In bed frames rivets are used as fasteners, is there some reason rivets are preferred or can it be welded. Can the bed rails be safely used in projects where the size is appropriate to the project?

bed rails are made of tempered steel ...if they were welded it would remove the temper
I've made a number of stands out of them. the best part is most of the time they are free.

There was a big thread on another forum about bed rails and it turns out that most are made by one company that uses old r.r. rails for them.
Here is a link.
Chemical & Mechanical Properties of Rail Steel Angles

Bob

One drawback is cutting them, you cut them with a bandsaw or hacksaw they will dull the blade in a quick hurry. Always cut them with a friction wheel, such as a chopsaw or cutter wheel on a grinder.

forgot they also make good hardy cut off tools. as noted above... they mess up your saw blades...same goes for drill bits

I'd hate to try it on a bandsaw considering what they do to my chop saw blades too. I prefer O/A if I have the torch topped up.

They do a number on dry cut saw blades too. Will never make that mistake again. Abrasive, torch, plasma are the best bets. You can do some neat stuff with them though.

Never had a problem welding the stuff.

i dont know if its true or not but i heard that their brittle, though i used bed frame for the frame of a little lawm mower trailer

I've used hundreds of linear feet of them, they are free in the trash in most cities, plus they get dropped off here by everybody. Oh you're a blacksmith, you can use these.

They are hard, but WILL cut fine on a bandsaw if you have a good blade and the right feed. I've never had trouble cutting them. I weld them mostly, but have drilled them, I use Cobalt drills without incident, although they will drill with reg HS drills, it is crunchy.

Stock racks, shelf brackets any 1/8 angle projects around the shop. Free is the price, and easy to deal with.

A good bimetal blade in the band saw works fine. They're thin and flexible so if you try hogging the cut it'll vibrate and eat your blade.

You can drill them with HS bits if you normalize it first. Chuck up a short length of HR round rod, say 1/4" in your drill. Put it against the spot you want to drill, hit the switch or trigger and lean on it till it turns red. Let it cool and drill your hole.

You have to use a piece of rd stock large enough to heat enough area for the drill bit of course.

Bed frames good. Mmmmmm.

Frosty

Hmm, never thought about it, but I've cut, drilled, and welded on them with out much trouble, maybe they were cheap metal, or I just didn't notice. anyway they are easy to get!

If you get an old high C one they make good quick and dirty corner chisels for woodworking