Discover the Importance of Welding Stands
There’s probably never been a welder, machinist, fabricator, or any other professional who works with heavy metal that hasn’t at some point wished they had a few heavy-duty stands at their disposal.
If you come from one of those categories – or just a hobbyist who enjoys working with metal – then you know you’re always likely to be facing something heavy or unwieldy that needs to be positioned or stabilized while you’re working your magic. And you’re under any illusions either that when it comes to metalworking, that there’s no getting around having the right equipment.
Some equipment just can’t be substituted, and trying to do so can be the backdrop for a situation that could not only be detrimental to your safety, but can have catastrophic consequences for whatever you’re working on as well. No one wants to get in the habit of mishandling hot and heavy metal, so let’s look at how quality stands distinguish themselves when it comes to handling heavy loads.
Welding Stands Hold Their Own
Even if you already have a good-sized workbench or welding table, you need help supporting oversized or oddly shaped objects – it’s just a fact of metalworking – and that’s why having a few purpose-built welding pipe stands on hand’s ideal for keeping things in the exact position you need them when you’re working on them.
Pipe stands are, first and foremost, designed to do exactly what their name implies. They’re load-test certifiable, standard equipment for safely and efficiently supporting and bracing pipes weighing up to 1200kg without the potential for rocking back or flipping over. And with an adjustment range between 700mm and 1.3m off the ground, they let you keep all the work at the perfect “hands-on” level – so that even if the work is back-breaking, you don’t have to break your back doing it.
Strong, Scalable and Portable
Tipping the scales at only 12kg, pipe stands don’t weigh much, but they allow you to keep a better grasp on the steel than if you only had brute strength and a curious balancing act between the welding table, your prized jigs and the wall to rely on.
A host of optional heads can be fitted to welding stands as well, making them ideal for performing a variety of activities that support a variety of pipe sizes. While their standard V-shaped heads are designed to hold 12” outside diameter pipes, they can also be fitted with a replaceable 400kg rated roller head attachment that’ll allow multi-directional movement of pipes with outside diameters up to 24” … all on a folding-legged framework that’s perfectly portable.
In short, their versatility makes them ideal for:
- Gas, oil or chemical pipe production works;
- Pre-construction or remote pipeline works; and,
- Plant and facility maintenance works and repairs.
Suffice it to say, a pair of heavy-duty stands will come in just as handily in the middle of a welding shop as they will off the back of a mobile welding rig, but of course, this isn’t an all-inclusive listing of applications. If you plan on investing in a pair of stands, you’ll be surprised by just how many more, larger, and more intricate projects you’ll be prepared to take on when you have a sufficient number of stands to support you.
Qualities for Professions
If stands like these are indispensable tools for welders, it’s not at all difficult to understand how valuable they can be for a host of other metalworkers too.
- They hold significant amounts of weight relative to their small footprint;
- Their light weight and portability make them easy to transport from one location to the next; and,
- They’re priced comparably to lesser quality bracing and holding instruments.
In fact, all the traits and attachments that make them great pipe stands for welding, are precisely what makes them shine in other applications, even when materials other than metal are at work.
- For machine shops of all kinds, they’re great for use as material support and transfer stands;
- For manufacturing, they’re easily used as conveyor stands; and,
- For any type of woodworking or fabricating, they make excellent V-roller stands.
And make no mistake, the rigid, heavy-duty qualities that work so well for professions, work just as well for the hobby welders and machinists. Having a few welding stands in the corner are enough to compel any hobbyists to want to tackle the kinds of large-scale projects that they wouldn’t have thought possible otherwise.
The Final Word
At the end of the day, for all their simplicity, a strong set of welding pipe stands that can be pulled out quickly and positioned easily, are irreplaceable for working with any type of metal.
In fact, they’re so simple and so irreplaceable that the temptation’s never too far – especially within the hobbyist ranks – for welders to attempt to build their own. The soundest advice anyone can offer to that end, however, is to not do it.
Properly constructed and appropriately rated stands aren’t expensive … and if you’re working in a commercial environment, the prerequisite for certified load testing may even be mandatory. Where welding and metalworking are concerned, it’s all about safety; and taking unnecessary risks with such critical items simply isn’t worth it.
You can source the best quality stands, accessories and more from a welding shop that’ll not only stand behind what you purchase, but can answer any questions you have about how to get even more use out of them.
If you’re tired of just thinking about how nice some certifiable heavy-duty assistance would be, today’s the day to look into picking up a few stands. You’ll be amazed by just how much easier the work will be afterwards.