Steel channel for frame repair

[GB SISSON]

Hi Folks, My title is a bit misleading but what I need to know is the name for steel sections that are formed or bent, like frame rails etc. I need a couple of 9' 2x4 steel angles for part of a restoration project in my woodshop business. I don't want 2x4 angle with tapered webs and a sharp outside corner, I want to order this and it looks like a 6" wide piece that has been folded into a 2" and a 4" leg. Much searching and I still don't have a name for this type of steel section. Actual dimensions could vary and 3/16" seems a good thickness. Thanks, GB

[deuce lover]

C Channel ?
https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=ec351...09VklSRQ&ntb=1

[GB SISSON]

No, that's the common angle/channel type. What I'm looking for looks just like a cross section of a vehicle frame. It is created by bending or forming lengths of steel strap. Your link shows steel that is extruded. This bent or formed angle and channel is seen in steel farm buildings and other uses. Slice a piece of square or rectangular tubing corner to corner or cut top or bottom leg off a truck frame and there's my section.

[19Fordy]

GB: You will probably have to get the specific size channel you need custom cut and bent at a metal fabrication shop as what you need is not available as standard structural steel. Not hard to do if shop has a shear and a press brake.
Typically, the material used to construct vehicle chassis and frames include carbon steel for strength or aluminum alloys to achieve a more lightweight construction. In the case of a separate chassis, the frame is made up of structural elements called the rails or beams. These are ordinarily made of steel channel sections by folding, rolling, or pressing steel plate.

Here's a neat video at what you want done only on a length you desire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73QtcoXrHb4

Another idea:Contact this company that sells 2 x 4 frame rails: I bet they can help and make what you need since they are "in the business". THEIR WALL THICKNESS IS .120IN. See their 2 x 4 rail here:
https://artmorrison.com/wp-content/u...23.pdf#page=27

[flatford8]

Gary, a good sized fab shop can bend that for you. I was mounting fifth wheels on smaller trucks and needed to build a box 10” high. I had the fab shop bend a 16” x 8’ x 3/16” piece cut from a 4’x8’ sheet. So that gave me a piece of c-channel, 10 inches high with 2 three inch webs. It doesn’t have a big radius on the inside corner or a sharp outside corner. if you need a 9 foot piece, they’re gonna need a 10 foot brake. The dimensions I needed allowed me to cut 8 foot sheets into the 16 inch wide pieces. I think the fact that you need them 9 feet long may be more of a problem than getting them bent……….Mark
P.S…. i’ve cut rectangular tubing like you mentioned in your second post. That might be your best option.

[Mart]

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I would look for a piece of square or rectangular tubing and cut the sides down to the dimensions required. Depending on the sizes you might get two pieces from one piece.

The pieces might not be straight after cutting so some straightening may be called for.

What you are describing might not be commercially available except as a special order.

[GB SISSON]

Ok. Thanks guys. It's probably not worth a special order. I can get away with 8' and weld extended tabs onto it for mounting, so all this is good to know. Small sections like 1"-2" are common in the rack at the hardware store where they sell the all-thread etc, so I thought bigger stuff would be common. There's nobody saying what exact profile I have to use, but the 'formed' style just seemed right to me.

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by Mart

I would look for a piece of square or rectangular tubing and cut the sides down to the dimensions required. Depending on the sizes you might get two pieces from one piece.

The pieces might not be straight after cutting so some straightening may be called for.

What you are describing might not be commercially available except as a special order.

Exactly what I was thinking as I started reading this thread.


Glenn

[tubman]

Have you looked at Online Metals (on the internet)? They have bunch of stuff that you might not expect to find. They specialize in short runs as well.

[cas3]

in my neck of the woods we call it "formed channel" . I've had metal shops with a good size brake make it for me if you have such a place on the mainland near you

[Karl Wescott]

I would use (they are close)


BBC STEEL
2001 SE Township Road, Canby OR
(503) 263-6343
[email protected]


Shipping to you would be high... But this might make an excuse to come down for the Albany Swap Meet

[glennpm]

This is a piece of 2X4 TS (Tube Steel)

[ford38v8]

Gary, I’m sure not available to you, but I had a unique solution to my own need for steel channel. Many years ago, while on Guam with the Navy, I bought a WW2 jeep that had a rusted out frame just forward of the engine. I took a cutting torch to the superstructure of a Japanese ship found on the old airstrip, cutting exactly what I needed from a doorway to repair both front rails of my Jeep. When I left Guam, I sold that Jeep to contract workers from the Philippines, so I’m quite sure my Jeep survives today as a Jeepney in Manila!

[GB SISSON]

Thanks guys, this has been fun even though I learned that what I was thinking of is not an 'off the shelf' item. I cannot justify a custom part for this project as it's really just a pair of strongbacks to give rigidity to a wood structure. This pair of strongbacks will in the end be overlaid with wood and not seen. Just seemed that parallel webs and maybe lighter weight would benefit my fabrication process. And why was a Japanese ship on an old US airbase? Practice runs for torpedo bombers? Sushi Bar???

[ford38v8]

Originally Posted by GB SISSON

Thanks guys, this has been fun even though I learned that what I was thinking of is not an 'off the shelf' item. I cannot justify a custom part for this project as it's really just a pair of strongbacks to give rigidity to a wood structure. This pair of strongbacks will in the end be overlaid with wood and not seen. Just seemed that parallel webs and maybe lighter weight would benefit my fabrication process. And why was a Japanese ship on an old US airbase? Practice runs for torpedo bombers? Sushi Bar???

Guam hade been captured by Japan on December 10, 1941, and the airbase was theirs. When I was there, during formations of my Battalion on that airstrip, the blacktop still proudly displayed the strafing scars from American warplanes during the recapture in August, 1944.

[GB SISSON]

I stand corrected. I wrongly assumed you must have been stationed there in the 60s or so and wondered why a japanese ship had stayed there so long. I read a lot and there is no subject I read as much as WW2, and the Pacific seems to draw my attention the most. I have had two fathers in law. One fought on Okinawa and the other in the Phillipines. My dad was flying P47s in Europe when the war ended.I meant no disrespect with my comments.

[ford38v8]

Gary, you certainly have no need to apologize, and yes, my tour on Guam was 1960-1961. The airstrip was cut through a rain forest, the near end of which was adjacent to the auto shop where I was rebuilding my Jeep. No explanation was offered on that superstructure, not even if it was a cargo or a warship. I could go on and on about my time on Guam, but as my input here is really a hijacking of your post, the apology is mine to you.

[GB SISSON]

Thanks Alan. I have been asked to restore an historic wood carving that was created in 1847 and has been completely exposed to the weather ever since. Thank God for maybe 30 layers of paint! My first task is to stabilize the thing before major wood repairs are carried out. The steel will also allow solid attachment to a rotissiere I'm dreaming up for the repair stage. In the end the steel will remain in place as the main support in an upright display stand. This steel will be clad with lumber I have sawn from salvaged beams. The carving is part of a private collection fore the time being. Wish me luck!

[19Fordy]

GB: Your historic project sure sounds interesting. Park your "jailbar" truck next to it and post some photos of it, please.

[GB SISSON]

When the time seems right I'll ask the owner how he feels about pictures online. I have two other projects going on at the same time so I get to switch around. I have the whole winter's work lined up and plenty of cordwood for the stove. I've been self employed for over 40 years and I usually had at least two employees. We were brought onto jobs all over the state where the use of salvaged/reclaimed lumber was specified. Semi-retired 5 years ago, no employees, but I have to say it feels good for an 'old guy' to feel wanted.
www.mtpickettwoodworking.com