Hex steel chassis..............

[ScaleReady]

I have a project that I need to wrap up before I start this adventure, but I am planning on buying a boat load of hex steel stock, like this stuff here:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/car...ecatalog/N-c0q

I have searched and cannot find anywhere, where someone built a chassis out of hex steel. I'm talkin the entire chassis. I am going to be building it for the 2.2 class. Might I be the first to embark on such an adventure?? Keep your eyes open for my up and coming "hex buggy" build

I plan on using 3/16" and 1/8" or a metric equivelant to those.

[highlandcrawler]

I've got to ask why hex stock? I think the reason you don't find people using it is its not a very ideal building material. It will defiantly make for a very interesting truck when your done. Be sure to post up some pics when you get going on it

[ScaleReady]

Originally Posted by highlandcrawler

I've got to ask why hex stock? I think the reason you don't find people using it is its not a very ideal building material. It will defiantly make for a very interesting truck when your done. Be sure to post up some pics when you get going on it

I chose hex stock, cause I couldnt find anywhere that anyone used it, so it would be a first of a kind kinda deal. I have seen it used in choppers and other rat rods and such, and thought why not!? It might not be the ideal material to work with, but I see it as coming out looking pretty badass. Might throw some twisted hex in the mix.....

I am going to give it a valiant effort at least

[crawl-o-matic]

I think it's going to look awesome! The thought crossed my mind a few years back, but at the time, I didn't have the time to do it. Are going to use a tube bender or a pipe bender...I never really did figure that part out.
Can't wait to see your build thread!!

Also, if you use stainless steel, (don't quote me on this, but....) I'm thinking you could go all the way down to 5/16" and still have a very good strength to wt. ratio.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...+Bar&x=12&y=23

[Cave Dave]

It should look cool,might be kind of tricky to bend though.I made custom length suspension and steering links for my SCX 10 out of some 1/4 stainless hex and like the looks of it.


McMaster-Carr is another spot to find the hex stock and they ship quickly.

[ScaleReady]

Originally Posted by Cave Dave

It should look cool,might be kind of tricky to bend though.I made custom length suspension and steering links for my SCX 10 out of some 1/4 stainless hex and like the looks of it.


McMaster-Carr is another spot to find the hex stock and they ship quickly.

Looks killer
We have a really nice LHS here that has a huge variety of steel, but if they dont have it, McMaster-Carr is next on the list.

I figured that the whole bending it part would be tricky, but I think if done right, it could turn out sweet

[crawl-o-matic]

That steering linkage looks bomb proof! The lower links on the RS10 are hex (I don't know if they still are)

[@tw!ll]

Bending will be your issue. I have tried making items out of both square steel rod and hex steel rod. The problem is when bending they both flatten out. I have yet to find a hex or square mini bender that keeps the shape of the rod like full size benders. It really ruins the look when your eyes get to the flattened out bends. I'll be looking forward to seeing if you can come up with a fix for this problem.

[TexasSP]

Originally Posted by @tw!ll

Bending will be your issue. I have tried making items out of both square steel rod and hex steel rod. The problem is when bending they both flatten out. I have yet to find a hex or square mini bender that keeps the shape of the rod like full size benders. It really ruins the look when your eyes get to the flattened out bends. I'll be looking forward to seeing if you can come up with a fix for this problem.

When I worked in manufacturing we bent flat stock all the time into flat rings. It's tricky and you have to have the right setup. Most of our bender we built in house although we bought several from bailey that worked fantastically. I found and spec'ed those out myself because we needed 4 new benders quicker than we could build them.

You need a multi roller type bender and many times you have to start with less radii and work your way up.

Either way, very expensive for the casual hobbyist and even a business.

I can see the smaller bar being even more difficult too but not impossible.

Either way, a hand bender will never get it right, it will have to be a roll type bender either electric/mechanical or hydraulic.

[crawl-o-matic]

I wonder if heating the stock then slowly bending it using a tube bender would work????

[TexasSP]

Originally Posted by crawl-o-matic

I wonder if heating the stock then slowly bending it using a tube bender would work????

Doing that will probably cause stretching and more flattening. You really need a bar bender for something like this.

[crawl-o-matic]

I agree, that's not going to work.
I'm going to give this build idea a try, but I'm going to braze everything together and skip the whole bending issue all together...just have to avoid tri-joints or build a really good jig.