Building a roll cage

[mnido]

Don’t laugh, but I am contemplating building my own roll cage. I am a welder by trade for a Utility Company, high pressure gas mains Distribution and Transmission. I have done a lot of fabrication, but never any tube bending. I have access to a JD Squared bender, dies, and my own welding equipment. On some of the more complicated pieces I am considering using exhaust pipe and tubing bends to create a template for someone that can bend these pieces for me. Has anyone out there used exhaust tubing and tubing bends for this purpose ? I am confident that I can do this but want to hear from someone that has done this. Stop laughing..

 

[Apogee]

You could probably rough out some pieces that way, however the bend radius of the crush/exhaust bender and JD2 probably won't match, so it won't be exact by any means. If it were me, I'd just use ERW tubing and plan on making a few misbends...it happens, but ERW doesn't hurt the wallet quite like the DOM does. Once you've spent some time with the bender, you'll get the hang of it and even the more complicated bends won't seem that bad with a little thought and planning.

If you haven't read the Bending 101 on Pirate4x4, you might check it out: http://pirate4x4.com/tech/bendin_tube/. It gives some basic pointers that can help if you're starting with zero experience.

 

[68 Broncoholic]

I've seen some use plastic PVC templates but its still not 100% the same shape on the bends.

 

[Outlaw Bronco]

I build/bend my own cages, if you can get access to a bending program it's the way to go. Some can be down loaded free and have a limited amount of times one can use it untill you need to buy.

Even with the program it's still a bit of an art form. Take your time and don't be afraid of screwing up some tubing, it will turn out fine.

 

[SteveL]

I've got the smaller diameter 2" shoe and found that 3/4" emt and a manual foot bender is close to the samer radius for test bends.

 

[mnido]

Thanks for the input so far. And yes I have the link from Pirate, it is excellent.. Thanks