Topic: Welding practice projects - looking for ideas
I'm finally going to pull out the welder I bought and start using it. I've acquired a fair bit of practice and project materials, and I'm looking for ideas beyond what I can imagine ("I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit").
I have a fair stock (~25) of 36" crowbars, a fair stock of 1" painted steel bent tube (from school bus seats removed from my mini-skoolie, and I think are .120"), a fair stock of 1.5" x 30" (?) _thick_ (thicker than the 1" tubing, very heavy and sturdy) straight painted steel tubing, some 1.5" x 40" anodized straight aluminum tubing (with threaded inserts to attach end-to-end), some painted aluminum odd-shaped flat parts, and some painted steel formed pieces that could be turned into drawer or bin-type pieces.
Since I don't know the grade of the thicker tubing, and the pieces are mostly shorter than I expect would be required, I'm not looking for any of this to be cage material; though space frame encirclement for various things isn't out of the question - though it is heavy stuff.
There's not a whole lot of money in any of this project material. I bought it for practice stock, though if I cut it up for panels for a racecar and don't have to clean it for welding, all the better.
I'm in a quandary, in that I'm having problems thinking of projects. I have limited ideas of what I'll do with this material, so I have plenty of extra.
What I have in mind already, already covered what I paid for it.
Most of my ideas have to do with things to help repair cars outside, like:
car stand cribs, ramps, support pieces, brackets, tubing- based car dolly, things like that.
I probably have enough to weld together a frame for a vehicle mover, as long as the vehicle is light.
That might be a pie-in-the-sky idea - I'm sure a UTV is less work - but I have all this practice material!
I've looked at various welding sites and their recommended projects, and I'm not enthused.
I know the idea of 'homemade' support pieces is concerning to lots of people - me included. For myself, however, I've been told I'm a little too particular; so if something isn't right, with this much material, I can cut it up and start over.
Any ideas, desires, or needs?