Bridge I-Beam cutting.

[Big Barn]

Nice work, Deere Dude. That’s way better than the one’s we built years ago for heavier loads and longer spans.

 

[Oldpath05]

Looks to be 16'-ish long, the I-beams with red arrows look spliced and the green one looks like C-channel with added flat bar............ If it was 25' I would have a 3" pitch in middle. So far looks good, dont forget to post the bridge when it's planked over.

 

[EddieWalker]

That turned out great. How deep is that canyon?

 

[Deere Dude]

Looks to be 16'-ish long, the I-beams with red arrows look spliced and the green one looks like C-channel with added flat bar............ If it was 25' I would have a 3" pitch in middle. So far looks good, dont forget to post the bridge when it's planked over.
View attachment 613080

That turned out great. How deep is that canyon?

OP here
Eddie; The canyon or gully from bottom to bridge is 8-9 feet. Needed a 7' step ladder to put bolts in center. I used half of an extension latter to get in the gully. I will get a couple completed pics when railing are painted.

Old Path; I can assure you every beam was a 20' I-Beam and every one has a 3' 9" I-Beam piece welded on the end making overall length 23' 9+" using 7018AC rod. Each weld has a 2 foot or so 5 1/2" plate welded on the top or bottom and both sides of each beam have a foot long piece of 5 1/2" plate welded to it. Two beams needed a heavy angle bolted to it at the end so the wood would sit flat on something as in the orange beam.

Both outside I beams have two 1-1/2" angle iron welded together , side to side, with predrilled holes and the angle side without the holes was welded to the top of the beams. From the end view the angles look like a T with one side welded to the top of the beam. This is so I would have a flat surface for bolting to wood. I didn't have any 3" flat stock for bolts so I welded two angles together.

I don't understand the 3" pitch advice. The top end header has a 5" angle iron and was flat but the lower head angle iron warped in the center when welding it together so is lower in the center. When I noticed the warp I left it. Ran out of ambition to cut and reweld. Water still runs off it.

The top end of the bridge is maybe a foot higher than the far end. Flat and level would be better but I didn't want to dig down much on the high end or add much fill on the low end.

 

[Deere Dude]

[

A couple more pictures with a little detail.

 

[ddbackhoe]

A couple more pictures with a little detail.

You and your helper put together a nice looking bridge. :thumbsup:

 

[mikester]

I am in the beginning stages of building a 12x24' bridge across a gully. I have 6 8" 20' I-beams I need to make 24' long.

That means I need to cut another one into 4' sections.

I don't have a torch, bandsaw, plasma cutter or anything fancy. I do have 4-1/2" grinders and chop saws and a couple hundred HF 1/16" abrasive discs for the handhelds.

My question is, would it maybe better to use 4-1/2" abrasives or get diamond discs. I am sure diamonds discs would last longer, but how much longer. If a lot better then I will run down to Home Depot Monday and get a couple or a few. They are about $13 each. I am sure they would be safer from the shattering aspect.

View attachment 579391.

Any other ideas about cutting other than the ones mentioned would be helpful. I need the cuts to be fairly straight because I need to butt weld them. I will weld a plate on the sides of the joints also.

Just crank up the amperage and use your 1018 rods with your arc welder to sever to pieces

 

[Deere Dude]

You and your helper put together a nice looking bridge. :thumbsup:

Thanks a lot. Without a FEL there would not be a way to do this, at least for me. The helper came along just in time also. I was starting to cave in.

 

[LouNY]

Good looking and substantial bridge

 

[Oldpath05]

I wonder what cost more, the beams, the boards or the bolts........... Are you paint the bridge or are they pressure treated lumber?

 

[dragoneggs]

Wow, DD! Nice job. I'm very impressed! Not sure I would have tackled such a job.

 

[EddieWalker]

Looking at the newest pictures and I really like how it turned out. Perfect place for a bridge. Hopefully you'll post pictures of it in the future with water running under it!!!!

 

[Deere Dude]

Okay, so I had time today so I gave my new bridge a somewhat real test. I hung a plumb-bob from a center beam to a a little above a rock in the dry creek bed and and took a measurement. Then I drove my JD 3730 with 7' finish mower on it along with a full bucket of fill type dirt and parked in the bridge center. Maybe 5-6000#. Went down below and the height difference was less than an eighth of an inch. I could have read it wrong, but either way it didn't have any discernible sag. I don't plan on driving a 20k unit over it at any time so I am happy with it.

 

[fried1765]

View attachment 617253

Okay, so I had time today so I gave my new bridge a somewhat real test. I hung a plumb-bob from a center beam to a a little above a rock in the dry creek bed and and took a measurement. Then I drove my JD 3730 with 7' finish mower on it along with a full bucket of fill type dirt and parked in the bridge center. Maybe 5-6000#. Went down below and the height difference was less than an eighth of an inch. I could have read it wrong, but either way it didn't have any discernible sag. I don't plan on driving a 20k unit over it at any time so I am happy with it.

Looks good!
Will.... BE GOOD.....until you buy that full size TLB that many of us would like to have.

 

[tookielee]

I didn't see anyone mention it, and it's too late for this project anyway, but a
propane tip in an OA torch would let you use propane bottles from a BBQ pit...
still need the oxygen though

 

[Big Barn]

View attachment 617253

Okay, so I had time today so I gave my new bridge a somewhat real test. I hung a plumb-bob from a center beam to a a little above a rock in the dry creek bed and and took a measurement. Then I drove my JD 3730 with 7' finish mower on it along with a full bucket of fill type dirt and parked in the bridge center. Maybe 5-6000#. Went down below and the height difference was less than an eighth of an inch. I could have read it wrong, but either way it didn't have any discernible sag. I don't plan on driving a 20k unit over it at any time so I am happy with it.

Your bridge turned out awesome! Nice work.

You would cringe if you saw the pseudo “bridges” we drove 10 ton trucks over on our various farms in the old days.

 

[EddieWalker]

Good way to test the bridge. Congrats on a well thought out project!!!