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The U-brackets can be made at home (I did it), but if I could do it over again, I'd purchase them instead. It's amazing how difficult it can be to get tight, 90 degree corners, with symmetrically-placed, identical holes. After spending many, many hours making my brackets (and scrapping the many rejects), I discovered just how cheaply they can be purchased. <Sigh>
Originally, I bought the square tube steel for my build at Metal Supermarket...nice & clean, rust-free, and perfect. But...the price of steel has soared so much, I don't know if I could afford to do it these days. Back then, it cost me a few hundred dollars for enough to do the whole build, more or less. These days, it would cost several thousands.
I use a lot of 1/8" plate for things like gussets, oddball brackets, mounting plates, etc. My favorite source is a nearby welding & fabrication shop, which always has lots of offcuts that the guy's happy to sell off at a reasonable price (below the going per-pound rate). A square foot of it goes a loooong way. He doesnt' advertise that he sells metals, but I suspect a few bucks for pieces that may sit for years otherwise is welcomed. He also has short pieces of 3/4" and 1" 18-gauge square tube, which is handy. I only had a foot or two extra at the end of the frame build, and inevitably there are bits & bobs you hadn't thought of & need more material for.
I'd suggest finding such a welding/fabrication shop near you & shmooze the folks there. Tell them what you're doing, and most of the fabrication folks I've met view home fabricators as kindred spirits, and happy to help.
_________________ Scratch building, at continental-drift speed, a custom McSoreley-design framed, dual-Weber 45DCOE carburated, Zetec-engined, ridiculously fast money pit. http://zetec7.webs.com/
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