tools for building a tuber

[xmaxxboyx]

ok i wanna take a whack at building my own tuber. and i want to know
1.) what is a good cheap torch (like a butane mini torch) to braze with,
2.)what is a good tool to cut brake line with?
and
3.)whats a good bender for the brakeline, or should i just make a jig and bend it by hand?
thanks
chris

[BENDER]

This will get you pointed in the right direction.
http://rccrawler.com/tuber.htm

[Will]

This will get you pointed in the right direction.
http://rccrawler.com/tuber.htm
I was also thinking the same thing. That is a great article but it doesn't say what torch he uses. -Will

[BultacoJim]

I “think” Jay uses either the Prestolite or something similar.
I think his site used to show a picture of his torch.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8871/prestolitetorch9fm.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I use a Victor medium duty right now.
It’s a little large for Brake Tubing though.

I think this one is more suited for the RC Hobby:

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/5146/mecotorch3lb.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Meco Midget Torch $ 115
Torch + Victor Regulators $255
Source: http://www.tinmantech.com/html/meco_midget_torch.html

FAQ from the “Tinman” http://www.tinmantech.com/html/faqs.html

[Will]

I found these:
http://www.littletorch.com/kits.html
Which one do yall suggest?

[aubie]

Lowes has an oxy map gas rig for around $50 I think. It will take about 4 bottles of oxygen to build a tuber.

www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=98894-000000717-OX2550&lpage=none

[Will]

I am getting one of these:
http://tsijeweltools.com/merchant.ihtml?id=139&step=2
Thanks for the help guys! -Will

[thaclodking]

Not to sound like a jerk, but I would steer clear of those kits that use the map gas and disposable oxygen tanks, the cost of oxygen tanks over time would far exceed the cost of a decent refillable portable torch set. You will go through about 15 bottles of oxygen before you run out of map gas. At roughly 7 dollars a pop (depending on location, around Omaha they run $8), versus refilling a cylinder at $10, the bigger torch will pay for itself. Plus with the refillable setup you will see how much of both gases you have left by checking guage pressures, it sucks to be in the middle of brazing a joint and run out of oxygen.

If you don't plan on building more than a couple of chassis, the small rig will do just fine, but if you plan on doing more than that I would definitely check out the refillable option. It will allow you greater capabilities and it will look great on your bench as well!

[xmaxxboyx]

hows this http://www.blazerproducts.com/tools/bigshot.html
that doesnt show a price, so can someone please recomend a torch for about $30

[aubie]

You pretty much need oxy and mapgas or acet for brazing with hi temp silver solder. You can do it with low temp and map gas but its not going to hold very well. One good rollover and your probably going to crack half your joints with low temp. As far as cutting brake line a dremel with a cutting disc works fine. As far as bending it I use a piece of 3/4 oak plywood with three 3/8 wooden dowls int it.
Two on the same line placed about 1 inch apart and the third about 1/4 inch below one of the top ones basically an L shape. This works good for me and you usually get a good bends (not flattening out the tube)

Hope this helps.

[Kur]

all i have is a propane torch.

i have no idea how it would work on brake tubing. works ok for installing a water heater though.

any thoughts?

http://x2.putfile.com/8/23102341379.jpg (http://www.putfile.com)

[Zapper2003]

a propane torch burns even cooler yet than a mapgas torch alone. Definitely find some sort of oxy/acetaline setup.

[TwistedCreations]

take off your propane bottle and screw on a mapp bottle, since propane doesn't get hot enough...use a grinder w/ cutoff wheel or dremel to cut brakeline or even a hacksaw if needed... make a jig for smaller radius bends and get a decent brakeline bender w/ degree marks on it. then make sure you get the Harris safety silv and the white flux to go with the safety silv.don't use plumbing solder.. then get busy.. it's that simple...

You can buy one of those kits that use oxygen and mapp. i use one also sometimes. it gets the job done faster than just mapp, but just mapp alone will work.with the mapp/oxy kit, you will go through 2 bottles of oxygen to 1 bottle of mapp and the oxygen bottles are $8 a bottle. I also have a set of portable torches and they are just too big for this type of work.

[Jeeprockcrawler]

I was wondering if you could use a mig welder???

[MOCRAWLER]

i've got a miller 210. i tried it with.030 wire. it was too thin for me. you may be a better welder though. :roll:

[TwistedCreations]

the only time i use a welder ( which is a 110, not a 220 ) is when doing solid rod or just tacking some brakeline in place so i can braze it. that way i don't need all kinds of crap to hold it in place while i braze. anytime i try to weld brakeline, i just burn through it.. but once you get brazing down pat, it is alot easier and cleaner than welding ;-)

[bktoys]

i bought a micro jewlers torch $110 @ the gauges were $50 bucks each at weldingdepot.com ,oxy-ace bottles$120

[Nasty]

why not tig it or get someone to do it for you yall live out west around oil fields welders should be all over the place you can tig anything if you know what your doing if you cut & bend everything they shouldnt be much of a charge to do it just a thought :twisted:

[roktoy]

One problem with MIG welding is getting the welding nozzle in tight places. TIG could work well but getting the nozzle and the rod into tight places would make it pretty difficult. One advantage to brazing is you can kinda get the braze rod to flow "around" the joint without having the torch at every angle on it. Can't do this as much with an arc weld process.
Jay

[Ace]

I have one of those $360 cutting/welding oxy acy outfits like they sell at Home Depot. Works pretty good but the torch is a little big and akward for a tuber.

So I picked up one of the littletorches like posted above. The thing works great, I'm VERY happy with it. I just attached it to my bottles from the Home Depot rig.

I got mine at A2ZMetalsmiths in Denver... Great place to buy stuff like this in Colorado. They mail order too. www.A2Zmetalsmith.com

They sell two kits propane/oxy and act/oxy. Mine has the bigger tips, prop/oxy I think. The smallest tip is about unusable (for r/c) so I'm glad I got the bigger tips.

[Nasty]

you dont have to weld all the way around with tig as the weld is stronger than mig or arc that is why most pressure vessels are tiged is its strength but just a thought brazing is good but honestly to turn a welder down enough to weld that thin of tube you would not have a strong weld although with the rod you wouldnt have the problem with burn through & would be better :twisted:

[roktoy]

you dont have to weld all the way around with tig as the weld is stronger than mig or arc that is why most pressure vessels are tiged is its strength but just a thought brazing is good but honestly to turn a welder down enough to weld that thin of tube you would not have a strong weld although with the rod you wouldnt have the problem with burn through & would be better :twisted:

Man....is that all one sentence???

If you don't weld fully, how do you make the joint look good?

"Brazing.....turn the welder down??" Sounds like you're talking about an electric welder ???

Jay

[Nasty]

first off i didnt realize that by trying to help someone i was going to be criticed for my lack of poise in sentence wrighting but what ever :twisted:

[JakeDaSnake]

Hmm... I though Tig was one of the weakest types of welding, that and Mig... ARC or "Stick" welding is the strongest from what my Intructor a school told me, lol.

I just got one of the small Oxy/Acetylene torches from the WeldingDepot.com, think I may have to buy a smaller torch tip though.

Hey Roktoy: what part of the chassis do you start on first, my last one (that I scraped cause I messed it up) I started with the center "oval" and just went from there, is there an easier way?

Thanks,
Jake

[roktoy]

Hey Roktoy: what part of the chassis do you start on first, my last one (that I scraped cause I messed it up) I started with the center "oval" and just went from there, is there an easier way?

Thanks,
Jake

Jake.....I usually start by building a complete loop that spans front to rear as shown in the pics in the tube building article. I start the top half from there.

I'm planning to start a shaft tuber soon and hope to provide lots of pics along the way showing how I went about building it.......

Jay

[JakeDaSnake]

Yea thats what I started out with, but I biult my first chassis while my Axles were on order... so the 4-link design didn't match up and I couldn't find any way to mount the shocks.

So my next is gonna be the loop to start off, and then the suspension parts and the cage last,lol

Later,
Jake

[rckjeep]

In my opinion MIG is fine and you don't have to weld all the way around. I usually just weld on top and bottom of a joint. I don't weld in the corners because it's hard to smooth out. But my first chassis was welded all the way around and I could stand on it and bounce with no flex at all. Strengh is in design not weld technique. When I design a chassis I do a few sketches and start building. I usually change how the tranny is mounted a few times while building, I change the shock mounts but it always works. If I had CAD I bet the'd even work better. I think sometimes I just get lucky though.