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Posted by JTMcC on August 5, 2006, 4:04 pm
>
> JTMcC wrote:
>> >
>> > JTMcC wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > JTMcC wrote:
>> > ...
>> >> > All the references I've found so far to the alloy class to which
>> >> > Cor-ten belongs ...
>> >
>> >> Like I said, stop asking for corten,...
> (look for)
>> >> "weathering steel", it's commonly used in that world.
>> >> In hollow structural shapes you would specify it as A847.
>> >> In W, M, S, HP, C and L shapes you would most likely spec it as A588
>> >> Gr.
>> >> 50.
>> > ...
>> >
>> > While I wasn't precise, that's what the previous posting (of "alloy
>> > class") was intended to imply--per your suggestion I did a search on
>> > "weathering steel" which got me the A588 and A847 ASTM numbers but no
>> > distributors/service companies of other than coil stock.
>> >
>> > I then did the search by the two alloys and so far have found only a
>> > single service company (Central Steel Service in AL) who have
>> > structural shapes listed in their product lines. They have
>> > angle/channel/beam/flat but no square tubing. Of course, one could
>> > fabricate the square from angle or change the concept to use what one
>> > can find.
>> >
>> > If you know of any further service companies/distributors to
>> > contact/pursue, I'm still open.
>> >
> ...
>> No it's not used commonly for little jobs. I don't have any idea what the
>> availability is in your area, I don't even know what area you are in. But
>> sevice centers will many times have small amounts in stock. You have to
>> search for and find steel service centers in your region of the world.
>
> SW KS, so there aren't many choices...I'll talk to local ironmonger :)
> Monday and see who/what he knows.
Your chances are very slim there.
>
>> If it was me (and I know it's not), as a welding contractor, and if'n I
>> was
>> making this for my own personal bell tower, I would fab it out of regular
>> structural steel (or pipe more likely), put one of the many industrial
>> epoxy
>> coatings on it, about three coats and forget about it. ...
>
> That is more than likely what we'll end up doing--I was just trying to
> find out what options were available and (as is obvious, I'm sure)
> figured the weathering steel wasn't anything all that out of the
> ordinary when I began the hunt. I'm not nor was I committed that it
> had to be a finish-free material, just didn't realize it was as
> little-used as is. There is certainly a lot of stuff built out of pipe
> around here (being in oil-patch country it's everywhere, cheap) but
> I've seen a couple of open structures for bell towers of the square
> tubing that I think are quite nice but not particularly involved in
> construction so I am really leaning towards that as opposed to pipe.
> I've not done any detailed design yet other than try to research the
> probably upper limit of the bell weight based on its size and data I
> could find for similar bells of same size. We have the original cast
> mounting brackets so all that really is required from that standpoint
> is a frame on which they can be mounted.
It's not out of the ordinary or little use, it's just used normally on large
commercial or public works projects.
The square tube will be cheaper and easier to work with, and of course give
you that vintage timber look.
>
>> Personally I wouldn't powdercoat any structural steel. If your piece has
>> to
>> be field erected your powdercoating is garanteed to be chipped during
>> loading, shipping, rigging, landing, or during the bolting up process. Of
>> course it can't be field welded if powdercoat is to be your finish. Plus
>> it
>> can be hard to find powdercoaters who can handle long or wide or oddly
>> shaped sections.
>> Industrial epoxy paints are more chip resistant (a large factor on steel)
>> easily touched up in the field, and can be applied/touched up after field
>> welding/bolting.
>
> Good points, all, and I was aware of the limitation on field welding
> powdercoated material, obviously. I know the Vo Tech kids have done
> several really nice painted decorative signs some of which were quite
> large and I suspect something similar is what they used on them. I'll
> check in w/ the school when classes start again here in another week or
> so.
A good industrial epoxy coating will be as close to "maintenance free" as
you will find in SW Kansas. I have thousands of tons of iron coated that way
in Eastern Kansas (Topeka, Lawrence, Manhattan, K.C. Kansas, K.C. Mo area,
ect., quite a bit of it in very corrosive enviroments such as chemical
plants)
Anyway good luck, I hope it looks nice when you're done.
JTMcC.
>
> This is still in the conceptual phase at the moment--the church
> committees who have the say-so about doing it have said "ok" and the
> bell is an old one which has been in storage for the last 30 years or
> so, so waiting a few more weeks (or months) to get something designed
> and built won't make any discernible difference... :)
>
>> None of this may apply to your situation so take it for what it's worth.
>
> Thanks for the input--it did lead me further down the path than I had
> gotten previously--as noted, I was just trying to find out what
> material(s) would be readily available and had started w/ a notion that
> turned out to not be so...
>
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