Drilling holes in Rail iorns ...?

crackcrack30

I had the roof blown of an old shed in the 2013 storm...
There are six rail iorns (girders:rolleyes:) still up with walls all round and concrete floor.

I was thinlking off drilling the Rail iorns to put on lean two trusses and roof

Can rail iorns be drilled or do they have to be blown out with a torch?

Luckysasha

You could drill them. Best tool for the job would be a mag drill. Any decent hire shop will have one. It has a magnetic base which clamps firmly to the steel and you wind the cutter down just like a pillar drill. Great job just go slowly and keep plenty of oil on the cutter and you should be fine

blue5000

I think it's going to be hard to get a mag drill on level enough to drill them. Any time I did it I used the stick welder turned up to 250 amps, messy though. Practice with a bit at ground level first.

Quote from a lad I went to school with 'It's very easy to change the bit on a welder:pac:'.

crackcrack30

Thanks guys,

These are actual irish rail cast or wrought Iorn rails.....I didn't think the welder would burn to that depth..

Luckysasha

Another option you have is to weld on some unistrut "L" brackets. Then coach screw your timbers to the brackets. The brackets themselves are galvanised so no problems with rust.

Sam Kade

How were the old trusses held onto the rails?

pedigree 6

I did it here on railway tracks too.
But as blue says the biggest job is to get it to stick to the rail and then there's no level base like an ordinary pillar.
I wrecked a mag drill trying to hold it on by hand. Well the vibrations did something inside to it and it's tripping the switch now.
So I hired out one and this time I ratchet strapped it to the rail.
No problem drilling then.
I learned the hard way.:(

crackcrack30

It was a round roof hay barn 20 foot high with timber trusses....looks like brackets welded on top....was thinking of lowering it by about 3 ft and putting a slope to the other side again lowered by 6ft giving a 3ft drop over a 20 ft span..

What u think?

blue5000

crackcrack30 wrote: »

It was a round roof hay barn 20 foot high with timber trusses....looks like brackets welded on top....was thinking of lowering it by about 3 ft and putting a slope to the other side again lowered by 6ft giving a 3ft drop over a 20 ft span..

What u think?

Any pics? Usually these had the web of the rail track parallel to the length of the shed IYKWIM. Could you bolt on brackets to both sides of the track to hold the new trusses?

enricoh

We had a hilti hit on the job a few years ago, it uses a .22 bullet and puts a nail/rivet through rsj. U might be able to hire one, they are a serious job

dodod

I have drilled a few of those rail tracks . I clamped a bit of clean steel on with g clamp to the rail first .the mag drill will stick no promblem then plenty of oil take your time

pedigree 6

dodod wrote: »

I have drilled a few of those rail tracks . I clamped a bit of clean steel on with g clamp to the rail first .the mag drill will stick no promblem then plenty of oil take your time

That's the shot.:)

Was the drill bit able to reach through the pillar with the increased depth from the steel?

gctest50

Cutting rods and a diesel welder - you'll be able to make nice holes after a bit of practice

patsy_mccabe

I'm certain I drilled 10mm holes on them a while back.

dodod

pedigree 6 wrote: »

That's the shot.:)

Was the drill bit able to reach through the pillar with the increased depth from the steel . used normal drill bit with normal chuck adopter it's handy for using hole saw as well you can get longer cutters or extensions

gctest50

Get a plasma cutter, would be useful around the place anyway ?

http://www.adverts.ie/power-tools/cut60-plasma-cutter-cuts-25mm-steel/6729768

pedigree 6

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

I'm certain I drilled 10mm holes on them a while back.

I drilled 4 holes to hang a feeding barrier gate on one a few weeks ago but the drill bit was just about able to make it through.
The mag drill will do it no problem if it can be firmly secured on it.

darragh_haven

enricoh wrote: »

We had a hilti hit on the job a few years ago, it uses a .22 bullet and puts a nail/rivet through rsj. U might be able to hire one, they are a serious job

Do not use a hilti gun on a rail.... you bend the nail and f-up the gun. No way a nail would go into it

cjpm

I drilled a few rails, used brand new bits as it's hard steel, way harder than mild steel. First 5mm, then 10mm and finally 14mm. It's tough work though.

The gas torch is the only job if you have a lot of holes to drill though, particularly if they are big

Justjens

cjpm wrote: »

The gas torch is the only job if you have a lot of holes to drill though, particularly if they are big

Put up nearly 100 metres of bull nose rail 20 years ago for a cattle pen, uprights and horizontals, and made sh!t of a hire shop mag drill on a trial hole.

Got the loan of a gas torch and was able to make the holes on site as I lifted the 45' rails into place.

foxy farmer

Justjens wrote: »

Put up nearly 100 metres of bull nose rail 20 years ago for a cattle pen, uprights and horizontals, and made sh!t of a hire shop mag drill on a trial hole.

Got the loan of a gas torch and was able to make the holes on site as I lifted the 45' rails into place.

Bullnose rail for a cattle pen? You were taking no chances there .

cjpm

foxy farmer wrote: »

Bullnose rail for a cattle pen? You were taking no chances there .

Three horizontal rails 45' long and an upright at each end! Didn't want to be breaking holes in a good concrete yard

Sam Kade

cjpm wrote: »

Three horizontal rails 45' long and an upright at each end! Didn't want to be breaking holes in a good concrete yard

45' long rails?

ford 5600

cjpm wrote: »

Three horizontal rails 45' long and an upright at each end! Didn't want to be breaking holes in a good concrete yard

Had you aman at each end lifting , or did you get a neighbour to lend a hand , in the middle ??

maidhc

Get a plasma cutter. Very handy machine to have if you do a bit of fabrication work.

foxy farmer

maidhc wrote: »

Get a plasma cutter. Very handy machine to have if you do a bit of fabrication work.

A single phase plasma would only just about cut the flange of a flat back rail. It certainly wouldn't cut a complete piece off a rail. Or pierce a hole in it for that matter.
I have a large 3 phase plasma here capable of cutting 40 mm. Powered by a 6cyl 50kva generator. The piercing capacity is much less. 15mm as far as i know. Unless you drill a pilot hole first.
Very fast for cutting plate. Way ahead of gas. Its a workshop machine ideally. Oxy acetylene is the only man for railway rails out on site. Ive used a welder with rods soaked in water for a bit to blow holes in a light flatback rail and it did the job but burning through the central web was a right dose. Wouldnt use an inverter welder for it thats for sure.

cjpm

Sam Kade wrote: »

45' long rails?

I'm only taking the p1ss! Someone else was on about using it to keep a bull under control. Sure that stuff could pen elephants!

3" dia pipe is keeping my bull under control.

Justjens

cjpm wrote: »

I'm only taking the p1ss! Someone else was on about using it to keep a bull under control. Sure that stuff could pen elephants!

Water off a ducks back!!

Used to keep in sucklers, it's been tested a few times, one beast sat on it's ar$e for five minutes after having a few goes :P

45' rails weigh in at 1/2 a ton, so didn't bother with a fella at either end but a digger in the middle, and the rails drooped about six feet either side.

9' upright every 15' with 6' above ground, 3 rails high and used fishplates to join the rail (longest run is 50m). Also a strand of electric wire at the top to be sure