not always wood! dont dismiss ,,,,,,,,,,

[bretty666]

hi all, i dont know how many of you are diy'ers or how many have built or renovated houses, i have done a bit and so have learnt about a few different materials and tools, all i wanted to say was dont dismiss the humble metal stud rails, at not even 1€ a metre they are dam sturdy and easy to use/cut/assemble, you need two hand tools and you could make pretty much any straight edge shape you want with no screws, just the stud crimpers, im not too sure as what people will use this idea for but i made a big rectangular frame in minutes and put netting over it for when i want my chickens to clear an area of grass or weeds, there are plenty of videos on youtube explaining this method , if you dont understan this substitude to wood idea, or if its all gobblydygook let me know and i will try and explain a bit clearer, it was just an idea i wanted to put out there

[snohare]

Bretty, are you referring to those coils of flexible metal strips with lots of holes in them, that can be bent into different shapes or have things screwed to them ?
I've used that stuff in the past, but never known what it was called...at £1 a metre, not bad at all considering how useful it is.

[bretty666]

no, they are not coils, they are straight pieces normally sold in 2.5 or 3 metre lenghts and come in random thicknesses, the most popular being something lige 5cm² i will post a link but sorry its in french but its 1.89€ for 2.5m im used to this site which i why i chose to copy the french link, but there is a good pic on there, MONTANT 48MM LONG.2,5M MONTAGE DES CLOISONS / Magasin de Bricolage Brico Dépôt de ST HERBLAIN

[Bren In Pots]

Here's a link to a UK site :-

Unistrut U.K.

[bretty666]

similar bren but what you have posted are realy heavy duty 2.5mm thick and not used for plasterboarding, they are struts, the things i mean are .55mm thick really lightweight and cheap yet strong and can just be "stapled" together wuth a crimper and cuts easily with tin snips, ill find a uk link, as i say i posted the other link because i knew i find the one i meant straight away as i get stuff from there, i didnt even know what these were called in english til i posted this post, here you go
Stud track | C stud | I stud | stud & track 50mm
so the interesting ones fo us would be the c-stud 50mm any length you want and the track 52mm so to make a square you would ideally use 2 equal lengths of cstud and 2 equal lengths of track so on the left and right you have the c stud and on the top and bottom the tracking, and they just simply slot into each other then crimp, i did all my house plasterboarding using this and when i went wrong and had to undo a piec, i realised how strong the crimp method is! so its fast, its easy, lightweight , cheap, will not rot outside, and like i say, i dont really know what people will do with this idea, i just wanted to throw it out there, i know that in the uk most studwalls are done in wood, and i have managed to convert every english person i have helped do renovations in france by saying give up with wood! use these rail systems instead!

[taff]

got any picutres of them in use? I'm finding it hard ot visualise how they crimp together.....

[veggiechicken]

Me too taff - totally confused (but that's not unusual)
I'd like to see a photo of something made from them - apart from a house.

[bretty666]

i just made a little video of how it assembles using scrap pieces i have lying around,i didnt build the house with it, its just for making partition walls , ceilings and interior walls that need straight walls with insulation, i am uploading it to youtube as i type! so i will put the link in, its finally done!!!gyo rail video - YouTube

[veggiechicken]

Thanks - that's very helpful!! A couple of questions:-
Would the metal rust outdoors?
What do you cut it with?
How much strength do you need to use that crimper gadget?
Merci

[bretty666]

you cut the metal with tin snips (like scissors) piece of cake not sure of the rust just yet i have had some outside since january at this house and i had some outside for about 2 years at the other house and no signs of rust? i just searched the net for an answer and couldnt find a page that says they do rust nor a page that says they doesnt, i did see something saying they have an excellent rust preventing coating?
how much strenght do you need for the crimper gadget? my wife did all of our kitchen wall rail system on her own with it so 18 metres of wall, 1 rail every 60 cm with 4 holes minimum per rail so she did roughly 120 holes easy minimum , she did it easier with two hands though, i think if you have ever used a leather punch you could use this? i dont know its hard to give an equivelant pressure for you to know roughly the strehngt needed?

[Bren In Pots]

Thanks for the video it makes sense now

[taff]

very cool and definitely worth knowing.....

[snohare]

I like. I like very much. I see a solution to problems that have much vexed me ! Now I have to find a place that doesn't just sell in packs of ten, and find out how much that crimper is - or (knowing the price of specialised tools) if there is a DIY bodgit alternative.
Great idea. Thanks !

[Lazy Gardener]

What is it called? What is it designed for?

Alternative for the tool. Self tappers or a nut and bolt or a simple rivet or 2.

[veggiechicken]

Having find a pop rivetter in the shed, would that do it?