Kennel DIY?

[DavidVT]

I have an ac/dc stickwelder and I have minimal experience using it....

So, is it possible for the welding neubie to stickweld 'no-climb' fence to box tubing?

I have seen some commercial kennels that gave me the idea. I have the fencing and I have the 2inch box tubing. I think the commerical ones must be using some kind of spot welder to 'stick' the wire to the tubing.

How would I do that with just the stick welder?

Thanks for any feedback,
David

 

[woodlandfarms]

I mulled your idea over for myself last year and then looked on Craigs List. There are so many sectional dog runs / fences that people are selling, no way you could build one for as cheap...

Just my .2

 

[DavidVT]

thanks.. I will look around.
I can't believe what these kennels retail for... wow

 

[woodlandfarms]

thanks.. I will look around.
I can't believe what these kennels retail for... wow

Yeah, Home Depot sells the premade sections (which is what we went for)... I got it for about a 3rd of what I would have paid for at the depot... It is self standing.. Gives the dogs night time bathroom privledges without meeting Coyotes, skunks or porcupines...

 

[chrpmaster]

If you already have the materials I would go for it. What do you have to lose? Obviously it probably won't look like the new store bought fence but that is part of the fun. Being able to say you did it yourself. Plus practice will make you a better welder. Get the right rod for the metal you are using (any welding rod retailer can help) and burn some metal.

Andy

 

[Renze]

So, you want to weld wire mesh to a framework built from tubes ?
Or make a barred fence with lots of vertical pipes ?

For the first, you could give it a try if you can get the materials for industry prices (consumer prices can be 3 times as high)

for the latter, dont mess with these pipes. Professional companies use a jig to space the bars, please save yourself the aggrevation of "just not getting the pipes in straight and parallel enough"

I worked at a company that made cow fences. believe me, if the professionals with the welding jigs are 5 times as expensive as your personal labor, they still beat you on price when using a jig !!!

 

[orangebluegreen]

I rebuilt my kennels a couple years ago and bought the welded wire side panels from Tractor Supply Co. They call them AKC Dog Kennels.
TSC ordered just the side panels for $49 though I think they have gone up. I considered horse fence but it is just nowhere near as strong as the 9 gauge (I think) welded wire panels and there are no sharp edges on the panels. I had considered welded wire cattle panels but they would have cost just as much and the dog panels allow my gate latches to latch right to the tubing of the next panel. Only bummer is they are cheapo China galvanized, not the greatest quality coating job but they look great when new. I had to store them on some rather caustic limestone outdoors while pouring my concrete and the month or so they were outside they started to rust.
The link doesn't want to work....the item is 3606033 on TSC website.

When I completely rebuilt my old building I spaced 4x4's at 3.5' intervals in the kennel area and used fastening clips to screw the panels to the 4x4's. The siding of the building makes the back wall, and there are pre-made gates at homedepot/lowes that fit that spacing (which is why I spaced them at that size to begin with). Topped off with dog kennel latches (NOT the regular farm type latch that dogs can open) and it works great. I need to get some pics of the setup but I am still using a video cam to capture and it does not do all that well, been looking for a new digital lately.

 

[Soundguy]

If I owned everything I might take a shot at it using a 1/16 rod ( 6013 if they have it ) ( tsc has the 1/16 rod ) and a low amp setting.. like.. 35a.. then take the wire mesh and start the arc on the tube and then just draw a lil bit over to the wire.. kinda like tack welding it on.. keep the heat on the thicker tube.. weld in position if possible... Fast freeze rods would be nice too. Don't need any penetration.. etc. I've tack weld repaired fertalizer spreaders with thin sheet metal like this before..

soundguy

 

[texbaylea]

We had a breeding kennel for years and found the fastest and cheapest way to build the fencing was using 1 3/8" top rail and gate corners. I made my main panels 6' high by 20' long. Put in intermediate verticals and strung 6" chain link fabric. Everything was standard chain link components. You must use the special kennel latches. Our Boxers learned to open any other latch so fast they were out before we could turn around.

The components:
1. Closed gate corners for top
2. Open gate corners for bottom to allow for the extension of the vertical rail to create a foot. Keeps the bottom rail out of the wet and pee. Really increases the life.
3. Panel clamps to hold the the panels together.
4. Gate brace clamps to clamp the verticals to the horizontal rails.
5. Clamp type hinges not pin type.
6. Stretcher bars and "C" clips to hold the fabric to the end verticals.
7. Heavy guage tie wires to tie the fabric to the rails. Our Boxers could unwind the light guage wires.
8. Drill bolts to fasten the corners.

Thats the major pieces. Sorry no photos available right now.

The advantage was the ability to customize the size to fit the location plus being the cheapest approach I found. It was also very fast to do. With one helper I could fabricate a 6' x 20' panel in less than 30 minutes. Just needed a sawzall and a drill/driver.

Vernon

Vernon