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fully welding cage (underside)

I'm no welder so I have no input, however, I am about to start some cage work so I'm curious about the shrink / warpage. How big of a problem is this? If I tack the cage together and then pull it out for final welding, how much movement should I expect?
 
I did my cage where it is in the truck. Had it tacked together and welded each tube in stages and still had some pulling on some of the tubes. Nothing I can't live with. Heat is powerful.
 
nvrenuf said:
I'm no welder so I have no input, however, I am about to start some cage work so I'm curious about the shrink / warpage. How big of a problem is this? If I tack the cage together and then pull it out for final welding, how much movement should I expect?
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Its a problem. Remember a 1/32in of shrinkage at the joint will be huge 5 feet down a tube. That being said you've also got 5 feet of leverage to push that tube back to where it should be on installation. Times made a very good point, the tighter the joint the better. You'll get less pulling that way because the cooling of your tack wont be so rapid. I would recommend you tack each joint in 4 spots opposing each other.

Another good trick is a temporary brace. I cant stand building things with legs. I like to build things full frame because the piece have full support to stock pulling. That being said the way that translates into a cage would mean having floor bars between each point that ties to the floor. Its honestly unrealistic for what most want out of a cage. BUT theres no reason you can tack a piece of 1x1 angle iron between those open legs and knock it off after the cage is back in place.
 
Stomis said:
Its a problem. Remember a 1/32in of shrinkage at the joint will be huge 5 feet down a tube. That being said you've also got 5 feet of leverage to push that tube back to where it should be on installation. Times made a very good point, the tighter the joint the better. You'll get less pulling that way because the cooling of your tack wont be so rapid. I would recommend you tack each joint in 4 spots opposing each other.



Another good trick is a temporary brace. I cant stand building things with legs. I like to build things full frame because the piece have full support to stock pulling. That being said the way that translates into a cage would mean having floor bars between each point that ties to the floor. Its honestly unrealistic for what most want out of a cage. BUT theres no reason you can tack a piece of 1x1 angle iron between those open legs and knock it off after the cage is back in place.
Click to expand...


That's how I did mine. Used several pieces of angle to hold it in place while getting the rest of the cage to play nice.
 
Stomis said:
Its a problem. Remember a 1/32in of shrinkage at the joint will be huge 5 feet down a tube. That being said you've also got 5 feet of leverage to push that tube back to where it should be on installation. Times made a very good point, the tighter the joint the better. You'll get less pulling that way because the cooling of your tack wont be so rapid. I would recommend you tack each joint in 4 spots opposing each other.

Another good trick is a temporary brace. I cant stand building things with legs. I like to build things full frame because the piece have full support to stock pulling. That being said the way that translates into a cage would mean having floor bars between each point that ties to the floor. Its honestly unrealistic for what most want out of a cage. BUT theres no reason you can tack a piece of 1x1 angle iron between those open legs and knock it off after the cage is back in place.
Click to expand...

So your saying if a cage was built so all the legs were tied in together then there would be little to no shrink/warpage?

I plan on attemping to use the tips kert has shared but if that fails plan b is to remove and weld.
 
Braces across legs will keep em where you want them, but there will be stress there after welding. You would see that stress when you removed the braces and the legs went sproing. The good part is they would still sproing less than if not braced at all.

A lot of cages are full of bracing, gussets, etc anyways...so your cage design can minimize how badly it pulls and or moves.
 
twoslo4five0 said:
lol, Ive been welding and wheeling for years. I guess i should give it all up now and take up yarn collecting. you would probably also say all cages must be constructed out of dom or chromoly too right?
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Have you ever been in a vehicle that has rolled over, smashed pipe/dom against rocks, or witnessed an offroad multiple rollover where someone has died?
 
tRustyK5 said:
Braces across legs will keep em where you want them, but there will be stress there after welding. You would see that stress when you removed the braces and the legs went sproing. The good part is they would still sproing less than if not braced at all.

A lot of cages are full of bracing, gussets, etc anyways...so your cage design can minimize how badly it pulls and or moves.
Click to expand...

Right. But the idea would obviously be to bolt it/weld it back down to the floor before removing the braces. Any cage has tension in it. Its all dependent on heat input. Same reason why like Kert said, the age old adage of blasting it in hot is not a good thing in this given situation.



twoslo4five0 said:
So your saying if a cage was built so all the legs were tied in together then there would be little to no shrink/warpage?

I plan on attemping to use the tips kert has shared but if that fails plan b is to remove and weld.
Click to expand...

Rusty basically hit the nail on the head. Basic welding principle will benefit you in trying to prevent movement too. The bracing will absolutely minimize things. But cut up a couple pieces of .120 from a stick, notch them and get your settings dialed in. Keeping your heat affected zone even and the correct affected area will benefit you in not pulling the material around/stressing it.
 
GreenieK30 said:
Have you ever been in a vehicle that has rolled over, smashed pipe/dom against rocks, or witnessed an offroad multiple rollover where someone has died?
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yep and Im not having that debate in this thread. Just ask formud if ive ever seen someone endo a full size on 44s, 3 times without a cage.

I took this pic

attachment.php



thankfully ive missed the whole death part. I think you would be amazed how many rigs run around here built with hrew or $hit pipe. Lots of buggys you would not expect it.

This buggy all pipe, and he isnt afraid to use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQokm7jGaF4
 
Wow, bad situation for For Mud but great pic.
 
If you are building a sprinkler pipe cage, just weld the top and sides. :waytogo: Use galvanized fence posts to keep the rust away. :rolleyes: Try 110v flux core, should be good enough for that sch10.
 
as mentioned earlier, tight joints makes all the dif in the world.... when i get lazy and get gappy on them, I notice much more movement....
 
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