Curiosity

A friend of mine has offered to show me how to weld while we build some rock rails for my Jeep. All I have to do is supply the metal. I'm going to be making them out of round, and square tubing (kinda like the shrockworks rails but w/ my own twist). My question is, what thickness do I need to make them strong enough to withstand a hard drop on a rock, yet still be as light as I can get away with? Also, is there a certain alloy that will serve me better than others?

NwiTACO

Square: 2x2 .120" wall, minimum

Round: 1.5" dia. .120" wall minimum, reccomend 1.75" dia.

You will be able to thrash pretty hard on these, without having them way a ton.

Curiosity

Thats what I needed

If I go w/ a thicker diameter tube (say around 2.5") for the outside rail (the part that can half way be used as a step) can I decrease wall thickness? I don't care if it dents when I drop on it as long as it doesn't completely fail and fold into my body.

metaulic

Engineering wise a thinner wall larger diameter tube will have more bending resistance than a thicker wall smaller diameter tube. I cannot comment on the dent resistance however. I say go for it but dont go too thin. 1/16 (.0625) is too thin I think. Try for something in between 1/16 and 1/8, maybe 3/32???

You friend may not want to weld alloy. Ask him first. Id stick to mild steel for good fabrication capabilities and aesthetics.

fourxfourjeep

Correct on the .120 wall(11 guage) I went with 12 guage which would be about 110. Also I used 1.5 inch round for the outside tube since I was putting a 40 degree angle to itso it would be a little more flush with the 2" square tube. Attached are some pics of how mine are looking (still need to clean them up and paint/liner them) PM me if you have any questions.

metaulic

Very nice!
How much do they weight?
How did you bend the tubes?

TEEJ

Generally, you need square walls to be ~ 1/3 thicker than a round wall, as round is stronger by itself than square....to get equal strength.

Less than 0.120 dents too easily in my experience...a CJ, sure ,its light, but the JK's a bit heavier, and the sliders are longer...so there's more force on them due to all the extra leverage.

I'd make 0.134 the new minimum for round tube sliders on a JK.

fourxfourjeep

Teej... Thanks for the heads up, this is my prototype set. I just decided to try something and went and picked up the stuff at the steel supply. I told the fabricators that I will do a little wheeling but not anything too extreme they recommend what I bought.

metaulic... Since my neighbor was out of town that weekend, I went to an exhaust place and paid them $20 for 4 bends. Granted those benders are for exhaust and push in the corners but it wasn't crushed. Not sure of the weight yet the scale is still in the bathroon

fourxfourjeep

P.S. this is my very first attempt with the welding in like 18 years.

Total price was $50 for the materials and $500 for the welder Guess I could have got the shrockworks for that price

Curiosity

yeah, but where's the fun in that?

btw, anyone know anything about airco gas mig welders? If I enjoy welding my rock rails, I've got a guy who wants to trade one for one of my 9mm's.