"Randy Zimmerman" wrote in message
news:faGbe.1141502$6l.811496@pd7tw2no...
| Weld it.
| The most difficult tube to fit is one that is cut perfectly square. First
| level your drum whichever way you like. Next check your tube end and find
| the longest corner. Stand your tube vertically and tack weld the long
| corner to the drum. The tack should be about an eight of an inch long.
| You can now hinge the tube to vertical with a nudge or two. Take some of
| your electrode stub ends and hammer a tapered flat on one end using an
anvil
| or heavy piece of plate. Use one or more as a wedge to slide under the
| opposite corner of your tack to hold your tube vertical. You can now put
a
| second tack between your tube and drum base. Check with your square that
it
| is still vertical.
| Don't bother taking your little wedges out until you have some decent weld
| on the joint. Most of the time you just wiggle and snap the projecting end
| off leaving the remainder in the gap.
| Don't weld all the way around your tube unless you want to make it
| permanent. If you weld two opposite sides then all you need to do to take
| it apart is to grind one weld out with an angle grinder and hit it with a
| sledge. The ground out weld will snap and hinge on the opposite weld
| breaking away
| Randy

That's pretty much what I'd been doing, but the idea of making a wedge
out of a stub is an excellent one. Would have made things easier, that's
for sure.

What I didn't mention is that the two inch tubing is inside the four
inch channel, which means I have an inch of clearance to get to the root on
the sides and not enough room to get my grinder in the open sides either.
I'd have spent more time grinding out my crappy welds than putting any in
had I been able to do that!