im building a roll cage, i had the main loop bent at a exhaust shop. now im looking to build the part from the main loop, down under the roof then on the side of the windshield and down into the floor. everyone is telling me not to cut and weld. why is that? is it weaker that way? it would be much easier just to cut and weld the crap then have to load up the truck and bring it somewhere and pay some machine shop a hundred or so.

kinda a stupid question but i dont really know crap about welding vs bending strength

I would say if you are welding in premanufactured bends, sleeve them leave a gap and fill in with weld, no proplems. if you are going to cut two pieces at 45's to make a 90 i would say stress point and you would have to triangulate everything. Just my .02 cents never made a cage probably never will. And you know the first thing out of everyones mouth on here, what is your safety worth? If it worth building a cage, it is worth building it right.

yeah i am more or less going to bend it im just kinda in a hurry to get it done before next weekend before i take it out. heck last time i took it out it had no cage i just stayed off the funky hills.

i always thought that welds were actually stronger then the metal thats kinda why im asking

a buddy of mine is building a bender that takes 1 3/4 inch tube. i used 2inch. guess i can probably go and buy some 1 3/4 inch tube

yeah i am more or less going to bend it im just kinda in a hurry to get it done before next weekend before i take it out. heck last time i took it out it had no cage i just stayed off the funky hills.

i always thought that welds were actually stronger then the metal thats kinda why im asking

a buddy of mine is building a bender that takes 1 3/4 inch tube. i used 2inch. guess i can probably go and buy some 1 3/4 inch tube


why not just grab a 2" die and a 12ton bottle jack and go to town? i even used 14" rims to bend 2" sch40 before

why not just grab a 2" die and a 12ton bottle jack and go to town? i even used 14" rims to bend 2" sch40 before

Why.... Well I am the buddy with the bender... And He has tube not pipe , and he is trying to do it right. And I know I sure keep telling him to do it right. I don't wanna see , any of my buddys hurt .

i was actually thinking of heating it up and bending it over a rim but figured theres no way in hell id get it perfect.

ill just wait on the bender to be made. im just in a hurry. the longer i go without the cage the longer i have to wait to wheel :(

you can cut and weld. when you do, design comes into play more. You have to think more about strong nodes. Not to mention getting everything cut just right is such a pain in the ass. Bending is much easier. Is this for an internal cage? It would be very hard to get the cage to hug the roof line without bends.

For just a roll cage, I think bends are the way to go for a good strong usable outcome...

Is this for an internal cage? It would be very hard to get the cage to hug the roof line without bends.



yeah i got a s10 blazer with the roof cut off like a fullsize. i got the main hoop in and i need the bars to go from like the corners of the main hoop down the inside of the roof then down the angle between the door and windshield then down through the floor to the frame.

it is done all the time in desert racing. Pay attention to gusseting and you should be golden. Do not attempt this as a first time welding project.

This was discussed quite a bit in my build, check it out.

im building a roll cage, i had the main loop bent at a exhaust shop........

I'm surprised no one else caught this.

Dido they use a tube bender or pipe bender?

Many exhaust shops use pipe benders.
The sure fire way to tell is if there are kinks or ripples in the bend.
If there are, it is structurally weaker then properly bent tube.
So, toss it.

To answer your question, I guess if welded properly it could be done, but it just adds another variable that could cause a failure.

I'm not an engineer, nor a fab-guro, but lets look at a very simple cage design & imagine a roll.
Lets say you have two upside down U shape hoops for your A & B pillars.
(The ends of the U are properly attached to the frame/floor).
Lets say the roll causes to top corner of an A & B pillar to fail.

What happens if these two corners are welded & they fail (ie both welds break/rip)?
Most likely they will collapse completely.

Now, compare the same situation to two bent pillars.
It would require continued pressure to continually bend the corners.

Next imagine if it was a multiple roll.
If the welds are broken on the first roll, what happens on the second or third?

I built my exo for my blazer with only two bends the rest was cuts and welds.... After the first roll it seemed good but I put gusets on every corner with 1/4 plate worked pretty good took a while and alot of welding/ notching but it came out good and hasnt failed me through about 13 hard rolls and a few flops :flipoff2:

It's the whole pine tree versus oak thing, the weld is technically stronger than the bend but when the weld hits its breaking point its going to shear instead of give.

i used pipe fitters weld on 90's[black iron sc.80,about $3.oo ap.]you can cut them to make any angle you need,then sleeve them.very tough.you have to match the od's