local welders for a stand

[rxinc]

Anyone know of a good welder that can make a 72x24x36H stand out of 2x2 box, 3/16th wall for my new tank?
I live in Westmont.
I have tried 4 places: Nick's and sons in McCook, National in Elk Grove, Oostman in Westmont and one more that I can't recall.
They don't seem to get the concept and I have quotes for the same exact plans ranging from 700.00 to 1200.00. Thanks, Fred.

 

[natemorriss]

Those quotes are not that far off. If you make a top piece and a bottom piece at 72x24 and 4 legs at 36 you need 44 ft of structural tube at 4.32#/ft or 190 pounds of steel. Fabricated and erected steel is estimated at about $3 a pound for large construction. That gets you to $570. The up to $600 on top of that is because this is small construction that requires more man hours and welding per pound of steel. I wouldn't expect to find a steel shop that will do it for too much less. You might want to try and locate a steel fence company that makes a lot of items out of tubes they might give you a good price (don't ask I don't know any I would reccomend to anybody).

NATE

 

[rxinc]

Nate, thanks for the reply.

There are also the pieces for the vertical supports every 2 feet, my total steel pipe length came to 60 ft.
I don't know squat about structural/metal capabilities, but talking to the welders that I have they seem to think this is overkill.
I got the plans/ steel specifics from RC members on the large tank board. Most did it the way I mentioned, however some went smaller.


Do you think ( avatar says structural engineer) that 1.5 x1.5 box 1/8th wall thickness will be strong enough for a 220gal 3/4 in. thick glass tank, (tot. weight over 2,000 lbs. (8x220 + est. 400 for tank))?????


It would probably cut the material bill in half, w/ labor the same. It is going in my family room, w/ sump below in basement, so I don't want to skimp on a few hundred dollars now and pay for a disaster later.

 

[Douglas LEHMAN]

Hello rxinc
Are you set on making the stand from steel? I have a new 72"x24"x33" tall set up to sell. Red oak w/clear finish.

 

[Maryswaterworld]

why dont you make it out of wood? much cheaper

 

[gotfish8]

be prepaired to spend an additional $200-400 on powder coating or a quality automotive paint ot you will have rust issues

 

[jasutton]

Definately...

Definately...

powder coat.

If you could get the steel my brother would probably weld it and fabricate it for you. He owns a steel shop in Michigan about 6 hours away. You would have to deliver/transport the material yourself though...

 

[scubaduderon]

Max had a great welded stand...

Max had a great welded stand...

Unfortunately Max had to move.

He showed me the stand and recommended the builder. It was somewhat modular I recall, powder coated and reasonably priced.

I would search for posts by him to see if you can find the builder. Perhaps he still reads this. If so "Max, who built your stand?"

Good Luck,

Ron

 

[natemorriss]

I will say I don't know off hand if 1.5 or 2 inch tubes will be strong enough for your use (the easy to use charts only go to 3x3 tubes). I do not have the required design information to run the quick numbers to know for certain with me currently (I’m at home, books at work). But even if I did know for certain I probably wouldn't say. If something happened you'd come looking for me. If I were you I'd build something out of wood and make sure there was something securely holding the floor up (your tank will be double to triple the design strength of the floor).

 

[RobTop]

There is a tank builder that is in Canada that does steel frames. Perhaps havingthem build and ship it to you would be cheaper than a local build. As others point out this is a small job for a local. as I recall when i was pricing my 220 they had stands for a couple hundered. Granted that was 3-4 years ago and it might be cheaper when you buy a tank from them. No is hwree I need someone else to help...the name.
Something American....TransAmerican...something I'll see if I can find threir ad in a fish mag.

 

[Matt Rise]

RX, call Grover Welding in Skokie (847) 966-3119. My friend Jason has been there for about 6 years, but has been welding for about 12. They have a full supply of steel in stock. Explain to them what you need, I'm sure they can help you. Ask for either Larry (the owner) or Jason.

 

[Lucas9]

Couple months at a GCCA swap (http://www.gcca.net/swapmeet.htm) there was a company that was doing just that, building metal fish tank stands, already coated.

Just another lead to follow I guess.