Steel fabrication is a challenging procedure that can save you money and give you a new hobby at the same time. For large scale steel fabrication projects, you might want to hire professional steel metal fabricators to do it for you. However, small scale projects are fully possible to perform on your own if you have some experience in handling steel. The most important thing for doing your own steel fabrication project is that you have the right tools for the job. In order to ensure that, there are a few things you should know.

Work bench

Regardless if you're working in your own garage or if you have a workshop set up on your property, a proper work bench is the most important thing to have in your working place. This is where you'll perform most of your work, and it's important that it's up for the task. Avoid a wooden bench, as you might need to weld on top of it, and you don't want to risk it catching on fire. Opt for a bench in metal to avoid this risk. You should also make sure it's heavy enough to not move around as you're working on it. If you can't or don't want to make it heavier, you might want to screw it to the walls and floors to make sure it stands completely still.

Air compressor

If you have a lot of steel fabrication projects going on, or if you plan on doing many more in the future, you might want to invest in an air compressor. This will save you money, as it gives you the option of buying pneumatic power tools rather than tools driven by electricity or batteries, which tend to be more expensive than pneumatic ones. It can also make the cleaning of your shop easier, as you'll be able to use compressed air to clean your projects from steel dust without having to actually touch it with your hands. Dust created from cutting steel can be sharp and injure you severely if you have to touch it with your bare hands.

Grinders

You also need to get one or more grinders to cut and sand your steel. There are many different types of grinders, but you should opt for a hand held one as this might be the simplest option for small scale projects. Grinders are useful for many different steps of the fabrication process, and you might discover that you need more than one size. Try getting the smallest possible grinder from the beginning and work your way up. This is because small grinders can be used on large pieces of steel, even if it can take some time, while large grinders might be very difficult to use on small pieces of steel. 

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