Dadnatron
Veteran Member
My wife asked me whether I could make her a portable saddle rack which she could move in and out of her Tahoe. She showed me a wooden one, which I could make in an hour, but I'd get no satisfaction in doing. I thought about a different idea of making it contoured similar to the topline of her horse (which would also preserve the tree of the saddle to a greater degree). But, when I began thinking about building it out of wood, I realized it would get pretty heavy quickly, thereby negating the 'mobility' of it.
So, I began thinking about making it out of aluminum. I think if I mainly used 1 1/2" tubing for the topline and main vertical supports, it would be strong enough. And if I used smaller tubing to add to the overall shape of the topline, filling out the 'shape of a horse's upper back and withers' it would work well. But I've never worked with aluminum in any fabricating way.
The bends/curves wouldn't need to be small radius for the most part, although the front and back would have a tighter curve at around 180. Most would be 10-30 curves with big radii.
I've also never attempted to weld aluminum. I have an Everlast 251si MTS but it does not have AC Tig. I don't have a spoolgun so I suspect I would have to either rent an AC TIG machine or buy a spoolgun. My preference would be TIG I think, as I don't know whether I'd ever use the spoolgun for much. What are your thoughts on the best and 'EASIEST' way to weld aluminum for a beginner?
So, I began thinking about making it out of aluminum. I think if I mainly used 1 1/2" tubing for the topline and main vertical supports, it would be strong enough. And if I used smaller tubing to add to the overall shape of the topline, filling out the 'shape of a horse's upper back and withers' it would work well. But I've never worked with aluminum in any fabricating way.
The bends/curves wouldn't need to be small radius for the most part, although the front and back would have a tighter curve at around 180. Most would be 10-30 curves with big radii.
I've also never attempted to weld aluminum. I have an Everlast 251si MTS but it does not have AC Tig. I don't have a spoolgun so I suspect I would have to either rent an AC TIG machine or buy a spoolgun. My preference would be TIG I think, as I don't know whether I'd ever use the spoolgun for much. What are your thoughts on the best and 'EASIEST' way to weld aluminum for a beginner?