Built my exo cage this weekend... Opinions please!

[xcm]

you guys cant even post a gif if it aint hosted on the site, pfft.
i never claimed to be an awesome fabricator, just more awesome than you.
and yes, my hands do work, unlike flexj's

 

[rweaver138]

 

[REWSTER]

and yes, my hands do work, unlike flexj's

from what i hear at least one of his hands works :gag:

 

[tribalmentality]

ok children...
lets get back to topic. interior gusseting is a must. other suggestions include lowering the roof bars, or maybe turning it into an incorperated basket? some bracing to the drip rail would help as well. plating some corners would also increase strength. maybe a v in front of the windsheild too. what about a hoop at the rear of teh interior from shackle mount to shackle mount? then tied into the other interior bracing?

 

[redrider2911]

Hey, overall first time. I would say not TOO bad. I have seen alot worse. Take alot of advice that is being given on here. Not everyone is a structual engineer or a primo fabricator but Im guess they spend ALOT of time on the internet studying new designs on cages and what they would like to do with theirs, seeing what others have done and what doesnt work or does work and what can be done to improve it. And im sure quite a few guys have seen a rollover first hand and have seen what it can do to a vehicle and the people in it. Maybe they just dont want to hear in the news about another fellow jeeper involved in an accident. AWW, how sweet, THEY LOVE YOU!
lol Alright, lighten the mood guys.
Now, Just because I dont know you, I would like to ask a few questions.
Do you have any prior fab and design experience or is this indeed your first project and your first cage all in one?
What kind of pictures of cages and other work did you study before you started? Did you ever browse around and chose features you liked from different cages?

K, now its been pointed out that there isnt any close up pics... So more questions, were you able to do full welds all the way around the tubing or you welded everything while on the vehicle and could only get the outside? If so, you need to fix that for sure.
I think what alot of the guys are seeing and thinking is why didnt he use the tube bender in some places, and in some instances use it properly. My GUESS, is you did the grill hoop first? Didnt compensate properly for the bends and needed to take material out of the middle to make it fit? Then the fenders, which alot of people think look great! From looking at the work I would say you spent most of one day doing those areas. The next day, you probably freaked out about time and didnt want to do the whole process to figure out where bends should be and such. It looks kinda thrown together compared to the fenders if you ask me. Your capable of good work. Just take your time. You dont HAVE to redo the roof and lower the edges if YOU like the look of it. You do need to do some internal bracing and gusseting like everyone else is saying.
Dont give up and get frustrated. Take your time when your doing projects. Do it right the first time even though it may take longer than you would like.

Kris

 

[truck7575]

I have no prior experience with any cage or custom fabwork, this is my first cage and major custom fab project but I have done everything else on the jeep from regearing to pulling engine/tranny and stuff myself. I did choose some features from some cages to take cues from. 3/4 of the welds go all the way around and the rest go about 85-90% around where the cage is just too close to the body to weld. How do I fix this without cutting it apart and having more welds to repair it which would weaken the cage even more. While building the cage I realized it was going to take longer than the time I had to completely finish the cage so my goal was to get the bending parts done and when I have time to complete it with gussets and triangulation inside. Just for my info whats the big deal about the rear top of the cage being a little high? I dont think it makes it weaker it just aint the prettiest thing in the world. This isnt a beauty contest unless you are a self proclaimed custom fabricator. I did think about making the top since its a little high into a rack. building a basket inside the tube work. Lastly, I have very thick skin but the problem I see here is I have only had a jeep for 2 years, granted I have did a complete drivetrain and suspension swap and a ton of other stuff, but as for , I am pretty new, I have learned a ton on this sight and I like to think I am getting pretty good at a lot of things but I really wanted to try a cage out. Now, is this the way you treat new people? I have two friends thinking about joining but I may tell them not too because some people (i.e. those with self proclaimed control of their fingers) are pricks to new people. Dude if you drove past my house and broke down I'd do anything to help you. Lighten up! Chill the @#%$ out! And have fun, I do this cause its fun to me and I hope it is for you too lets try to all be friendly to each other, I appreciate the feedback and it doesnt hurt my feelings. Oh and it was about 1000 miles round trip to the place where my friend that has the bender lives and I got there on friday and had to be back by monday morning @ 0900 to go to work.

 

[tribalmentality]

I have no prior experience with any cage or custom fabwork, this is my first cage and major custom fab project but I have done everything else on the jeep from regearing to pulling engine/tranny and stuff myself. I did choose some features from some cages to take cues from. 3/4 of the welds go all the way around and the rest go about 85-90% around where the cage is just too close to the body to weld. How do I fix this without cutting it apart and having more welds to repair it which would weaken the cage even more. While building the cage I realized it was going to take longer than the time I had to completely finish the cage so my goal was to get the bending parts done and when I have time to complete it with gussets and triangulation inside. Just for my info whats the big deal about the rear top of the cage being a little high? I dont think it makes it weaker it just aint the prettiest thing in the world. This isnt a beauty contest unless you are a self proclaimed custom fabricator. I did think about making the top since its a little high into a rack. building a basket inside the tube work. Lastly, I have very thick skin but the problem I see here is I have only had a jeep for 2 years, granted I have did a complete drivetrain and suspension swap and a ton of other stuff, but as for , I am pretty new, I have learned a ton on this sight and I like to think I am getting pretty good at a lot of things but I really wanted to try a cage out. Now, is this the way you treat new people? I have two friends thinking about joining but I may tell them not too because some people (i.e. those with self proclaimed control of their fingers) are pricks to new people. Dude if you drove past my house and broke down I'd do anything to help you. Lighten up! Chill the @#%$ out! And have fun, I do this cause its fun to me and I hope it is for you too lets try to all be friendly to each other, I appreciate the feedback and it doesnt hurt my feelings. Oh and it was about 1000 miles round trip to the place where my friend that has the bender lives and I got there on friday and had to be back by monday morning @ 0900 to go to work.

way to stand up for yourself. some guys around here have egos bigger than the globe. they need to be taken down a notch. we are just starting out, we ask for help, and they think they can flame us for asking. they need a reality check. im here for ya bro!

 

[truck7575]

Thanks! There is just no need or no purpose in crapping on someone who is wanting to support the industry and sport that you love! You should help them out not shoot them down!

 

[Trail Blazer]

my opinion here doesn't matter, cuz i haven't renewed my membership. but DAM! what the F**K happend to ??? i remember being friendly, full of people having fun and HELPING new people. Gawd, it was like reading Jeeps Unlimited forum here. Some people were nice, had helpful ideas for the noob. Others just couldn't get their "I have massive skillz ego" off of the flame.

I DID THE WELDING ON THAT EXO-CAGE.

i am NOT a pro. I DO NOT have a masters in mech-engineering.

I have only been welding for 8 years. Yeah, some of the welds looked like s**t, but i know they are strong.

We had 2.5 days to build his cage. When he got here on Friday afternoon, we built his rock rails. that took most of the day/night. It was hot, it was raining, it was misrible.

The bender is mine. the last time i had used it was 4 years ago. remembering how to use it was interesting.

so now we have little time left. we built the lower sections of the cage first, then started on the upper areas. by the time we got to the upper sections, we'd been going on 23 hours non-stop. did we mention we were limited on time?

Sunday, we spent welding all the seams and touching up areas.

We both met here on , became good friends. we never bashed each others stuff. we "tried" to make a good solid cage in the little time we had, And all (some) people could do was bash/flame him. pfft, my gawd people give a noob or two a break.

my 2 cents

PS, this is why i have NOT renewed my membership...

 

[truck7575]

PSS; I did a wee little bit of the welding, maybe 10%, just because I know he knows what he's doing and I am just beginning to learn to weld. Also he is right about the weather it was raining (pouring cats and dogs) for the entire first day and half the jeep was in the rain half was in the garage, and yesssss it was miserable. I second what he has to say and I hope some people can spread the word about this because it is a real problem I have seen in the short time I have been on ! I will continue to be the NOOB for a while but I am not gonna put up with people bashing other peoples work, it's crap and wrong! Kinda wished I only joined for 1 year! Please please atleast be nice!

 

[FlexdXJ]

i never claimed to be an awesome fabricator, just more awesome than you.

You didn't?

:huh:My hands don't work? Thats funny because i'm typing with them right now. Oh, I don't work with my hands all day or anything.

from what i hear at least one of his hands works :gag:

Hey, leave Rosie out of this! Truck7575 keep up the work, nobody likes xcm anyways.

 

[Darky]

PSS; I did a wee little bit of the welding, maybe 10%, just because I know he knows what he's doing and I am just beginning to learn to weld. Also he is right about the weather it was raining (pouring cats and dogs) for the entire first day and half the jeep was in the rain half was in the garage, and yesssss it was miserable. I second what he has to say and I hope some people can spread the word about this because it is a real problem I have seen in the short time I have been on ! I will continue to be the NOOB for a while but I am not gonna put up with people bashing other peoples work, it's crap and wrong! Kinda wished I only joined for 1 year! Please please atleast be nice!

Trust me, this ain't nothing. Go on Pirate. Pirate will lay into you just for fun. You gotta have a thick skin on the internet. If you don't like what someone is saying, you do have the option to click ignore.

 

[waxer]

I didn't see any bashing of the work. I saw the OP asking for opinions and he got a variety of opinions. If you don't like to hear the bad along with the good, then don't post up asking for it.

 

[truck7575]

Ok, I'm over the little kid stuff, Consensus is that I need gusseting and to work on the D-pillars along with internal bracing. My plans now include lots of gusseting, think about how I can fix the roof without a bender, and to do two pipes from the roof to the uni-body at the B pillar and connect by an X also another set of poles from roof to uni body connected by an X at the C pillar, at least two pipes connecting the stinger to the hoop over the front and when a bender is accessible again ad a v from the top to the cowel hoop. Any thing else anyone can think of for me to do.

 

[REWSTER]

Ok, I'm over the little kid stuff, Consensus is that I need gusseting and to work on the D-pillars along with internal bracing. My plans now include lots of gusseting, think about how I can fix the roof without a bender, and to do two pipes from the roof to the uni-body at the B pillar and connect by an X also another set of poles from roof to uni body connected by an X at the C pillar, at least two pipes connecting the stinger to the hoop over the front and when a bender is accessible again ad a v from the top to the cowel hoop. Any thing else anyone can think of for me to do.

after reading this i gotta ask, are you using pipe or tube?
cause i looked back in the thread and every post says pipe and you never mention what tube your using
you know there is a difference right?

 

[Trail Blazer]

we used 1 3/4" DOM tubing .120 wall

 

[justin_502]

To be quite honest, not bashing. I would take it off. A cage is not the 1st project to take on. It is one of the most important parts on your rig. CrazyJim hit this one right on. the 1.75 dom is the right meteral and will be plenty strong. But without the right bracing and complete welds you do not want a false sence of security. Plan this thing out more. Make some rock rails and build a few tube bumpers for your buddies. Get some hours under your belt before you tackle a job like this. Just think of the outcome if you took a MMA class then decided to get into the cage with Brock Lesner. Start small build up skill, its awsome that you are doing the fab work yourself and it seems like you guys are capable of doing it well. Dont rush it. If you need practice welding get those HD offroad frame stiffners, after all those plug holes you weld up you will be able to weld for NASA!

 

[kastein]

First of all, I agree, it needs more structure. However, I'm not going to bash you over it... you used the right material (DOM not "poop pipe") and asked for constructive criticism (xcm, that's how it is spelled fyi, clearly my hands work better than yours) which was provided by most of the people who replied.

One thing you can do to reduce your blood pressure a lot is just put xcm on ignore right off the bat, I have no idea why he feels the need to validate himself by ripping on people but it appears he does... yet he had to ask if he was doing things right while fabricating a tube truss on an axle a while ago. Same kind of common engineering sense dictates how to strengthen a truss, and how to strengthen a cage... so lighten up a bit man you don't know it all either and should stop being an internet tough guy over it.

Above all remember that it's just the internet and some people come here to be tough and tell other people they are wrong to make themselves feel better.

EDIT: oh... and anyone who thinks about reporting this post for "personal attacks" due to the second paragraph, look in the mirror first and then go over this whole thread and report EVERY post that attacks people more than mine does, or just realize that I'm saying this as nicely as I can and see it as the honest truth.

 

[DoctorPhate]

I have to agree with the majority here. You did a much better job on your cage than I would have done and I commend you for trying.

However, this is a safety feature that even a well built looking cage can fail. That cage surely fail. Honestly man I think it would be best to take it down and try to recoup some cost and use it as a learning experience.

Personally even with 5 years of welding behind me(not all that often though) I still wouldn't attempt a cage. I'm worthless at designing stuff and cages I thought looked safe have failed from a small flip. I'm getting my cage done professionally for that reason.

 

[truck7575]

I have used 0.120 wall 1 3/4 DOM tubing for the whole project, I guess I have used both the terms pipe and tube throughout the thread.