I have this awesome chairlift chair from my local ski resort and I've got it all painted up and lookin how I want but I've come to an impasse.

The chairlifts total height is about 98in. tall from base to tip. The deck that i wanted to hang it from is 112-13in. leaving about 14 inches for leg hang. I'm looking for 18-20 for this.

So I've decided to try and make a steel frame for the base, then mount the chair on top of it, but I have no idea how do to any metal working.

I've got a little design made up in 3dsmax and I know all the angles I'm going to need to bend. Other than that, I need help.

How should I go about bending steel tubing? Should I use square or circular tubing? Is welding hard to do with no experience and what type of welding would you recommend for a novice?

I figure since this is the car forum atleast a few of you guys ought to have experience building roll cages, and this seems similar enough

This will probably go better in DIY, to be honest.

Circular or square I don't think really matters, but I am almost certain that it will be easier to find a bender for circular tubing. You want a standard tube bend as opposed to mandrel bending, because bunching up the metal increases its strength. Mandrel bending ends up stretching out the metal, making it weaker. A simple pipe bender will probably suffice, depending on how thick the stock you will use is and how cheap your bending is.

Not sure about welding as I've never done any (its on my to-do list), but I'm sure we have plenty of people who can set you straight.

Have you thought about 90 degree fittings and threaded pipe? You could use threaded flanges for the base where it contacts the ground.

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd180/earlbuttkicker/Flange1.jpg

I second the metal flange idea.

How heavy is the chair? That will dictate the size of pipe.

hmm that 90 degree pip fittings thing might work out well, but I'd like to have press bent tubes as that is what the rest of the lift is made out of.

You can get stainless steel tubing at an automobile muffler shop (they use stainless for the lifetime warranty work) and they have the presses and mandrels to make the bends to your specifications. I am not sure if you are planning to set the chair on the tubing or use the tubing to hang the chair. I am not sure if it would be strong enough for the latter.

I'm using it to make a standing chair, not a hanging chair. I'll check out the auto shop later this week and see whats up witht that

I'm horrible at approximations but the chair weighs probably 200-250 pounds. it's pretty damn heavy, when put together, it takes 4 pretty strong men to carry.

Too bad you can't hang it. Don't buy stainless steel; it's expensive and won't match the plain steel your chair is made of. Look up sheet metal or general metal sales/fabrication in your local yellowbook. They may be able to bend it for you.

I called around and found a few shops that said they could help me out for minimal cash if I supply all materials. I got every piece of sheetmetal I need sketched out on a piece of plywood. I'll get back at you guys with a picture of the finished product