Maybe building a drill pipe fence?

[Wampuscat]

I’m needing to put up about 300’ of fence along the front of my house. I’ve thought about a 3 or 4 rail corral fence using 4x6 posts and 1x6 corral boards. I can build it myself or pay $4800 to have it done. I’d at least have to rent an auger or have someone with a tractor pop the holes, since my tractor was stolen.

I’m thinking about a metal fence though too. I have 2 16’ metal gates and think the metal fence would look good welded to the 6” square gateposts. That also won’t require angering post holes next to gate posts. I don’t have a welding rig “yet”. I’ve welded some in the past under guidance, and am not afraid to take on projects to learn a new skill. I saw McCoys has 2 3/8”drill pipe for $40 per 31.5’ joint and $44 for 2 7/8” drill pipe.

I can look into other kinds of pipe if it’s either cheaper or more forgiving but not too much more expensive. Ive heard drill pipe is higher in carbon and hard to correct when its freshly tacked.

I’ve seen Hobart and Klutch dual power stick welding rigs up to 220 amps in the $300 to $400 range. Figure 7018 rods should be a little forgiving too. Would this setup work with a 5K generator powering it at the job site? These welders have leads that are replaceable where the Lincoln Thunderbolt “crackerbox” welder’s leads are fixed. Seemed like a good feature.

Any suggestions on welders or pipe type? I know there’s a hundred things I haven’t thought of.

[sqiggy]

Do a search on Craig's List for the pipe. You can find it a lot cheaper than McCoy's.
As far as welding it, I've never had a problem with my Lincoln 200.

[Jacobh05]

Call a steel supplier. I bought some 2 3/8” for .81 a ft last month. I’m in East Tx, but that sounds high.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[12RingKing]

Tagged

[TMC50]

I debated this and found metal for a good price online but when I crunched the numbers, the wooden corral fence was cheaper, I could put it up a lot faster and matched the neighbors on the road so that is what I went with.

One thing I did learn (should have known already but was not thinking) is shop around. Our local lumber yard was about 30% cheaper and delivered for free than the big box stores for lumber.

[Silvey]

I went straight to the pipe yard. Got 30 someodd sticks of 2 7/8" drill stem for 25$ a stick. Ranged 33' to 36' in length. And yes drill pipe needs to be welded with 7018.

[kenner27]

Try to find a tubing string instead of drill pipe. A J55 or L80 grade pipe is much more flexible and forgiving.

[ramrod]

A 3 or 4 rail pipe fence is a lot of work, much less if you haven't done much welding. You also need to figure in rods and gas. unless you are welding uphill I would just use a 6011 or 6010 rod. If you don't want to have to cut a ton of saddles, I would just use square tubing for the post and make straight cuts for the rails.

[HDWRENCH]

Cutting the notch has gotten was easier with the tooling you can buy or just use a torch . Rod sorry going to tell you weld it with what ever you want . I used my small 110 miller mig . with regular wire nothing fancy at all Worked just fine , 3 acres worth of fend plus horse pens , gates etc etc .

I have no idea how many feet it is but it was a bunch . as the larger areas are boxed in with two gates . Gates are easy as well they sell the round brackets with collars . You only need one collar on the bottom so the gate could be slid up to remove it . I slotted the middle bar inserted a pipe welded a long bolt to it to use as a slide pin to keep gate closed .

[MacDaddy67]

forgive my ignorance about welding , but what is 7018 ?

[MacDaddy67]

I went straight to the pipe yard. Got 30 someodd sticks of 2 7/8" drill stem for 25$ a stick. Ranged 33' to 36' in length. And yes drill pipe needs to be welded with 7018.

Was that pipe clean? I found 2 7/8 with 5/16th wall thickness ( heavy pipe) for $35/ stick in Navasota....but it was really clean

[ramrod]

forgive my ignorance about welding , but what is 7018 ?

welding rod/ electrode type

[Grumpy1911]

You need 2-7/8" tubing, not drill pipe. 22.00-25.00 per joint is decent price.
Weld it with 6011 all the time. Its a time consuming fence build, but will last long time.

[Silvey]

Was that pipe clean? I found 2 7/8 with 5/16th wall thickness ( heavy pipe) for $35/ stick in Navasota....but it was really clean

Yes, I think it was all new. Didn't even have any rust. And don't use any 60series rods. There is a lot of chrome in drill stem and the high cellulose rods are brittle and won't hold when they start to pull as the weld cools.

[sqiggy]

forgive my ignorance about welding , but what is 7018 ?

It's a low hydrogen rod. It helps prevent cracking. It is not a downhill rod, but, if you turn the heat up just a bit, you can run a bead downhill. For a pipe fence, this is what I would use. If you can make all the fits tight, it will weld great. It will lay flat and smooth. Won't leave the splatter a 60 rod will leave and all you will have to do is run a wire wheel over it to clean up. No grinding involved. A true welder hates grinding!!!!