My first project: a fence for my front yard

[ctraugh2005]

Great job. I love the way it turned out. The Jig looked great and the way you did it was just fine, you got the job done and done right and that is all that matters.

[crawdaddy]

Good work and good narrative. Thanks for sharing.I especially liked the honesty when your unsure of your approach and improvising but it looks like your solutions worked out just fine.Mike

[jimmy_pop]

you remind me alot of myself when i started - maybe not having a ton of welding experience but you have a great mind about repeatability, jigs, seeing things in their completed form and working backwards in an efficient manner to execute the plan. I had virtually no experience when i started and it wasn't very long before i was building jigs. As you gain experience, i suspect you will really build some very impressive things. I think you did a great job. I also buy all my material from King (in Dallas), use the same saw, use a 110v welder and started in my garage.

You know you can get those saw blades resharpened and the teeth replaced if you screw one up? i didn't know that they could be sharpened until i had bought 5 blades. I've since kept them in rotation and have gotten multiple re-sharpens on each blade. i love that saw. i been thinking about having a new base for that saw laser cut from some thick cold rolled steel to accommodate a better clamping mechanism. The stock one has alot of deflection. I only use the saw in 90* and 45* cuts.

Anyway, excellent job!

joel
http://theweldhouse.com/

[ctrhenry]

what kind of time estimate would you say it took you in hours.


and every project requires some blood.

not always sweat and tears, but always blood.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

May I ask how well you compared in price to the fence the neighbor had put up? I realize there is no real comparison since you built this with your own hands, and that gives you a level of pride that the neighbor does not have.

I don’t know the neighbor, actualy. I’m not sure what he thought when I was in front of his place with a tape measure and a caliper. I was informally quoted $100-$150 a linear foot to have it done, which is $8-12,000. But this is Los Angeles, where a lot of stuff is stupid expensive. My material costs were under $400 -- and of course my labor was free.

you remind me alot of myself when i started - maybe not having a ton of welding experience but you have a great mind about repeatability, jigs, seeing things in their completed form and working backwards in an efficient manner to execute the plan

Thank you. I take that as a real compliment. It’s funny how much those same ideas cross over different types of jobs.

You know you can get those saw blades resharpened and the teeth replaced if you screw one up? i didn't know that they could be sharpened until i had bought 5 blades. I've since kept them in rotation and have gotten multiple re-sharpens on each blade. i love that saw. i been thinking about having a new base for that saw laser cut from some thick cold rolled steel to accommodate a better clamping mechanism. The stock one has alot of deflection. I only use the saw in 90* and 45* cuts.

I agree that the clamp could be more precise and stronger. For these kind of chop cuts, it’s fine. But it would be nice if it were easier to use additional clamps.

what kind of time estimate would you say it took you in hours.

I didn’t keep track, and it would be hard to say. On the one hand, it’s pretty straightforward work. But I’ve been learning it as I go, and figuring out a process for it as I go. On top of that, we’ve got a one-year-old in the house and both my wife and I work odd hours, so a lot of time it was a matter of finding an hour or two when the kid was squared away, but it wasn’t so early or late in the day that I’d feel bad about running a saw or a grinder with neighbors so close. I’m a writer, and the repetitive parts of this kind of work are actually useful, since they kind of free your mind up to mull over other stuff.

Again, thanks for the compliments. Next up is to try and work out a self-closing gate that can swing both ways and lock when I need it to.

[m.k.swelding]

looks good. you must have had fun mounting them to the concreat.

[Jack Olsen]

Thanks. Right now, it's just sitting on the concrete. I've got a hammer drill and the base plates waiting to go, but I've had work stuff getting in the way.

For what it's worth, it's surprisingly stable just sitting there. It's heavy.

[glh]

looks really good. nice job.
??? i have never seen tile in a garage tho ???

[davedarragh]

Jack: You did a fine job! Looks like Pasadena? You in the Writer's Guild?

Dave

[Jack Olsen]

i have never seen tile in a garage tho ???

I love it. I put it in myself. Clean up is easy, since it's non-porous. You can walk barefoot on it. And it was 68 cents a square foot from Home Depot, for commercial grade tiles. They've held up to dropped tools and jacks fine, so far. Welding slag will burn them, though.

Looks like Pasadena? You in the Writer's Guild?

Miracle Mile, near the Tar Pits. (And yes, WGA since 1995. I re-did the garage during the strike.)