material tubing thickness

[willieworld]

when the nhra started sonic checking tube thickness (roll cage ) you would get your car sonic checked --if it passed you would get a sticker with the date stamped in ---if it failed the car was not allowed to race until all repairs were made --it sounds like to me the scta is headed in the same direction--that is just a guess on my part though--if you have tubing that you arnt sure of now would be a good time to get it tested ---the nhra had a mininum for .120 wall tube it was .118  and they had that mininum before they started sonic checking---  hope to see you all at  el mirage  --sheri well be making beef stew for sarurday evening around 7   everyone is welcome    willie buchta

[panic]

Done with this.

[willieworld]

yes   it means when the infraction is very very small compared to the whole that it shouldnt matter --it applies to criminal law--- just using cheating as an example ---your saying that cheating a little is o.k. or that lieing a little is o.k.  or did i misunderstand you   willie buchta ------  p s you spelled it wrong 

the tubing wall thickness is an nominal size not an exact size ---im only going by the scta rule book its the only one i have  

[Dean Los Angeles]

Scta does have one and from what I understand it will be used, so over the winter people can fix there  cars before next year. I think they may even have a list of cars they what a closer look at .

I can confirm that. There are a number of suspect cars on the list. Mostly older cars that rusting from the inside out is the area of concern. There have been problems in the past.

The other concern is the guy that makes his frame or roll cage out of muffler tubing. You can't tell by looking, so the sonic checker is going to be used if they have any concerns that the fabrication is suspect. I asked if the motorcycle guys would be using it and there are no current plans, but it is always available to them.

No plans to check every vehicle. Only spot checks are planned. New vehicles might be checked.

[floydjer]

Slightly off-topic,but...I don`t see a way to weld the verticle tubes 360 deg. and then fit the dia. pcs. into place w/out the uprights being at an angle. I wonder how much strength is lost in the joint if the parts are fitted/welded as 1 pc.?   Jerry

[mkilger]

Iam sure that some maybe  sent home ,but even more will be upset over the deal, if you built the car yourself you know what you used and didnt read the rule book, or you just have an old car that was built years ago by a farmer. good luck

[Bob Drury]

  About eight years ago I was approached by an aquantance who had purchaised a ex-record holding roadster found in a ad in Bonneville Racing News, asking if I would update the roll cage and redo the front suspension.
  Stupidly, without seeing the car first, I agreed to upgrade the car.
  Upon looking the car over, I noticed that on the main (3x2) frame rails that every place a bracket or crossmember were welded, the frame was buckled.  I also noticed that a bridge-truss type support was welded to the underside of the tubing from front to rear.
  I told the owner that the only way I would continue on the car was to cut the frame off at the firewall and use new tubing for the front half.
  Imagine my suprise when I cut the car in half to find it was constructed of .062 mild steel tubing.........thats 1/16th of a inch!
  Needless to say, I built a new frame for him.
  p.s.  we used the existing rear radius rods, and three years ago on the rough salt, the heim ends both broke at the welds...............know what you are buying...........Bob

[willieworld]

when he bought that car he should have taken a sonic checker  and anyone that buys a car now should do the same                        willie buchta

[mkilger]

since the late 70's and early 80's  the mig welder was new lots of people went out and bought one,now everyones a welder.  sure they have there uses but you still need to know how to weld. I just wonder how many cars are welded together with flux core wire. 

[Dean Los Angeles]

The nice thing about welding is that it is very visible. Someone that knows how to weld:



And someone who doesn't:

[mkilger]

Maybe you sould show them photos to the tech guys at elmo! LOL 

[mkilger]

and I wish I could spell as well as I can weld (should)

[Peter Jack]

The problem with MIG is that it can look good and have absolutely no penetration. Typically this will happen on a fillet weld where most of the heat has been consentrated on one leg. On the other leg the molten weld metal will just lie up against the leg without actually penetrating into the base metal.

Pete

[Rex Schimmer]

I get a lot of sh*t because I bad mouth MIG welding (mud guns) but when you TIG something you can see the weld puddle and and you can see the penatration and make it right! Again MIG is for building trailers and TIG is for building race cars (and race bikes Willie!!).



Rex

[Sumner]

I get a lot of sh*t because I bad mouth MIG welding (mud guns) but when you TIG something you can see the weld puddle and and you can see the penatration and make it right! Again MIG is for building trailers and TIG is for building race cars (and race bikes Willie!!).
Rex

I now have both a TIG and MIG and love them both and feel that one is not necessarily better than the other in all situations.  There are times when I feel much more comfortable with using my MIG on a structural weld on the car than the TIG due to the position of the weld.  In fact over 90% of the welds on the cars frame and cage area are with the MIG and I feel very comfortable with those welds (most were done before buying the TIG). 

Once you realize what Peter was describing you can make sure it doesn't happen with a MIG.  You can see during the weld and after the weld if you have penetration.  The major problem as I see it is that you are moving much faster putting the weld down with the MIG, so you have to pay attention to the weld puddle.  I agree that with the TIG you are moving along much slower and do have more control over the puddle but you find situations on the car that it is hard to get into a comfortable position for both you and the torch with the TIG.

My conclusion is if you are new to welding and have a MIG make sure it is a 220 volt and take a class or get someone that is a good welder to give you some instruction and don't just assume that since your welds look good that they are.  If I only had one welder that I could afford it would be a MIG and I would do more than build trailers with it  ,

Sum