Welding your own flatbar?

[DaSk8D00D]

I remember reading on here somebody saying it would be much cheaper to get your own flatbar welded instead of purchasing some pre-packaged rail. I'm thinking about buying the metal and getting it welded somewhere and was wondering how should i go about this in terms of measurements, pieces of metal to buy, etc.?

[TONY!]

diyskate.com has all the instructions you need

[Eschaton]

Well you're going to need to buy a welder or rent one, and all things considered, between the cost of the metal, welder and all that, it might be cheaper to buy a cheap rail. Do you know how to weld? You'd be better off stealing the metal, and renting a welder from Homedepot or something. Practice beading on scrap metal before you use your good piece. Welding a rail isn't hard and you don't have to be a great welder to do it, seeing as how you're just skating on it, not anything that needs excellent welds. Good luck.

[mooraga]

first world problem

[DaSk8D00D]

diyskate.com has all the instructions you need

thanks fam good shit!

[Fenzadill]

Yo if that was all you needed to know, couldn't you have just LOOKED at a flatbar?

[DaSk8D00D]

im really just tryna figure what kinds of steel buy, specific measurements and things like that so i have a better idea on what to look for. yeah i could easily just go buy a ton of shit that looks like it could be pieced together but i want my shit to be quality & custom made, so the more information the better. if anyone else wants to chime in with their 2 cents feel free

[Ronald Wilson Reagan]

Read the title as "welding your own father" and thought a sad young boy wanted to create a tin-man style father for himself. so sad.

[oyolar]

Aww man...that is sad.

[fulfillthedream]

diyskate.com has all the instructions you need

thanks fam good shit!

yo i had my brother in law make me one for free since he owns a powder coating company..not sure if there are any in your area but they weld and usually have a ton of scrap metal lying around so you might just be able to slide em some cash and have them construct one for you..ideally any industrial area would where metal work is performed..

if you do make this your self let me know how it turns out..good luck sk8d00d

[brownjenkin]

Read the title as "welding your own father" and thought a sad young boy wanted to create a tin-man style father for himself. so sad.

Noooo! :-(

[Clown_Shoes]

Yeah the best way is to find a place that has extra metal laying around and talk to the boss and throw him some cash and he'll make you it.

[360 frip]

No, I'm not. You?

[Tale Crab]

not sure if there are any in your area but they weld and usually have a ton of scrap metal lying around so you might just be able to slide em some cash and have them construct one for you..ideally any industrial area would where metal work is performed..

How do you think it'll turn out when he shows up in a pink hoodie, spitting that hot fire of his?
"Ayo, real talk..."

[JUSTICE BEAVER]

not sure if there are any in your area but they weld and usually have a ton of scrap metal lying around so you might just be able to slide em some cash and have them construct one for you..ideally any industrial area would where metal work is performed..

How do you think it'll turn out when he shows up in a pink hoodie, spitting that hot fire of his?
"Ayo, real talk..."

hahahahah

[NowhereInLife]

lulz, post pics when you are done Dood.

[truthislie]

diyskate.com has all the instructions you need

thanks fam good shit!

yo i had my brother in law make me one for free since he owns a powder coating company..not sure if there are any in your area but they weld and usually have a ton of scrap metal lying around so you might just be able to slide em some cash and have them construct one for you..ideally any industrial area would where metal work is performed..

if you do make this your self let me know how it turns out..good luck sk8d00d

A friend did that a couple of years ago. I dont have any pictures of it anymore, but I remember it was roughly arround 30 Euro total for material and work. The flatbar was really fun to skate and still a lot cheaper than a pre-made one.

[layzieyez]

If your local salvation army/goodwill has bed frames for cheap, you could buy some of those to hack up as angle iron if you want to do the weld-free flat bar from diyskate.com.

[MattMacker]

when i was younger i came home and there was a brand new flat bar with an angle like a reallly low sloped roof.. ( i guess its not a flatbar then?) anyways it was all painted and even have reflective stickers on it lol..

it was my dads best friend who saw me skate all day who randomly built it for me. Dude can build anything from scratch (owns a paving company has every tool imaginable) Shit even one day me and my dad had like a shitload of wood to chop and he showed up with a handmade wood splitter that looked like a top of the line one from a top brand.. prolly could sell it no problem for 2-2.5k /rant

 what i guess im saying is it's Too bad you don't know anyone with a shop and a welder..throw him a case of beer and build it together and then the person can teach you how to weld basic shit. ( i learned in trade school and its pretty easy)

[bee]

Maybe look into a school or some shit
my teacher was always down for outside projects as long as you pay for the steel.

[DaSk8D00D]

yeah one of the homies i skate with is a welder so im probably gonna have him do it for me. im plan on just buying the steel and throwin em a lil bag of kush or somethin as a payment. anything i need to know about the actual type of steel or anything like that? im not really an expert on all this stuff so im just tryna learn as much as possible

[the snake]

don't buy plastic steel, too weeeeak

[oyolar]

yeah one of the homies i skate with is a welder so im probably gonna have him do it for me. im plan on just buying the steel and throwin em a lil bag of kush or somethin as a payment. anything i need to know about the actual type of steel or anything like that? im not really an expert on all this stuff so im just tryna learn as much as possible

If he's a welder ask him. Generally, it'll probably be steel. You can MIG weld a rail really easily (I made one myself in my high school welding class). But some welders prefer to use certain metals over other ones and that might change the type of welding he'll use. But I'll guess it'll be a MIG welded steel flatbar.

As for the amount of steel you need, just draw it all out. You'll need X feet for the actual rail that you're going to grind, y feet for each leg. You'll place each leg z inches from each end. And then just go from there for the cuts. So for example, you might want 8 feet of square iron, cut approximately 1 foot off for 1 leg, place that cut piece back on the iron and mark it to make sure the second leg is as close to the first as possible, cut off that second leg. Grind then down until they're even and then place each one 8 inches in from the end of the (now) 6 foot long piece of iron. Mark it and weld them on there. Make sure to angle grind these weld down until they're flat so you don't have to worry about any hang ups. Angle grind off any imperfections that are on the top of the rail, but be careful not to dig too deeply into the rail itself as that'll provide too much friction for you to grind over. You should probably buff/wire wheel out as much of the angle grinder marks as possible.

Then add the feet to keep the rail stable. Make sure that you find a piece of flat iron wide and thick enough that it won't bend and it will over hang the square iron enough to keep the rail stable. Mine hangs over to the left and right about 3 inches and front and back just like an inch and a half and it's stable. Some people will want to attach the flat iron to the legs and then weld the completed legs to the rail, but that's a personal preference.

It's really not too difficult especially since you're not doing the welding. The most difficult part will be getting all of the metal and then getting it cut (if your buddy doesn't have the tools for that). Then just draw out something simple with measurements and let him get to work.

[Tufty]

 The cheapest way is to steal one from a parkin lot and then stick some metal bases and cover them with bike tyres.

[skateboardnorth]

Just drive behind industrial units and look for scrap metal.  Don't worry about measurements because it will be fun no matter what.  Find someone that owns a welder.

[MexicanSpaniard]

You're gonna need an old metal german car or an old metal 'merican truck to move it, you can't take that shit on the bus homebwaye

[Fenzadill]

Plz post your plans, and the final results.

Once again, if you know a welder, why wouldn't you ask that dude before you go on Slap?

[DaSk8D00D]

Plz post your plans, and the final results.

Once again, if you know a welder, why wouldn't you ask that dude before you go on Slap?

I made the thread so anyone else tryna make their own flatbar can learn a lil something as well. I've got a few other financial priorities to take care of before I can start spending money ona rail but it is something I plan on making in the near future. I'll keep y'all up to date or whatever

[Zurg]

alright so any y'all who b makin a flatbar to do y'all lil skate tricks, try to find a homie who a welder get him to do that shit, toss him some kush. boom you gotta flatbar