Stantion Base

I'm making my own stainless-steel stantion base & backing plate, which will be fiberglass embedded on the inside.  No leaks here.  S/S grab rails on the cabin top.  Toe boards will be, as per Hal Roth in "After 50,000 miles" attached to the stantions.  Jib tracks will also be backed with nutted s/s strap and glassed on the inside to prevent leaks.  Finally, I'll at least be able to close in the cabin overhead.
The right tools for the right job.  Thanks to craigslist I was able to purchase extremely cheap an old radial arm saw for cutting the 3" x 3/16" s/s strap.  I first tried using my chop saw.  Took forever even on the 1/8" and the edges were not straight.  Couldn't find a slide/chop saw and got the idea for the radial arm.  This this, if one knows how to use it properly will do almost everything possible.  Boy, Raymond DeWalt sure had a great idea when he invented it in 1922.  http://www.gallawayb2b.com/The-History-of-DeWalt
Then I quickly realized that drilling thick stainless with a battery drill was futile and very time consuming .... so, again CL came through with a never used drill press at half price.  Both of which I can re-sell when I'm finished.  I'll probably use them extensively when I get to the interior cabinet work.  Between the radial arm and the table saw I can have nice clean cuts.
I'm still waiting on the metal for the stantion base tube.  It was actually less to order it from Speedy Metals in Wisconson then to drive and pick it up locally.
http://www.speedymetals.com/p-4482-1-14-od-x-120-wall-tube-304-stainless-steel-annealed.aspx