Blind Base Rebuld

[TexasCanesFan]

So I have a Triple Creek fiberglass blind that sits on a 5’ tower with a staircase. It worked great on its previous hillside location but the new spot needed a much taller base.

I decided to just modify the existing base and staircase instead of starting over from scratch. Especially with the current price of steel.

Here is how it started out.






We brought the base home and got started.

Made use of the existing 2” square tubing legs and turned them into 12” sleeves. Also removed the old feet for reuse and chopped off the bottom of the staircase.







Then it was time to head to Greenville Steel and begin the rebuild….

[TexasCanesFan]

We grabbed 1 3/4” 11 gauge to make the new legs and just turned the 24’ sticks into 12’ legs. We also grabbed a bunch of 1” for the braces and some 2” strap for the tabs.

The base portion went extremely fast, aside from the dang heat and lack of a good shop fan.

We did horizontal braces at the bottom and did x-braces on all 4 sides. Everything bolts up and is attached to 2” wide tabs that we welded on. It made for an extremely sturdy design and there is no flex or wobble to the stand at all. Turned out exactly how I had it planned out in my mind.

MUCH taller now!!

[TexasCanesFan]

The base was a wrap for the first weekend.

Before we tackled the staircase(which was so much more work than the base) we had to make a couple new additions to the shop from Harbor Freight. We picked up a pretty dang good shop fan to help with the heat stroke and an inexpensive welding table to get me off the floor for step building.

Absolutely money well spent.





The 1”x2” extensions were added to the legs and I used some scrap 1/2” angle to cap the butt weld top and bottom to add strength. I would have preferred to sleeve it internally but I just couldn’t find anything at the steel yard that would serve well inside due to the odd size.

The steps are 8”x24” and there were 9 of them to build. I tacked them all up first then did all of the finish welding and added the expanded metal. The welding table was a lifesaver because these took a while to build.









I tacked all of the stairs into place and called it a day to avoid the afternoon heat

[TexasCanesFan]

I hit the shop early on Saturday morning to finish welding all of the stairs and add the handrail. Starting to see the fabrication finish line at this point










I even managed to lay down a couple pretty welds on the staircase




At this point all of the fabrication is done. I need to hit everything with at least a flap wheel to smooth everything out and plan to get it all painted on Monday and Tuesday.

It will head to the lease for final assembly and placement on Labor Day Weekend

I will update pics of the finished product at that point.

[hog_down]

VERY nice! how thick was the metal for the legs? you did some great work

[TexasCanesFan]

VERY nice! how thick was the metal for the legs? you did some great work

Thanks man!!!

The old legs were 2" 14 gauge, which I turned into the 12" long sleeves. The new legs are 1 3/4" 11 gauge and sleeves internally into the 2" very well. Not a bunch of slop and then we ran 1 bolt through to hold it in.

[flywise]

My goodness………..That’s Awesome!
Well done

[Smart]

Daaaaang man! You do good work! Looks great!

[TheHammer]

That’s a good looking setup! Good work

[TexasCanesFan]

Thanks guys.

The heat made it quite a bit more difficult. I thought I was going to die out there Saturday before last. [emoji3062][emoji3062][emoji3062]

[TxHamJello]

Looks like it pays to have the right equipment, and the ability to use it! Great job!

[RR 314]

Man, that is an awesome build! Great work. The ONLY criticism (and very slight) is I like the time savings of fabricating the steps with tubing open but it has bit me (actually stung) me! Those dang mahogany wasps have a perfect launching point! Again, great work!

[TexasCanesFan]

Man, that is an awesome build! Great work. The ONLY criticism (and very slight) is I like the time savings of fabricating the steps with tubing open but it has bit me (actually stung) me! Those dang mahogany wasps have a perfect launching point! Again, great work!

Oh I agree on how the steps were built. Not my preference for sure. I would 45 and close everything up if I was building from scratch.

I just continued with how they were previously built. OCD wouldn’t let me change mid staircase and with the price of metal I was not rebuilding the existing steps. LOL

[Dale Moser]

That's slicker than hot goose ****!

[TexasCanesFan]

That's slicker than hot goose ****!

My welding mentor!!! Seems like just the other day you were talking me through building those big *** cube protein feeders. Hard to believe that was 2008.