I occasionally get calls to collect scrap or just find metal. I keep the choice stuff to use for projects and turn in the rest for a little money. I recommend it. Especially when I have a 110v mig welder to complete my projects with. Free metal, cheap good welder and an imagination.
In the first picture below shows the original frame around the seat. This is approximately 9/16. I welded the 1/4 stock to the back of it. Not a technically hard design, just a little forethought in how I bent the pieces to begin welding it.
There are only 4 pieces. The frame that goes around the top of the tail light and the 3 cross sections.
In the picture below I started with the total length and bent both ends down about 1 1/4 inch. Then I welded the pieces that go across. At this point it was still way too flimsy for what I thought it should be used for. I measured from the bottom to the middle somewhere with my eyeball on one side, then matched the length on the otherside.
Obviously the paint I chose, quickly wore off. But, properly preparing the metal before I welded it together then welded it on worked out very well.
Don't know how to weld but don't want to miss out on a cool project like this and thousands of others? Local colleges or possibly an offer at a highschool for a night course will get you well on your way and in a short time. There is risk involved with electricity and the course will go over how to set your machine and what types of metals can be welded by which welding process.
Welding is important to be able to do. Not only can you make things as an art but you can repair things at home and save many hundreds of times the expense of replacing what you can fix and recouping the expense of your welder.
