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Roll Cage tubing, unbent raw tubing?


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Posted

Does anyone know where i can get some roll cage material (mid atlantic region)?

Posted

call the cage builders.

You can also call steel distributors in the area.

 

good luck.

Posted

please disreguard. I was reading the NASA rule book and it looks like all the piping must be mendrel type. Does anyone know if I can get a cheap mendrel type bender or something that will work? I dont have $4000 to spend on a real bender. or am i misunderstanding the statement in the rulebook???

Posted

yes, mandrel type. The cage builders in our area dont have mandrel bending equipment as far as I know. The proper tubing listed in the rules is DOM, drawn over mandrel, stay clear of ERW.

 

A good tubing bender can be had for 600-1000$ for what its worth.

 

I built my cage myself, but I have had a fair amount of fabrication experience and ahve done alot of welding. I wouldnt try to discourage anyone but I would reccomend that steps are made to ensure their car is safe.

 

Feel free to contact me off the board if you have any questions.

 

Are you planning to come to VIR in February?

Posted

by the way do I have to get the cage certified or something? thanks

Posted

You must get an annual tech either at the track or with someone that does the annual tech prior to an event. I had mine done at the track. They check the car over, measure the cage tubing thickness in a few places and if all is well they will issue a log book and stamp a serial number into the cage that corresponds to the log book.

Posted
Does anyone know where i can get some roll cage material (mid atlantic region)?

 

Speed unlimited has it, you can also check with,

Arundel Metal's in Penrod Court off of 8th ave in GB. About a 1/4 mile off of RT 2.

Boulevard sales on the corner of 176 and Rt1

Wolford bros in Glen Burnie

DS pipe and supply in baltimore

Posted (edited)

The materials

Tubing: The following are definitions of the type of tubing available for use in building your cage.

ERW (Electric Resistance Welded) stay away from this stuff, maybe practice with it, but do not use it to make your cage.

DOM (Drawn Over Mandrel) this is your preferred material for cage building, its mild steel, easy to weld and should be able to be found at any steel suppler it is created by drawing the steel over a mandrel form creating a seamless pipe.

 

The bending processes:

Ram bends: (not for cages!!) typical of what you seen in your stock exaust, the pipe is bent using a form that is compressed into the pipe resulting in deformation of the pipe wall. (Crimping)

 

Mandrel bends: (a possibility) This could be used to bend your cage tubing however I do not know of that many shops that use this process to bend DOM tubing because of the thickness of the tubing wall. This is the kind of bends you want to use in your exaust because the wall thickness is thin enough that other bending processes will deform the pipe.

 

Roll bends: one could conceivably create a cage with roll bends, as the bends do not deform the pipe wall, however the radiuses available using this process are typically too large to be reasonably used in an auto.

 

Rotary Draw Bends: This is the process typically used to bend the tubing used in cages and chassis. This process will typically not deform the wall of the tube (provided you are using the recommended thickness of tube +.125) and provide you will the tight radius turns you require. These kinds of benders can be acquired for $300-$600 depending on the features you wish to have.

 

To review

The material:

DOM tubing

The bending process:

Rotary draw bends

Edited by Guest
Posted

Very well stated.

I am fairly sure that there is a tubing type commonly used for drag cages refered to as ERW. Perhaps this is the same as the ESW mentioned above.

 

 

what is the martial?

 

...

The martial:

...

Posted

Quite correct it is ERW not ESW

ERW meaning (electric resistance welded)

 

martial is spellchecker for material.

for those of us who can't spell.

  • 2 months later...
Posted

Here's one inexpensive tubing bender:

 

http://www.jd2.com/

 

BTW, don't be fooled by the price of the bender. You still have to buy the dies...and the stand...and the extension handle...

 

Expect to pay around $700 with a 1 1/2" die.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
Here's one inexpensive tubing bender:

 

http://www.jd2.com/

 

BTW, don't be fooled by the price of the bender. You still have to buy the dies...and the stand...and the extension handle...

 

Expect to pay around $700 with a 1 1/2" die.

 

That is one of the best benders in the business. Many shops in my area use them and I am contemplating getting one myself to tinker with.

Posted

 

That is one of the best benders in the business. Many shops in my area use them and I am contemplating getting one myself to tinker with.

 

Dito. I want to add nascar bars to my race car and I have two friends that want my help fabricating a roll cage......I see help acquiring a JD2 in the near future....

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