Cage material

[homebrew]

Can I use square box tube to build a cage?? what are the benifits/disadvantages of using square box over round tubeing???

Newb please be gental =)

 

[BrettM]

can you? yes.

should you? no.

 

[ponyracer1]

Square tubing has a welded seam and is not the best choice for cages. I use only .120 wall 1 3/4 DOM. Kind of like the old saying, "A cheap head goes in a cheap helmet."

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Square tubing has a welded seam and is not the best choice for cages.

so does round tube if you don't get DOM (...and DOM technically has a welded seam, too)

 

[ponyracer1]

yea yea, I figured someone would pipe up about that. ERW has a welded seam and is CRAP, buddy brought over some of that for his sliders and I'll never use it again. Full of thin spots and it was contaminating the weld from all the crap burning off. I may have just got a bad peice but I wouldn't trust my life to that sh*t.

 

[Roxtar]

yea yea, I figured someone would pipe up about that. ERW has a welded seam and is CRAP, buddy brought over some of that for his sliders and I'll never use it again. Full of thin spots and it was contaminating the weld from all the crap burning off. I may have just got a bad peice but I wouldn't trust my life to that sh*t.

SPOBI
Then he bought crap tube, probably got a deal on rejected junk.
There is nothing wrong with elect welded seamed tube. The strengths are very close (if you buy decent stuff).
EW and DOM are the same thing except for DOM being drawn through/over a die after it's welded.
The main purpose of this is to eliminate the seam on the inside for honing/fitting, not for added strength.

 

[C-ROK]

SPOBI
Then he bought crap tube, probably got a deal on rejected junk.
There is nothing wrong with elect welded seamed tube. The strengths are very close (if you buy decent stuff).
EW and DOM are the same thing except for DOM being drawn through/over a die after it's welded.
The main purpose of this is to eliminate the seam on the inside for honing/fitting, not for added strength.

and to provide a more uniform dimensional tolerance.
The cold working mandrel draw process does increase the tensile of DOM some over ERW.
ERW has a tensile of 55,000psi; DOM 70,000psi and 4130 90,000 psi.

Absolutely nothing wrong with using EWS.

 

[andyr354]

I have to laugh reading some threads on this subject. Nothing wrong with overbuilding for safety if you want to.

I have seen many racecars take very hard hits. Most all racecars on the dirt circuit are running .090 HREW. Holds up great.

 

[XJ_ranger]

well race cars are designed to be lightweight, not have 1/4" thick plating on the bottom, 400 lb bumpers, 1 ton axles, coolers, camping gear, and whatever else in them...

comparing the two isnt worth your time...

 

[cagedxj]

I use 1 5/8" .135 ERW. It was just a carry over from my drag racing days. If it is good enough for 200+ mph crashes it will...and has worked fine for me.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I use 1 5/8" .135 ERW. It was just a carry over from my drag racing days. If it is good enough for 200+ mph crashes it will...and has worked fine for me.

hey....that's what I used also

 

[RCP Phx]

Seamless DOM is a separate animal.I just spent a fortune on some.
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=58346
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=82804

 

[LBEXJ]

can you? yes.

should you? no.

If you don't mind Brett, please elaborate on why square tube should not be used ... just to satisfy my curiosity. I know, asthetically, it would not be prefered, but ...

Thanks ...

Les

 

[MaXJohnson]

well race cars are designed to be lightweight, not have 1/4" thick plating on the bottom, 400 lb bumpers, 1 ton axles, coolers, camping gear, and whatever else in them...

comparing the two isnt worth your time...

F=MA

maybe it isn't worth "your" time

 

[BrettM]

If you don't mind Brett, please elaborate on why square tube should not be used ... just to satisfy my curiosity. I know, asthetically, it would not be prefered, but ...

Thanks ...

Les

asthetics is certainly a large part of my reasoning. also, I have no doubt a safe cage could be made from square tube, but all the mitered and welded corners create many more potential weak points. much of my reasoning also comes down to the whole "if you need to ask, then the answer is no" thing, since people that need to ask about this generally don't have the knowledge to execute it properly.

 

[MaXJohnson]

asthetics <> bootyfab

If your wife and sister are the same person, a square tubing cage makes a lot of sense.

 

[Roxtar]

To me the biggest hurdle to a square tubed cage is the bending.
Bending square tube causes the sides to collapse, killing the strength. I suppose you could cut, miter, and weld every "bend" but that would be a rediculous waste of time.

BTW, putting down an idea, or worse, putting down the person who asked about it, without knowing why is far stupider (yea, I know, stupider isn't a word but it fits here) than asking about an idea in the first place.

 

[cracker]

asthetics is certainly a large part of my reasoning.

:laugh:

Yeah right. Like you ever had a concern for that.

 

[BrettM]

:laugh:

Yeah right. Like you ever had a concern for that.

feel free to disagree, but I like the way my MJ looks.

and look, my tube is round!

 

[badron]

SQ tube general twist much easier. A twisting sq tube will not load the weld at it's end near as evenly as a round one. A sq tube will not take a hard impact as well. Getting a good weld at the conners of sq tube can just be a bitch!!!!.