MachinistBlog.com

Hi all,

I was asked to build a pair of aluminum car ramps 10 foot long. Problem is that I am not sure what thickness aluminum would be adequate for this job. Can someone that has more aluminum experience than I give me some ideas on this?

I was thinking 3/8" angle as the main rails with inverted pieces for the tread wells as in other designs I've seen. I did a search on the forum for anyone doing similar projects and came across a thread started by serious_lee back in July of 2012. In the replies was a pair of hinged designs by farmersamm and markfuga. I like them because they have the support in the center and will use that design. That solves the problem of the flexing.

My other question has to do with the welding process I will use. I only have a tig welder for aluminum work. It would seem to me that a wire feeder would be better suited for this project as there are so many joints to weld. I fear that my quote would have to be much higher than if I could MIG the project. Anyone have any thoughts on this? I would hate to have to price myself out of the project but on the other hand I have to charge for my time.

If these were all tig welded what time would you say is reasonable to allow for? I don't do much aluminum fabrication. My main bread and butter work with aluminum is in the repair end of things (engine blocks, tranny cases, etc. .and small projects so I don't have a good sense of time fabricating larger projects.

Anyone?