Design Help for a Newbie

I recommend using black iron pipe. It is by far the cheapest tube you can get and has a heavier wall than the tubing you are thinking of using.

It welds just fine, and can be bent for corners using a cheap Harbor Freight pipe bender ($80).

If this rack will be freestanding, you have to think of how to keep the legs from sinking into the ground under the weight.

I'm assuming your rain barrels will be vertically oriented, right?

If I were you, I'd make a square frame from angle iron, then put some cheap plywood in the frame as a floor and put your barrels on the plywood. I don't see that you get very much for trying to approximate the rounded shape of the barrel. Making rectangular frames is a real good basic skill in learning to work with distortion - see if you can keep the frame square to within 1/16" over 2', and don't forget to leave yourself about 1/8" extra room around the barrel (don't ask how I learned that!) :-)

To make a really great finishing touch, you could consider taking the whole weldment, cleaned as good as you can get it, to your local hot-dip galvanizing shop and getting it galvanized. Should cost you about $75, but then it won't rust for many years.

Grant

While I applaud and support your desire to learn to weld and fabricate, the first lesson is to always KISS (keep it simple st__id).

Another poster has mentioned the problem of any frame sinking into the ground. IMHO this is a job for blocking, Either wood or other material like cinder blocks or bricks will solve the problems of sinking and corrosion and are also simple and cheap. They also have a long life and can easily be reused when their use as blocking is no longer required. curved cinder blocks are available from building suppliers and sold as fire-pit rings, they are inexpensive and often available in different colors.

A short section of large dia. pipe placed on a concrete pad like a paving square is also a suggestion. One of the first things an iron worker needs to do is to find an economical source of material, I suggest that you find and visit the local scrap iron yards in your area, most sell used material for a fraction of the price of new and are often sources of very unique pieces that can be very visually appealing.

Good luck, have fun, and work safely.

Thanks Grant. I plan to put down pavers underneath whatever I build so I don't anticipate the legs sinking into the ground. I will take the advice on just making the frame square seriously. Surely easier than trying to make an octagon! What sort of gauge/size of angle would you recomment? Thanks much! cc

Thanks Private. I may just look into the "fire ring" blocks. That may be a good alternative. Cheers, cc

I am a former shipbuilder, so generally build things too heavy. I'd probably use either 1-1/2 or 2" angle, probably 3/16" thick, if I had to buy new steel. You could easily make this rack from old bed frame steel or in some other way use scrap steel. Actually, how to obtain metal is entirely another topic, and it's locality-specific information. My town doesn't have much of a scrap metal selling market, so I tend to buy new.

Grant

Octagon is more work, square seems too simple. I would consider hexagon with bars going from each apex to the opposite side. Six legs or seven if you put one in the middle.

Dan

Not as fun a project, but have you considered just stacking concrete blocks for the support? I tend to use the 4x8x16 solid blocks for a lot of heavy long term cribbing i.e. leveling a 40' container. They are

We have water barrels around the periphery of our house to catch (and reuse) rainwater, and in fact we use concrete blocks for footings. Right on, Pete.

GWE

Yeah, but that's no fun! Just kidding. I'm also looking at that route. I'd like to do the welding route only for the fact that it would give me more experience welding but I haven't yet priced out what these things will cost if I weld them up. I may decide that the $1 a block makes a lot more sense. Cheers, cc

Don't forget drain holes and vent holes if you will be hot dipping anything hollow. I have seen the pictures of things that exploded...

Even with pavers, you'll still get some significant point-loads on your legs. Make sure you've properly compacted the material under the pavers and level them with a few inches of sand, NOT DIRT. Also, it can be a real bastard to put eight legs on and have the frame balance, i.e. all the legs are EXACTLY the right length. Four is easier. Three is the easiest as it can't be out of balance.

Dave

Well folks I threw in the towel. After pricing out the steel and figuring out just how much time it would take me, I opted for concrete blocks. Fortunately, I got them in a color that matches the house so all is well and the base actually looks pretty good. I am now turning my attention to building a few more log racks (yay, some welding involved!) so that should help me with my learning curve. Cheers and thanks for all the advice. cc

On Jul 25, 12:26 am, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"

Look in the yellow pages for scrap yards. If you are lucky you might find one that will let you roam the yard and buy steel that will work at scrap prices.

Dan

yeah, there are a couple of places. One charges by the pound for cutoffs (read: nothing real long). The other has all sorts of stuff available but unfortunately are open on really strange days and times so it's difficult for me to get there. Either way, the concrete blocks are in place and the wife likes it so that's all that really matters. I didn't get the additional welding experience but I'm already looking at some more projects! Cheers, cc