welding steel base or just getting aluminium extrusion

[reefy86]

Whats with the attitude you keep giving me? don't want to sound like like a twat to you and i do appreciate the time you are giving to help but i didnt ask you to make or do anything for me. i have said many times i am going the aluminium profile route because either way its going to cost me around £500 for the material and then there is no way someone will do that frame for me for under £500 and i don't blame them. the design you shown me looks alot more simple then mine and you said to use 80mm instead of 90mm so that should of been cheaper. The guy who has quoted me is off facebook that got recommended to me, so i sent him that as a rough example and he quoted me £1580 without the extra bits i would of added on. like i said earlier because im not as skilled as most of you by the time ive payed someone to do it and bought all the material its going to cost me almost as much as what the aluminium profiles is costing. the whole point of going steel is because its cheaper and i know its more rigid but the aluminium also has an advantage for resonance so either way i choose its going to cost me the same or maybe a little more.

again i don't mean to sound harsh but i didnt ask you to send me any files or do any work and i already said a few times im going with aluminium but you keep posting with more steel advice :)

[spluppit]

My mistake. Offending posts removed. I wish you luck with your build.

[reefy86]

I wasn't offended and you are all more then welcome to give any criticism, i was just trying to explain that i didn't expect the cost of welding to be so expensive as i know nothing about welding. my budget for the frame is £1100 and it would of been more if i didnt need to look for a new workshop. I also understand what you mean about why i don't get replies back from companies with an over the top frame on top of asking for perfection and i didn't ask any more companies for a quote because i had already decided to go the aluminium route but i was curious to see what the guy would charge for your frame you sent me. so i do apologise for any confusion in any of this and i really do appreciate what ever advice good or bad.

[magicniner]

Welding and all measurable physical work is going through the roof price-wise, £10 per inch is not now uncommon.
I was quoted £200 for a small (40mm x 200mm) welded patch on the inner sill of my wife's 20 year old Mk1 MX-5, as soon as I started talking about job quality and "semi-restoration standards" i.e. not just welding a patch across everything visible the guy looked a bit ill - I did it myself as in a previous life I was a panel beater and worked in classic car restoration (photos on request).
I'd suggest buying a welding set and learning to weld, then doing it yourself, that way you'll have the equipment and the skills, if you pay someone else all you have is their invoice. ;-)

[reefy86]

ill try and look for a frame that is more suited and price it up and see if its worth while just risking it. Dont blame me when im posting on here every single time i press that trigger lmao :)

[magicniner]

Can you not see this as an opportunity to gain equipment and a skill set and still spend less money?
I've taught 3 of my friends to MIG weld to a good standard and to understand how to set up the machine for a variety of jobs in the last 2 months, one is doing a very nice job of customising a motorcycle frame, his welding is now very good,
Regards,
Nick

[reefy86]

if you was to ask me to weld a steel shelf up or repair a car exhaust then id happily try learning it but its getting the frame squared perfectly and then making sure the steel that the rail goes on is welded down with no twist ect that scares the shit out of me. i see these sort of comments that makes me understand and feel better

"Clamp your work to a surface that will keep it square, use plenty of tack welds, and dont weld opposite corners because it will tend to push your square into a paralellogram."

and then this straight after that buts me back to square one lol

"if you have a part that must be square, simply make a lighter root pass to hold everything in place, then fill the joint up to a level that is nessecary.

Also if you are welding thick metal, pre heat it, it will prevent cracking of your welds, and it will prevent "pulling" by the weldments."