Stainless pushpit options please?

[hansp77]

A bit of a silly question really, since most of you don't live in Australia,

But,
After pulling, grinding and snapping off the shamefully rusted old pushpit from my newly purchased 30 ft Van De Stadt Seahorse,
And now being just about ready to lay down a new deck,
I have begun enquiries to start getting ready to try to organise a replacement pushpit.
Then I discovered the price of getting one made
Ouch.
Ideally I want to make one with a seat that sort of hangs over the back, or get a second normal one and then convert it into such.

Unfortunately, (unless anyone wants to prove me wrong) there does not seem to be such a thing within Victoria, nor as I know Australia (big claim) as a yacht wreckers.

If anyone in Victoria, or Australia, has a stainless pushpit that they would want to sell for a few bucks, or can tell me where I could get one, please let me know.

My other option has been to try to bend one up, possibly with purchased stainless elbow joints and pay someone to just weld up a few little bits at the end.

at the moment I cannot afford to purchase a new one.
If anyone has any suggestions for my predicament, let me know.
Cheers.
Hans.

[MikeJohns]

Hans
Some of us live in the lucky country too !

I have seen them for sale from time to time.
However your best bet is a good scrap metal dealer ask him if he has any 316 stainless pipe suitable for handrails.
Bend as much as you can (use a pipe bender) get a stick welder, some stainless rods and see how you go.
If the pipe is thin walled tack it then tack it then take it to a welder with a TIG setup .

The systems sold by the chandlers for rails are prohibitively expensive so it's best to roll your own if you are on a strict budget.

Good luck with your project

[hansp77]

Thanks Mike,
Just afew questions,
I have a pipebending set up in my grandfathers (RIP) workshop that my uncle will help me use.
What do you mean by a stick welder, and stainless rods?
Is this a normal arc welder?
If not where can I get or rent one from?
You say if the pipe is thin walled then tack it,
does that mean that if it is thick walled then I might be able to do more of the job myself?

I had heard previously that there where stainless rods that could be used in a normal arc welder, but everwhere I have asked about this, hardware stores, steel supply, and rental shops, no one has heard of anything like this.

I appreciate your help.
Hans.

[antonfourie]

Hans, if you are looking for a reasonable price then see if you can find any Stainless Steel Fabricators, or search for handrail manufacturers, they make those sort of products and may be willing to do a one off for you. You could also lookup and call one of the stockists they will be able to put you in touch with a fabricator that can do the job, as in the guys that supply the chandlers before the chandlers tripple the price !!

[hansp77]

Thanks antonfourie,
thing is that I have already contacted a few stainless steel fabricators (albiet specialists in boating gear),
they are happy to make up the special order, but even this price is too much for me at the moment.

The handrail manufacturers is a great idea, and I will try them, but if possible, I am particularly interested in salvage yards, or even new piping, and bending it up myself. I wanted to weld it myself, but as mentioned I have found it hard to figure out how I can do it without a proper stainless welding set up.

[antonfourie]

List of ASSDA fabricators

http://www.assda.asn.au/asp/index.asp?pgid=18043

[MikeJohns]

Originally Posted by hansp77

Thanks Mike,
Just afew questions,
I have a pipebending set up in my grandfathers (RIP) workshop that my uncle will help me use.
What do you mean by a stick welder, and stainless rods?
Is this a normal arc welder?
If not where can I get or rent one from?
You say if the pipe is thin walled then tack it,
does that mean that if it is thick walled then I might be able to do more of the job myself?

I had heard previously that there where stainless rods that could be used in a normal arc welder, but everwhere I have asked about this, hardware stores, steel supply, and rental shops, no one has heard of anything like this.

I appreciate your help.
Hans.

Hans

A stick welder is an Arc welder (slang ...sorry) you can indeed buy stainless welding electrodes for example if all you pipe was 316 you should buy 316L electrodes.
There is no reason why you should not do the welding yourself if you can arc-weld and the pipe is thick enough not to blow holes in it then you will be able to weld stainless.

Keep the runs small and the current as low as possible
Use pickling paste to clean the welds
Heat is the killer as it causes the loss of the chromium.

I am surprised that you have not been able to find stainless electrodes. Perhaps you should contact one of the welders trade supplies outlets.

I hope this helps

cheers

[hansp77]

Thanks a lot Mike,
That pretty much answers everything,
the problem was that everyone was telling me that what you have described to me, and what I was (poorly) attempting to describe to them, ie. welding stainless with a normal arc welder, and stainless rods, was impossible.
Of course it seems they were saying so not from knowledge or experience, but simply because they had never heard of such.
experts in ignorance- never trust em.

In a few weeks (hopefully) I will let you know how I got on.
Hans.