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Welding angle iron T's?

JohnnyJohnsoninWI

Hot Rolled
Joined
Dec 9, 2003
Location
North Freedom, WI, USA
This is kind of a dumb question, but I'm not a fabricator, so here goes. How do you guys weld two pieces of angle iron in a "T" when you have to weld to the edge (rather than the flat side) of the top piece of the "T"? Assume that the top surfaces of both pieces lie on the same plane. It appears that you can only weld along one edge which sacrifices the inherent strength of angle iron, unless something more is done.

Do you notch the lower leg of the "T" so that it nests with the top half better and you can weld both axis of the angle? Do you weld in a square tab to complete the joint?

Am I missing some obvious simple procedure?

Thanks,
John
 
my first choice would be drill and weld intermitent plug welds.
anything at the edges is gonna be messy and prone to distortion.
 
Hi pm,
Thanks for you note. I'm afraid I don't understand your answer, however. How can you plug weld without overlapping the two pieces of angle iron? Imagine the "T" being made with 2" by 1/4" thick angle iron. When you lay it down on the floor and weld the two pieces together, it is still only two inches high, not 2 1/4". I wish I could post a picture, because my descriptions aren't very good.

Thanks,
John
 
A picture paints a thousand words; wish I knew how. I don't want to make t-iron. I'm making a shelf out of angle iron. Take four pieces, cut each corner at 45 degrees, then weld them into a rectangle. Lets say you now have a 2'x6' rectangle with the flat surfaces on top and on the outside perimeter.

Now lets say you want to add one more piece of angle iron across the rectangle for reinforcement. This fifth piece will "T" the two 6' pieces. I want the fifth piece to be flush with the top surface of the rectangle. If I just cut the fifth piece off square, it will only be attached to the two 6' pieces along one edge via butt-welds.

How else would you attach the fifth piece?

Thanks,
John
 
I'd trim the cross piece to fit the side pieces and weld it 4 places. This is referred to as 'coping' the cross piece. Looking at the assembly in it's in use position, the cross piece will have it's top leg cut back to clear the top leg of the side rail, and the down leg will reach out to the inside of the down leg of the side rail. Bevel the top leg of the cross rail on the ends. Weld at the bevel, and weld the down leg of the crossrail to the down legs of the side rails.
 
Thanks Mudflap,
That's exactly what I was looking for.

BTW, it took macona's answer for me to realize where pm was coming from. I see now how my first question could be interpreted that way.

Thanks again,
John
 








 
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