Started the Uprights
Boy, I SEVERLY underestimated the time it would take to build this thing! I was hoping to use it by the end of the summer. A lot of that is due to my hectic work schedule and never getting time to work on it, but also, I must be about the slowest builder in the world. Granted, this is the first time I've done this, and this is by far the biggest/largest/grandest project I've ever tackled, but still, today's work didn't get me very far. Took me a while to figure out a jig system to make sure everything was square and true to the frame for each piece, and how to measure it all out so it was centered perfect, then once I had that down, took a while to level them all and get them squared and perfectly level front-back and side-side. I had to account for my fish plates underneath, so I made the corners a little longer, and the fudge factor with the cut-off wheel on the chop saw, then the center 1x2's and front 1x2's are all shorter because there is no fish plate in those locations. Once done, they're all dead level each way and exactly 30" deep to the bed depth. They all came out right, but man, sure took me a while. Cleaning the metal took the longest I think as I'm kinda picky about that most of the time, then leveling everything. Had to tack, then re-tack several of them a few times. I got the top-rails all cut, and had to box the ends of the two long rails before I could cut the 45's for the front piece. Got all that done, then cut the front section and both 45's for it. The top will be all boxed and mounted on top so everything is sealed. Don't want any bugs or critters making nests in my end pieces. Started getting too dark to see good enough to actually weld in the 45's and I want them good and square so I spent the rest of the night cleaning up. Got lucky in the placement of the trailer as the garage door only had 3/4" to close! Would hate to try and move this now. I did NOT finish weld the uprights as I want to fit the top rail first, then adjust as needed to square everything in case something moves while laying down the final beads. Here's how it looks so far:
In this pic, I have the 4 main corners tacked in already. They're 2x2 .120 wall. You can see how I went with a jig to align and place the center uprights, which are 1x2 .120 wall. With this method, I was able to center them even across the frame, support them underneath as a brace, then level and true them up from there:
Here's another shot of the jig braced up:
Here's a front-on shot with them all on:
A diagnol profile-excuse the dog, he was inspecting things:
When I load my elk camp and four wheeler on my 5x10, I stack my cook stove on top of my big cooler. The pair together was 30" deep, which is why I wanted this trailer to be 30" deep. I needed this to be no less than 48" inside width, and the way I built it, I was able to get a solid 50" inside width. It's 6' long inside once the tailgate will be done, which will sit inside the frame, and basically over the rear bumper area. Here's how the stove looks on top of the cooler right now. There will be a lid, which will sit 2" above this:
Another shot:
I've actually been asked a few times about the "pink mask" in a few of the pictures. Figured I'd post up just what that "pink mask" is for. Most folks know this already, but some don't. During cutting, welding, grinding, cleaning metal, removing scale, and yes, also during MIG welding-that plume of stuff you see given off is all putting dust and vapor in the air that you breath and inhale. This was spread out all over the garage floor just from today's little bit of work that I was able to accomplish in the uprights alone. Not much welding, not much cutting as I had the main pieces already cut last night. A fair amount of work done, and lots of hours spent working, but nothing in comparison to yesterday's welding on the fishplates. Here is the dust from today-just a hair under 2 pounds, scattered through the air and thrown all over the garage that you'd breath in without the filters:
These are basic half-mask respirators with P100 filters. Or, your "pink mask". I learned about them through work, as they're required by OSHA and by our plant regulations while cutting/grinding and welding due to the plume and dust given off after a certain amount of time working. I forget the specs/standards, but the guys have to wear them. I have two of them. I got the grey one first, which is the 5500 series half-mask respirator and used it for a while. I now use that as my back-up. A short time later, I got the black one, on the left. It is the 7700 series. Both are NIOSH units, the difference in them being that the black one-the 7700 series is a little more soft, little more pliable and a lot more comfortable to wear, especially when wearing them all day long over long periods of time. They are a soft plastic type material of sorts, not sure what exactly, but are able to be totally torn down into pieces and washed in regular dish soap and water by hand. To be truly certified, you need to be "fit tested" using a sulfur stick, which I had done at work to make sure they are sealed properly. The "test" to see if they leak REALLY SUCKS! But, it's good insurance to make sure they're sealed properly and working. I think it was a sulfur stick, I could be wrong on that. The filters themselves are the "pink" P100's. They filter 100% of the particulates in the air, or all that crap you see above. Ever blow your nose after welding and have a bunch of black crap come out? I did before wearing this. I also had bloody noses and a couple major sinus surgeries. I decided my health was far more important than being seen wearing a silly pink mask. Now, after wearing this all day long, I no longer blow black crap out my nose, no longer have bloody noses, and no longer have sinus problems after cutting/grinding/welding all day. The mask themselves cost somewhere around $20-$30 and you can get any kind of screw-on cartridge for them including organics, ammonia, paints, chemicals, these P100's, etc. The P100's I have here cost between $5-$6.00 a pair for replacements and are NO comparison to the regular white dust mask you see elsewhere. These work, and work well. Oh, and they make two kinds-regular cartridge style, and the "pancake filters". These are the "pancake" style. They fit great under a welding hood! North brand 75FFP100 NIOSHP100 W177132
www.northsafety.com.
Hopefully tomorrow I can get the top rail fitted and installed. If I can, I'll try and finish-weld all the uprights and top rail both. My wife will be home tomorrow with my beautiful baby girl sometime in the morning, then it's back to work Tuesday so no more trailer work for a few weeks. Hopefully I can finish the uprights before they get home. I'm about out of supplies too so time to re-stock.
more to come...
Best of Luck,
Mike
