minipost: Posts

The element in question is leaning against that hemisphere.

These mini-posts will be a place to dump pics and share construction and design details. This one just happens to be about posts. 

As I mentioned I'm reframing and adding structure to throw on the new roof. The new roof just happens to be irregular and funky. Not only that but it has to join to the frame of the trailer (1.5 x 4 channel steel). All the connections have to be strong enough to travel on the road but flexible enough to go over a bridge

From the ground up, first connection is on to the steel frame. I decided a straight up weld would be rigid and that there isn't much support provided by the frame. In a simple box frame, any damage to the integrity could be very bad. Plus I didn't have resources to weld where I was. I decided to go with bolting it on, using the sway bar towing connection as a model.  

Bolting around the frame seemed like a solid option, plus if I or the next owner ever wants to make any structural changes, deconstruction will be easier. So I decided to have the post footed by this setup. 

For the post itself, I went with a combination of steel 1 x 2 x 1/8 U-channel acting as the spine for a 2x10 power laminated timber. That way I got the rigidity and true angles of the steel and the compressive strength of the power lam. 

The challenge was joining those awkward 22 & 12.75 degree angles on the roof frame to upright posts. The frame is really an awning off a restaurant (Tex-Mex of course) and came with this rod and clamp which I believe is where the canvas was fastened on. Those clamps seemed like a good way to join to the steel tube without a weld, but they were still coming down at awkward angles. 

For the metal work, I went to Ethan Clew at Clew's Machining  in South Burlington, VT. We cut angle iron to match the angle of the tube (relative to the ground plane) and welded that rod onto its axis. that way the clamps still form the connection and are even adjustable. 

The angle iron bolts on to the top plate of the post and is thus adjustable on 2 axes (to change the angle a shim could be inserted and the clamps are adjustable. 

The final result of the steel work looks like this: 

The 2 x 10 will be inserted into the channel and screwed on with drill screws on the vertical and top.