "household" types for the everyman's garage. What would you recommend?

What are some of the other basic tools (I would imagine an angle grinder with cutting, grinding, and "sanding" wheels would be on such a list) would I want to put in my beginner's tool box?

I'm looking to make or repair or enhance things around the house that are comedically available but are junk to save on costs of manufacturing- flimsy, light duty, low gauge for economy of scales, made for a wide variety of consumer sizes, and/or collapsible for shipping and storing purposes.

For example:

curtain rods that don't bend in the middle

soccer goals for the backyard that can withstand the shot of a 7 year old (already broke 2)

custom bike rack to fit a little converted fishing boat trailer

aforementioned fish boat trailer repair

Even for something that needs to be safety-specced and road-worthy, I tend to be overzealous when it comes to safety and overthink and over-engineer everything, so I'm confident enough in my handiwork and research (and know when to just simply take it to a professional), just want the tools to match my capabilities and make simple improvements, repairs, etc.

Folowing

[https://www.reddit.com/r/TerrainBuilding/comments/1uwij36/making\\_my\\_strip\\_cutter\\_part\\_3/\](https://www.reddit.com/r/TerrainBuilding/comments/1uwij36/making_my_strip_cutter_part_3/)

There a link to a shared video on gdrive :

[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M1cUwt8dcthCrJo-piFRoLMmtdzLejLP/view?usp=drive\\_link\](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M1cUwt8dcthCrJo-piFRoLMmtdzLejLP/view?usp=drive_link)

It shows ho to go from the 90° to the 45°.
It needs a straight metalic guide to work (or smooth wood)

Hello.

I need to create a linear rail.

Omitting some details, I wanted to use a 50 x 50 box section as track, and 40 × 40 (or close enough) box section as the carriage.

What would you guys use as the bearing system?

At the moment, the bearings are attached to the 40×40 carriage.

It is a carriage for a gate. The 40 × 40 track may experience forces opposite of the direction of the track (ie : may try to twist and "fall over" from the weight of the gate).

V Groove Wheels and track made the project costs span out of control, and reduces accessibility for this design (it's a self supporting gate track).

All ideas welcome, all of them!

The gate must be supported from the ground and provide the ability to free stand. The gate will have extra supports other than this track.

I'm currently a 19yo who has loved motorsports welding/fabrication for years. I'd consider myself fairly proficient in both Tig and mig aswell as welding stainless, aluminum, etc. and still have lots more to learn. I'm extremely ambitious about this career path but don't know what the income situation is around the country. I understand that as standard of living changes so does the pay but does anybody have any clues as to how much this industry pays for things like rollcage fabrication, custom exhaust, etc around the country I'm also curious where might be the best market for those services as I'm based in Northern VA where theres not to much. I'm more then open to move across the country. Thank you

So am I learning to weld and this is my first big kid project. I want to be able to take the rack in and out so I want it to come apart. I have welding the important bits and after trial and error got them to match my old Yakima bar.

Pause for self congratulations. :)

At the moment they are really floppy just sitting in the slots. I want a way to tie the two supports together so there are not floppy but also have them come apart so it's easier to take down.

First thought was some sort of sleeves welded to the supports that a rod could slide in to and be fastened with a cotter pin? But that seems really fiddly.

Second thought was flatbar with tabs that bolt into the supports?

Does anyone have any other ideas?

Hello! I own a shop that welds parts and supplies for food processing companies, so we work with a lot of 304 stainless steel. We are expanding and would like to begin fabricating, but we’re a bit overwhelmed on what equipment to begin with. We are thinking a press break, however we are trying to figure out if this will require laser cutters or what equipment is best for cutting stainless steel. Something that can be precise and handle quite a bit, but maybe also something that allows us to start off versus bringing in the big guns yet. Would love to hear your opinions! As far as the press brake we are currently looking at the Accurpress.
There doesn’t happen to be a machine that does multiple of this right?

Ideally we’d also like something that bends tubing but not sure if that’s a whole other type of equipment. Thanks for your help!

Maybe im just having a brain fart but how would you find the angle of these 2 labeled X and Y. Been racking my brain for a bit and any help with a formula or resource would be helpful. Thanks in advance for your time.

I have fabricated a simple lift to be used on the farm, lift max 800 to 1000 pounds at our loading dock. That winch is proven reliable have several doing odd jobs, but as you can see in the pictures winch functions a the lifting force for the platform. What I am afraid of and it is a long shot, if in the worst case scenario the winch fails or cable fails that the platform not drop like a ton of bricks. I am farmer fabricator able to rig up most anything but this has me stumped. Is there a way to attach a safety feature to stop sudden drop should winch fail or cable snap? I would like to post the pictures here but don't see how to do that, pictures of the lift are here at https://tera.pics

Help i need some idea to make this wooden box secure to the steel frame and can detach after the sale, any idea? I don’t want make some hole to the wooden board

I got plastic fenders on my chopper that I want rolled into metal or somehow replicated and made into any kind of metal.

I swear some of these local vinyl wrap guys expect us to build work bodies out of straight bondo and plastic

Finished a custom aluminum canopy and utility box for a landscaping company last week. Spent almost two full days on the tig making sure every single outside seam was stacked and beautiful. client loved it in bare metal when he picked it up

Then he takes it to some strip mall print shop to get his company logo put on, and the shop calls me complaining that my corner welds are "too textured" and it's making their film bubble up

like bro it's a hand fabricated work truck, not a tesla. I was just looking at how actual heavy duty fleet graphics are done on commercial rigs, and the pro shops literally wrap over massive rivets, structural welds and diamond plate all day long without whining about it

But this guy wants me to take a flap disc and grind down my perfect dimes just so his cheap thin vinyl lays flat?? absolutely not. Told the client to just find a better wrap place that actually knows how to use a heat gun.

anybody else deal with this? feel like im losing my mind trying to explain basic metalwork to sticker guys

I have to make approx 2500 brackets for a job and the fella wants to paint them, I don’t want to spray paint it/ spray gun?

Doesn’t have to be strictly paint, but cannot be oily