Fake mandrels

[woodwright]

What do you guys think about doing frame rails this way?










I did this to a piece of 2x3(what I had laying around), 2x4 .120 wall would be the same. This was in one of the truck mags a few months ago. Do you think it would be strong enough? Would you use thicker tube? I was thinking about maybe adding a piece of 1/8" plate on the underside for a little more strength.

[ChiefRocka]

That is plenty strong...although plating the sides would be better.

[N2TRUX]

If you want to keep it clean you could fish plate the bottom side. That would prevent it from sagging and still look smooth.

[Frizzle Fry]

That's a lot of f'n work (cutting, welding, grinding) and the cuts have to be perfect or it'll end up twisted. I've done exhaust bends that way before.

[woodwright]

Thanks guys. I don't really like how my frame rails turned out, and I saw that article and thought that looked really cool and alot cleaner.

Heres what I have now.


I did the crossmembers out of 2x2 to be a little diferent.

[scotts62]

looks good to me.

[noteron]

I have that article as well...that looks really cool, good job!!!

[Mrwlliam]

Ive seen this done elsewhere aswell.. i think it is strong.. like said above. add some plate to the outside and call it done.!

[smashingchuck]

For the amount of time it would take I think I would just order some mandrel bent frame rails from somebody. Plus as stated above it would be likely to twist, and IMO a straight frame is pretty important.

Also I think what you have already doesn't look so bad, just clean it up and paint it with some chassis paint.

[Twisted Minis]

Check these out:
http://www.welderseries.com/catalog/...p?cPath=22_125

I would be more comfortable using that on a high stress area of a frame. Going over the axle I would be okay with doing your way as long as the bags or coils where in front of the notch.

[scotts62]

Yeah those are cool.

I was going to pay someone to bend my frame rails for something different and the only place that could do anything that size was 150mi away and they wanted $300 each,if they would have been able to do them in one day it wouldnt have been so bad. They would have been a perfect match and a good place to start with a frame but it would have cost around $850 just for 2 rails fuel and time.. so yeah,um no. Joe231 helped me with his horizontal band saw.

[Twisted Minis]

I think you can buy pre bent pieces from Art Morrison or Auto Weld Chassis. You can buy whole backhalfs to your specs, and its not that expensive. I think Auto Weld starts around $500 for two rails with 3 bends each. I make the 2 hour drive to Chris Alston's with a diagram and they bend it on the spot. I usually bring my own tube since they mark theirs up a bit and I pay wholesale.

[abadsvt]

Originally Posted by Twisted Minis

I think you can buy pre bent pieces from Art Morrison or Auto Weld Chassis. You can buy whole backhalfs to your specs, and its not that expensive. I think Auto Weld starts around $500 for two rails with 3 bends each. I make the 2 hour drive to Chris Alston's with a diagram and they bend it on the spot. I usually bring my own tube since they mark theirs up a bit and I pay wholesale.

Thats cool! So do you draw up a drawing of the angles you want them to bend and just give them the tubing? Can they do compound angles? For example. Our frames when it transistions to the front crossmember section the frame rises as it also turns in towards the center of the frame. Do you know if they could do that kind of bend? Do you have an idea what they charge?

Josh

[woodwright]

I don't think it will take any longer than the way I did my first back half. And ordering one premade would be too easy. I checked with Chris Alston Chassisworks in the beginning, because thats where my ladder bars are from.
I think a set of rails was gonna be like $300 plus shipping. Not bad, but I would rather make it myself.

[bdydrp97s10]

if you were to run your rails like that.. i would at least plate the outsides of the rail.. but it wouldnt hurt to to plate the underneath too.

[Twisted Minis]

Originally Posted by abadsvt

Thats cool! So do you draw up a drawing of the angles you want them to bend and just give them the tubing? Can they do compound angles? For example. Our frames when it transistions to the front crossmember section the frame rises as it also turns in towards the center of the frame. Do you know if they could do that kind of bend? Do you have an idea what they charge?

Josh

I know that AutoWeld has a diagram they like you to use and put the engles and measurements on, and I just saved that and brought it to Chris Alstons. Its really not that expensive when you can pick it up.

The type of bends you describe I am not sure they can do. I would assume they would make two bends close to each other to make a similar bend, but the best person to ask would be the people that do it. I generally just get two straight rails.

[abadsvt]

Originally Posted by Twisted Minis

I know that AutoWeld has a diagram they like you to use and put the engles and measurements on, and I just saved that and brought it to Chris Alstons. Its really not that expensive when you can pick it up.

The type of bends you describe I am not sure they can do. I would assume they would make two bends close to each other to make a similar bend, but the best person to ask would be the people that do it. I generally just get two straight rails.

Thanks twisted! Next time i build a frame i will contact them and see what they can do.

Josh