any good sites out there for doing tube work?
Printed From: Rocket City Rock Crawlers
Category: General
Forum Name: General 4x4 Discussion
Forum Description: Tech Talk
URL: http://www.rocketcityrockcrawlers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5550
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 9:10pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: any good sites out there for doing tube work?
Posted By: Tex62
Subject: any good sites out there for doing tube work?
Date Posted: 23 February 2009 at 5:39pm
|
Thinking like roll cage type tube work. Kind of interested in roll bars and frame support.
------------- Mike |
Replies:
Posted By: 78CJChic
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 8:05am
|
Are you wanting to do your own or are you wanting someone else to do it for you?
Bret does cages, but he's not cheap. He does good work for a fair price. I don't know if he'd be interested or not. You'd just have to ask him.
|
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 8:17am
| There is rumored to be a custom-fabber that just opened a metal-working shop in Decatur off of Gordon Terry Pkwy. I haven't seen it yet but I keep hearing people talk about it. From what they say, it's basically a machining/fabrication shop but the guy welcomes off-road vehicles to do cages, etc. I'll try and find out more or if this is even true and let you know. |
Posted By: scoutman
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 9:24am
|
I don't know if you are talking about Custom Fab or not. Nathan does good work for a fair price and is in Decatur. I think Danny sends most of his fab work there.
There may be another place that I don't know about. ------------- 76 Scout II in pieces 96 Jeep XJ 33's 99 Jeep XJ Limited 06 Dodge 3500 W5LZQ |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 9:42am
| Is it called Custom Fab? That may just the one I'm thinking of. Where is he located? The people telling me about him gave me a general area but that's all. They said just off of Gordon Terry Pkwy around the Yamaha powersports store? |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 9:45am
|
Yea that sounds like your talking about Nathan at Custon Fab. He does great work and did the roll cage in my jeep. Kyle |
Posted By: Tex62
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 3:30pm
|
Well was thinking about doing it myself. Not for the tj so it will be fine as a learning process. Thinking more like tips and sizes of tube would be best to use and such
------------- Mike |
Posted By: browning67
Date Posted: 24 February 2009 at 5:27pm
|
umm well all that doesnt matter unless you get a bender, which are like cheepest, $200
------------- 98 2door xj on krawlers -david |
Posted By: 83K10
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 1:22am
|
How good can you weld? If not really good is the answer, you shouldn't be doing your own tube work. http://www.offroadfabnet.com - http://www.offroadfabnet.com is a good place to look around. There's a lot of guys there that have been doing this sort of thing for a long time. I have a pro tools bender myself. Don't bother with the cheap harbor freight pipe benders. They don't work to well. I might be willing to rent you some time with my bender if you just want to do a one time thing. John |
Posted By: Tex62
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 1:34am
|
Well I got a guy than can weld it all for me because I'm not a welder yet lol. What size is common to use? I'm thinking 3in diameter but don't know on the wall thickness. ------------- Mike |
Posted By: bluetoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 2:05am
Yeah, and whatever you do, be sure you don't use pipe. It will explode with the slightest impact and will likely kill a bus full of nuns or any other innocent bystanders that may get hit by flying shrapnel.
I built these two cages with the HF bender and 1.250 sch 40 pipe, but for fear of my life I have strictly limited the use of these rigs to picking up groceries and cruising the mall.
  ------------- TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more? |
83K10 wrote:Posted By: Al
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 3:48am
I saw that coming.  |
Posted By: alabamatoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 5:33am
|
Im thinking 1.75 welded seam tube, .120 wall, right? Isnt that the commonly used "race car" tube?
Does anyone know of a site that has density (ie pounds per foot) of the various common tube sizes? I want to guesstimate what weight Im going to be adding. ------------- "If you didnt buy your 1st gen 4Runner new, then YOU are a newbie!!" BRC Life Member |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 5:50am
|
http://www.akrongear.com/tubing.htm - http://www.akrongear.com/tubing.htm
http://www.auto-ware.com/techref/tubeweight.htm - http://www.auto-ware.com/techref/tubeweight.htm
|
Posted By: Tex62
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 5:54am
|
Thanks far another good question.
------------- Mike |
Posted By: -DRM-
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 6:31am
How about you just ask someone with a bunch of it sitting around his shop to weigh 12" of 1.75/.120 tube and use that to guesstimate your added weight  ------------- DRM www.4x4spot.com |
Posted By: browning67
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 8:01am
you fill the tubes with sand to keep from kinking? ------------- 98 2door xj on krawlers -david |
Posted By: 94Blazer327
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 8:16am
|
Nope - cement..... ------------- www.DamnLocals4x4.com |
Posted By: bluetoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 8:55am
You can't be serious. Do you think I would actually fill the pipe with cement? .......
I wait till after I bend it, fill the pipe with water, and put it in the freezer. When the water freezes it swells out the kinked bends.
On really hot days I use kool aid instead of water. You can cover the end with aluminum foil and insert a popsicle stick. After they freeze you have a delicious pipesicle in the shape of your roll cage.  ------------- TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more? |
Posted By: alabamatoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:06am
RUBBER cement... ------------- "If you didnt buy your 1st gen 4Runner new, then YOU are a newbie!!" BRC Life Member |
Posted By: yotabj
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:14am
|
wow am I at Pirate? Share your Kool-Aid Nick
------------- 84 Truggy,39.5 Rockers,MRW BL,Dual ultimate crawler,30 spline Longs,114 wb,Stretched front 4.5",,22re,5.29's.."BLUETOY's HERO" |
Posted By: 87-toy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:25am
I think people are just mad they can't figure out how to use HF bender  ------------- Toyota |
Posted By: cj8lvr
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:31am
|
Theres a story in the Nascar world where Smokey Yunick was accused of filling his roll cage with wet sand, letting the sand dry overnight after inspection, removing the plugs at the bottom of the cage and letting the sand drain out the bottom.
http://www.nascar.com/2007/news/headlines/cup/07/12/smokey.yunick.crew.chiefs/1.html - Here's the whole story. ------------- ___/| [_\__\], l___l__L-O|||||O_ _()_)__()_)___()_) Jake White Owner of CartoTracks.com Trail Maps Past RCRC - VP Past Nat'l CJ-8 Scrambler Owners Association President |
Posted By: bluetoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:32am
Your just jealous that I didn't share this secret with you when you built your cage.  ------------- TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more? |
Posted By: cj8lvr
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:36am
|
Don't drink the Kool-Aid! ------------- ___/| [_\__\], l___l__L-O|||||O_ _()_)__()_)___()_) Jake White Owner of CartoTracks.com Trail Maps Past RCRC - VP Past Nat'l CJ-8 Scrambler Owners Association President |
Posted By: 94Blazer327
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 9:51am
Only if Jim Jones made it! ------------- www.DamnLocals4x4.com |
Posted By: yotabj
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 10:15am
|
I will trade my driving skill secrets for your pipe bending secret......
------------- 84 Truggy,39.5 Rockers,MRW BL,Dual ultimate crawler,30 spline Longs,114 wb,Stretched front 4.5",,22re,5.29's.."BLUETOY's HERO" |
Posted By: bluetoy
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 10:21am
Seriuosly though, I don't know who started this myth about filling the pipe with sand to prevent kinking but I see people post this all the time on other boards. I would just like for someone to explain how they can compress the sand tight enough to keep a kink from forming. The sand would have to be super compacted otherwise it would just be displaced as the pipe tried to kink.
The HF bender works great for a $70 bender. On tight bends it will cause the pipe to flatten out very slightly, but it does not kink it. I have built two complete exo cages, several bumpers, sliders, and a bunch of traction bars with my HF bender. I'd say it was worth the money. ------------- TOYOTA FOUR WHEEL DRIVE................need I say more? |
Posted By: yotabj
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 10:27am
|
The JD2 bender will make a 180 bend with zero flat spots on pipe, with a tubing die . I agree for the money the HF bender is well worth it.
------------- 84 Truggy,39.5 Rockers,MRW BL,Dual ultimate crawler,30 spline Longs,114 wb,Stretched front 4.5",,22re,5.29's.."BLUETOY's HERO" |
Posted By: browning67
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 11:57am
hmm..... ------------- 98 2door xj on krawlers -david |
Posted By: 83K10
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 12:16pm
|
The HF PIPE bender works fine on PIPE. Tubing however is a different size so it doesn't fit in the dies very well and smashes it. To be able to use the HF pipe bender I thought about taking some pipe and bending it to use as a shim to make the die the closer to the correct size. I'd use 1.75 .120 HREW or DOM depending on your $$$ availability. DOM will be more expensive but its a better grade of tubing. There's no reason to use 3 in tubing in a properly built cage. Even the trophy truck guys are only running 2 in. John |
Posted By: Tex62
Date Posted: 25 February 2009 at 12:45pm
|
Could use 2" probably wasnt thinking about how big 3" is lol
------------- Mike |
Posted By: jhall01
Date Posted: 26 February 2009 at 8:39am
The myth i heard was...
Ole moonshiners would bend the copper tubing they had and to keep it from kinking, they would fill it with sugar....
Then they could make all the twist and turns and no kinks...
Ive never heard any kind of filler for cages though. ------------- Cj-7 Ls-1=465=205=tons=44s Affordable Appliance Repair 256 533 9435 |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 26 February 2009 at 2:19pm
Maybe we could make moonshine in our cages while we crawl around. Thanks for the idea JR 
|
Posted By: Al
Date Posted: 27 February 2009 at 1:55am
See table 2 about a third of the way down here: http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Links/ - http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Links/ |
Posted By: J CROSS
Date Posted: 27 February 2009 at 2:10am
You could do it the hard way, just do the math. Steel weighs 490 lbs. per cubic foot . ------------- "The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them" Einstein |
Posted By: Tex62
Date Posted: 27 February 2009 at 3:39am
|
Read on a link las night that 1.75. .120 weighs 2 lbs a foot ------------- Mike |
Posted By: Al
Date Posted: 27 February 2009 at 5:15am
Pretty close:
|