I need to make a 20' I beam 40'

[pro70z28]

If you would go to collage and get a degree in computers & photography you would know how to do that too.
J/K, j/k I couldn't resist saying that.......

[JSFAB]

To the op: the connection is not the problem, the problem is spanning a 40' distance with a beam barely able to support it's own weight, let alone an additional 300# or 500# additional weight, seems you haven't decided yet??

In talking about "decided",,,,, I'm talking about the actual design weight you are "engineering" for, I doubt you have any idea of what things actually weigh, that you are lifting with this thing. Unless you actually have a scale, and stamped weight limits posted all along the beam, this should be a red flag to any engineer reading and posting to this thread.

[JSFAB]

I fail to see any purpose to this thread whatsoever,,,, you are not looking for advice, you (the op) have already decided what you are going to do,,,,, you are just looking for somebody qualified to "rubber stamp" your flawed engineering and test methods .... thus, you fight anybody who actually has valid inputs, and disagree with your methods.

[7A749]

I fail to see any purpose to this thread whatsoever,,,, you are not looking for advice, you (the op) have already decided what you are going to do,,,,, you are just looking for somebody qualified to "rubber stamp" your flawed engineering and test methods .... thus, you fight anybody who actually has valid inputs, and disagree with your methods.

One thought...

Kraythe VS 2.0 (remember the sister channel to tubing thread?) He was a real genius.

Yup, nothing like ignoring good advice & common sense.

Glad he's not putting it in MY barn...............

[Alloytoys]

Anyone ever seen engineering disasters?? I once listened to an engineer and a GC argue that a 2000sqft concrete slab outside didn't need to be sloped to drain away from the building because if it was flat it couldn't hold water.

[mx842]

I fail to see any purpose to this thread whatsoever,,,, you are not looking for advice, you (the op) have already decided what you are going to do,,,,, you are just looking for somebody qualified to "rubber stamp" your flawed engineering and test methods .... thus, you fight anybody who actually has valid inputs, and disagree with your methods.

Come on now......sounds like you are the one looking to fight someone. I didn't post this to start a fight or stir anyone up and you can always just ignore the thread and get back to what you normally do.

To begin with I didn't post on a welding site looking for anything from an engineer. My original question was to the board welders on how they would go about welding the beam together to make it 40'. Please look at the thread title and if you have some useful information please by all means reply other than that if you are just looking to start a pizzin match start a new thread of your own. Please don't be defensive about that statement it's just that I have already wasted too much time with off topic discussions about everything but what the original thread was about.

And you are right, I have already made my mind up what I am going to do I just asked a simple question on a welding forum about a welding procedure that I wanted help with. I didn't mean it to get blown all out of proportion or ask for a engineer stamp rubber or otherwise.

FernTJ did answer another question that I had been looking for after the thread went off the cliff and I do thank him for that. I am prepared to add what ever bracing and support necessary to hold up the piddly 4 or 5 hundred pounds that I might one day ask this thing to do. Even if it means shortening the span a little or adding some additional support in the middle somehow. I can do that easy enough with temp removable support poles that I can place in the center section or along the way if needed.

There are thousands of ways to do a simple job and be safe at the same time all you have to do is use your head. This is not a union job or a commercial building project I am working on here. It is a backyard shade tree mechanic project where the mechanic is tired of working under the shade tree with the 2 4x4 post sticking out of the ground with a piece of 2" pipe wired to the top of the post that has been used to lift all sorts of dreadful stuff for years.

If you have any useful information......pictures would be helpful about how to connect these two 20' sections of beam either by welding, bolting together or both please by all means help out an old country boy otherwise please use the ignore button.

[mx842]

One thought...

Kraythe VS 2.0 (remember the sister channel to tubing thread?) He was a real genius.

Yup, nothing like ignoring good advice & common sense.

Glad he's not putting it in MY barn...............

Well then maybe you would like to chime in on what the original post was about. Three pages and nothing but a circle jerk of motion and not one response as to how one would go about putting the two beams together.

[SundownIII]

mx,

Whether you wish to accept it or not, possibly the "best advice" you've received in this thread is the fact that no one has come forward and said "this is the way you should do it".

Given time, I'm sure one of our "experts" (you know the ones with their 120v mig welders) will chime in on how "they would do it". You can then take their advice and run with it.

[Markswelding]

I'll try posting here but for the wise please keep your stupid comments to yourself.

1) need at least 80' good string
2) a good surface
3) at minimum a set of "strong backs" to keep it straight while welding
4) a good welder, as in machine as well as a weldor
5) air arc for back gouge, or at least a nicely made prep joint, bevel 30deg. On flanges (4)
6) I would use 3 plates to "fish plate it", top 2 sides of web.
7) after fish plating, if you really want safety you could bolt, 5/8 - 3/4 structural bolts in a few figured in places would be a security measure.

Good luck in your endeavors, be work safe, but frankly & I forget size of beam but I can look for specs in Bethlehem steel book at home.
For a 1000lbs I think it sounds like overkill as to beam size, hopefully not rusted.
Check the deflection in 1 beam proped up on bothe ends check sag, you can do this on ground before trying to get into the air.
Hope this helps, if you were close I'd offer a weld job for you if yours is questionable. But don't settle for a back yard weld.
As for when things fall there's no stopping that kind of weight.
Remember to if you should "jerk it" a 1000 lb load could easily double in weight.

Have a great safe project

[SundownIII]

See.

I told you so.

It's BS posts like this that get people hurt/killed.