Welding thread!!!!
12-21-2017, 09:48 PM
#2386
::CF Administrator::
It's all about $$$.
What wall thickness are you thinking of running? You need a bender and die set capsble of that. A decent bender will run ou about 700, but dies can be anywhere from 3-500 bucks.
I don't have any experience with square tube dies. Quite frankly for offroad fab, square tube is not used, for good reason, it's not as strong.
That said, someone out there probably makes something that would fit your bill, but it may be hard to find, and expensive to do right.
What wall thickness are you thinking of running? You need a bender and die set capsble of that. A decent bender will run ou about 700, but dies can be anywhere from 3-500 bucks.
I don't have any experience with square tube dies. Quite frankly for offroad fab, square tube is not used, for good reason, it's not as strong.
That said, someone out there probably makes something that would fit your bill, but it may be hard to find, and expensive to do right.
12-21-2017, 10:12 PM
#2387
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Year: 97
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It's all about $$$.
What wall thickness are you thinking of running? You need a bender and die set capsble of that. A decent bender will run ou about 700, but dies can be anywhere from 3-500 bucks.
I don't have any experience with square tube dies. Quite frankly for offroad fab, square tube is not used, for good reason, it's not as strong.
That said, someone out there probably makes something that would fit your bill, but it may be hard to find, and expensive to do right.
What wall thickness are you thinking of running? You need a bender and die set capsble of that. A decent bender will run ou about 700, but dies can be anywhere from 3-500 bucks.
I don't have any experience with square tube dies. Quite frankly for offroad fab, square tube is not used, for good reason, it's not as strong.
That said, someone out there probably makes something that would fit your bill, but it may be hard to find, and expensive to do right.
12-22-2017, 03:09 AM
#2388
No, I don't lick fish.
You are absolutely right. It is going to be a lot of intricate cutting but I think it will be worth it in the end. The idea is to cut slots into the factory pillars on the inside and embed the box tubing into the pillars. They are also curved from the bottom to the top slightly but using box will make this much easier to mate up along side of the box flats even though the pillar is curved slightly, with round this would be impossible to get right.
And the roof is indeed bowed from front to back about an inch. But the factory roof is coming off and getting trashed. And the gutter is straight and flat and this is what I will be working with. So as long as I bow my side to side roof pieces about 4 inches total to get the head room back side to side, I can afford to lose that inch of bow front to back that the factory roof had.
But I think hybridizing the box cage inside the factory pillars will help strengthen each other yet I can retain my door jams and side sheet up to the gutter piece running front to back.
And the roof is indeed bowed from front to back about an inch. But the factory roof is coming off and getting trashed. And the gutter is straight and flat and this is what I will be working with. So as long as I bow my side to side roof pieces about 4 inches total to get the head room back side to side, I can afford to lose that inch of bow front to back that the factory roof had.
But I think hybridizing the box cage inside the factory pillars will help strengthen each other yet I can retain my door jams and side sheet up to the gutter piece running front to back.
Thank you for the information and I keep hearing that box is not as strong, and it isn't, but I'm hoping someone might agree that a cage even made with box is going to very substantially stronger than the factory skeleton which has the ductile strength of lead. I don't want to race it, I just don't want to get squished inside of it again as easy as it did. I have to put a new roof on this and something is better than nothing. And with box I can make the sharp corners the factory skeleton does happen to have. I can kill three birds with one stone and make it quite a bit stronger than factory as I'm replacing the roof.
12-22-2017, 04:32 AM
#2389
No, I don't lick fish.
Sheesh! Kudos to Matt for going out and burning a hundred bucks on the HF welder just to post this.
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
12-22-2017, 06:52 AM
#2390
::CF Administrator::
Sheesh! Kudos to Matt for going out and burning a hundred bucks on the HF welder just to post this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-pjPgdfdvM
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-pjPgdfdvM
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
Night and day difference. Eliminate the BS, and get a decent welder right off the bat. One less set of variables to deal with.
12-22-2017, 06:41 PM
#2391
No, I don't lick fish.
Now I'm saving up for a better one. 'Cause I know I can weld better than I do and the ****ty HF welder is holding me back. I can only imagine the people that have been deterred from welding because of this thing.
12-22-2017, 07:48 PM
#2392
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Year: 1993
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Sheesh! Kudos to Matt for going out and burning a hundred bucks on the HF welder just to post this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-pjPgdfdvM
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-pjPgdfdvM
Really hard to argue with those results. You really do get what you pay for with the cheapy welders!
It's funny, when I first stumbled upon the BleepinJeep channel many months ago I thought he didn't have the outgoing personality to be a popular YouTuber but he does grow on you and I watch almost all his videos now.
12-22-2017, 08:35 PM
#2393
No, I don't lick fish.
Cool video. And I agree. But... a true MIG vs a wire feed with no gas is probably the biggest difference. I used to have a Lincoln wire feed and it was almost as bad as that HF one that he bought. At work I use a Miller MIG similar to his (not sure what model) and it's a thousand times better than welding with no shielding gas.
It's funny, when I first stumbled upon the BleepinJeep channel many months ago I thought he didn't have the outgoing personality to be a popular YouTuber but he does grow on you and I watch almost all his videos now.
It's funny, when I first stumbled upon the BleepinJeep channel many months ago I thought he didn't have the outgoing personality to be a popular YouTuber but he does grow on you and I watch almost all his videos now.
12-23-2017, 08:40 AM
#2394
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Thank you for the information and I keep hearing that box is not as strong, and it isn't, but I'm hoping someone might agree that a cage even made with box is going to very substantially stronger than the factory skeleton which has the ductile strength of lead. I don't want to race it, I just don't want to get squished inside of it again as easy as it did. I have to put a new roof on this and something is better than nothing. And with box I can make the sharp corners the factory skeleton does happen to have. I can kill three birds with one stone and make it quite a bit stronger than factory as I'm replacing the roof.
12-23-2017, 08:47 AM
#2395
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12-23-2017, 09:06 AM
#2396
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12-23-2017, 09:18 AM
#2397
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Thing is... Have you ever tried to mate up an uneven line against a curved surface on a long span? It's next to impossible to make it right. It is much easier with a flat surface which is forgiving and will allow for imperfections in the line. Read more about how I want to embed it "into" the existing factory pillars and along the top gutter line. To reattach the sheet back to the cage if it is rounded is going to be next to impossible to get it right. Box will give me flat surfaces to attach to and be much more forgiving and much easier.
12-24-2017, 10:16 AM
#2398
CF Veteran
a weak or badly built cage isn't better than nothing. if it were to come apart in a roll over, it can kill you.
12-24-2017, 10:33 AM
#2399
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You have a very valid point and I completely understand it. But it would be like comparing it to the argument that seat belts can kill you. How often has this actually happened compared to how many times seat belts have saved someone? Nothing is completely fool proof and there are always variables that nothing could survive. I know one thing... These might as well be a convertible with no cage at all with just the factory skeleton.
12-24-2017, 11:02 AM
#2400
::CF Administrator::
Bugout, do it, and post it up. It's your ride, and your decision. Sounds like you know the pros and cons now, plus it's different.