Tapering the frame rails or how much stress does 2x4 steel hold?

 So over the last tow days various methods were employed to cut the almost 5' strips from each side of the 2x4 frame material necessary to produce the taper I desired.  Diamond blades in a skill saw and abrasive blades were tried but the steel kept pinching the blades.  I tried a scroll saw and that was ok but SLOW going and very hard to keep straight cuts for almost 5 feet.  

Finally I resorted to cut off wheels in my grinder and with proper care was able to achieve very nice lines.


The rail on the right is finished and ready to weld.  As you can see the seam is straight and plenty tight for a good weld.  The C clamp and the two bar clamps hole the top of the rail straight against another piece of steel in preparation for tack welding.

How necessary are all the clamps?

This is what happened after cutting the wedge from side one and making the first cut on side two.  The 2" outside edges moved toward each other 1 3/4"!



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