Making stainless steps

Ive been making a couple of stainless steel steps to enable operators to reach a filling hatch on a meat tenderising machine, I thought it might be of interest to some on here to see how a simple fabrication job comes together, no rocket science here just basic metalworking using simple methods and equipment,

It helps to have a plan, I've drawn this in autocad, stuff I do for this customer has a habit of coming round again so its useful to have a record of even the simplest of jobs, but a pencil sketch is good enough, just for something to refer to and compile a cutting list from.


Getting the job cut up, this is all 40 x 40 x 1.5 stainless steel box section, nice and sturdy for the environment it will be used in, all this was cut and mitred on an abrasive cut off saw, noisy but set up and used properly can give quick and accurate results.


These will have adjustable feet fitted so some plates for the bottom of the legs drilled and with M12 nuts welded on


Smaller parts are best assembled beforehand.


Start to build it up, mitre clamps are handy but not essential, just as easy to clamp it down on a flat bench, keep checking for square as you go.



Side frames tacked up ready for welding


Pre weld the side frames, sequence the welds to keep things square and flat, then put it all together, clamps and bits of plate keep the faces flush.


Then as before weld up planning the weld sequence to control distortion.


A bit of pickling paste, followed by soapy water and scotchbrite, fit the adjustable feet and that part of the jobs finished.


Next the aluminium tread plates for the steps, cut out and notched


Ready for bending


Only a small job so just pulled them up on the flypress.


Weld the corners and drop them on, and the jobs finished,


In use

A nice job as usual one thing I did notice, was the nuts fully welded to the plates, I'm used to high volume/speed production where nuts would get a couple of welds, just enough to do the job

Thanks Paul, I really enjoy seeing how you go about planning and fabricating things. The only thing is, I now find myself trying to work out how barriers, railings and stairways etc. were made, still it helps to fill the time spent waiting meetings on site.

Nice, I see you also use Cramp heads. Cheap and easy method of an adjustable cramp.

cut and mitred on an abrasive cut off saw, noisy but set up and used properly can give quick and accurate results.

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What's your set-up on the abrasive saw Paul?

Your shop looks compact in those pics Paul,is that just part of a larger space?....how do you manage making tables and the larger items you make?.
Tidy work as always

Nice job Paul, thanks for taking the time to show how it's done. does the tread plate just sit on the frame or is it fastened down? just wondering if its removable for cleaning as its in a food production place.
Norm

stainless steps

lovely work!!!

Drains said:

What's your set-up on the abrasive saw Paul?

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No real black art to setting up a chopsaw, the main mistake that I see people making when cutting mitres is to set the angle then try and use the vice to hold the work, the vice is set to push parallel to the blade and will not grip the material properly which will then move or chatter, they then over tighten to compensate which has the effect of moving the angled rear jaw, so use a G clamp and ignore the vice.

Never rely on the protractor markings on the vice, set the angle off the disk using a sliding bevel or square

Also the action of swiveling the vice moves the cut backwards, I've found the best position for a decent cut is forward of or near to the centre of the blade, not behind it, a box section packer takes care of that, I have a few different sizes for when the disk wears, let the disk do the work and don't force it. with a bit of practice its easy to make cuts just as accurate as a bandsaw, and at far lower consumable costs, decent disks help too of course, these are the S&A ones often mentioned on here, I can't fault them.
Apologies for the slightly out of focus pictures

gavuk said:

Your shop looks compact in those pics Paul,is that just part of a larger space?....how do you manage making tables and the larger items you make?.
Tidy work as always

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Not a big workshop Gav, about 400 sq ft, the bench is up one end to leave some floor space for slightly bigger stuff.

Presumably minimal graining/polishing up on those Paul?
Do you just fuse the internal fillets or add much filler?
Why ally c/p for the tops instead of stainless? cost? weight?

Norm said:

Nice job Paul, thanks for taking the time to show how it's done. does the tread plate just sit on the frame or is it fastened down? just wondering if its removable for cleaning as its in a food production place.
Norm

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Yes, as you say treads are removable for cleaning, everything I make has to be designed with easy cleaning and hygiene in mind.

Welderpaul said:

Presumably minimal graining/polishing up on those Paul?
Do you just fuse the internal fillets or add much filler?
Why ally c/p for the tops instead of stainless? cost? weight?

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Not much polishing required on this kind of thing, enough to make the job presentable, and give the customer something nice for his money,
Internal fillets all welded with 1mm filler, to give a nice neat bead.

Stainless tread plate is dear stuff, especially the way this lot lose things, so ally is a better option really,

TIG Paul said:

Stainless tread plate is dear stuff, especially the way this lot lose things, so ally is a better option really,

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Do you use 316 for this type of stuff?

I think stainless c/p is only available in 316? We do quite a bit in pump houses and underground resevoirs; gives the guillotine and press tooling a very hard time. The big V on the bottom tool is badly marked now from folding stair treads.

Welderpaul said:

gives the guillotine and press tooling a very hard time. The big V on the bottom tool is badly marked now from folding stair treads.

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Thats the other problem, I can't bend it, and no one else round here wants to either, so we end up fabricating the edges from flat, they actually look quite good when finished but cost a fortune to make,
The frames on these are just 304, only use 316 when asked for it, or if in a corrosive area, never had any problems so far,
Actually the sections that are available are a bit limited in 316.

Yes, found that certain sections are limited in 316. We have to use 316 for waterboard work as they are in contact with potable water and/or some fairly horrible chemicals.

Do you use 316 or 304 for external handrails and the like? Tend to find that both grades are specified for external metalwork, usually use 304 with no issues to date.

Probably be worth insulating the aluminium tops from the stainless then if corrosion resistance was your aim, given the galvanic corrosion cell the two will form in contact.

Welderpaul said:

Yes, found that certain sections are limited in 316. We have to use 316 for waterboard work as they are in contact with potable water and/or some fairly horrible chemicals.

Do you use 316 or 304 for external handrails and the like? Tend to find that both grades are specified for external metalwork, usually use 304 with no issues to date.

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304 normally, never had any problems either, over 10 years ago I made some 304 stainless handrails for inside and outside a cinema, on probably one of the busiest road junctions in town, apart from one of them fitted on the tilt, (not by me I might add), they look as good as the day they were fitted

very nice you always make a good looking job also your pretty good with a camera too.

How do you go about sequencing the welds?
It's not something I've ever been taught..
And none of my stuff has to be that dimensionally accurate even though I would like it to be just for my own satisfaction.