OK boys and girls its time to put a roll cage in the ole baja, because i have scared the S*#t out of myself (and my passengers, no one will ride will me!) one too many times.

Here in lies a problem, these things are expensive, especially what i want! quotes have been between $3000 and $4500, so like every good vw head, make it myself.

The area between the A and B pillar has been made of 1 3/4 seamless tube because i am not game to stake my llife or anybod elses on anything but. The rest (front end, rear end, shock mounts, cages, bracing ect) will be from 32 nominal bore tube.

i have as of so far spent the time going back and forth to the bloke who bends to seamless for me and to be honest i am sick of the guess work and hoping that he follows my plans (and that they are right to begin with), would rather have the bender on the bench, bend, test bend, test.
Once again, these things are expensive for a professional style mandel bender! (about 2K, thought about making my own but am getting a littlle sick of all this fab work at the moment. Or the ever increasing hole in my bank account)
So i have come to 2 options -

1. find someone who has one and beg, pleed and beg some more to borrow/hire it.

2. buy one and be the one to hire it out (thinking like $100 a weekend) to recoop the cost that i can't afford.

I know there have to be tons of baja/manx guys out there who are not happy with there bumper, cage, rollbar out there,

SO THROW ME A BONE, WHOS INTERESTED?
(brisbane and sunny coast, by the way)

$3K?! You been asking the wrong people

ive got 1 you can lend

if you are going to use 32 and 40mm NB pipe you can buy 45 and 90 degree elbows and weld it...

http://www2.blackwoods.com.au/infoBANKproduct.aspx?SG=2000165&S=18&G=...

just type in elbows and go to seamless buttweld

I made mine myself, don't get me wrong, its a lot of work getting the right bends in the right spot and notching at the right places and angles. But at least I can say I did it myself, and all it cost was the material and my time. I even had the RTA engineer comment on how good it was!

I also borrowed the bender off a mate.

And yeah, definitely no cutting and welding bits together, has to be a continuous piece.

oh! did you see my ears prick up? what kind of bender did your mate have?

REXY was just kidding, he has one of those supercheap ones that make bends up to about 20' before kinking the tube (tried it, it sucked, he laughed)

just make one yourself. I'm doing one based on the blindchicken concept and it should cost less than a 1k with 2' dies

thinking about it, where you getting your dies from?

where abouts are you located?

hes at caboolture qld

thanks for the offer liam, good to see some comradery on here! but evidently too far away

am looking at the speedwerx one for the sake that i can just bung it anywhere and start bending (save me cleaning up the shed!)
possibly just sell it on one of the 4x4 forums after i am done.
Is funny that no one in brisbane has use for a tube bender. Anybody out there?.....................

Yeah I want one too Nils, but $$ atm ...

Happy to work something out.

now we're talking!
what size tube you plan to be working with?

and i hear you with the $,
just decided i want to get this baja sorted for a few more years of abuse, instead of bodging it up again (will worry about the money later)

I haven't done a cage for a long while, but I used 1 1/2" and 1 1/4" by memory.

Here is where I got my plans from http://www.gottrikes.com/Tube_Bender.htm 

and I'll be using pro-tools dies. By the way pro tools have free bender plans at the url below

http://pro-tools.com/200k.htm 

555 - have looked into the protools and gottrikes plans, just between my time and the running around of sorting the pieces out, i don't think it will be any cheaper
can you get the protools dies here or you rdering from the states? figure the shipping wieght and low aus dollar would be a killer

Mat - you're making 1pce baja front ends right? keep meaning to PM you about the width of those (i need to at least look like i am trying to keep the tyres under the fendres) might end up buying one and doing you a deal after i am done

BUT for now, all the bills just came in so will have to shelve it till next month

I beleive speedwerx and pro tools dies are the same. The plans look amazingly similar...

I had a speedwerx bender before I got the JD 2. Worked pretty well, only drama was the alluminium follower (the straight peice that matches the die) was easily damaged-any dags, dints or imperfections on the tube were pressed into it, also if the end of the tube didnt go past the end of the follower it would be damaged. Normally these things wouldn't happen- but as soon as you lend it out to mates it comes back marked up with lots of shoulder shrugging

I agree that time to build may end up costing quite a bit of time....Still open to suggestions.

Yes Nils, the one piece moulds are finally ready, but only for later body at this stage. 2 versions are available, the std width measures 1500mm guard edge to guard edge and the wider longer version is 10" wider and 4' longer, this is in the style of the Cheetah kit. The extra length should be able to be trimmed back to any length.

Ah yes, the ole' shoulder shrug. You make a very good piont in favour of the JD bender,hmm.. .. . . . . . .. .

think at this piont i will probably be buying one and then selling it off when i am done, if i make a loss of about $400 i can justify that for the bending and conviniece of being able to do it myself.
but like i said, next month. be towed to dubs at this piont! (got to hang on to that dog of the day trophy!!!!)

How much you asking for the wider/longer version? and 10inchs wider than the narrow or the cheetah? and lastly at the risk of sounding ignorant theres a difference in the shape for the early and late front ends?

Trust me, you'll want to keep it. They come in handier than you think (built an atomic bomp proof swingset for a friends 4yo a month back from leftover seamless DOM tube)

Then again, there's a few places around with CNC or good quality hydro benders that will usually do a few bends for cheap (like a couple of cartons) then you take the bends and do the notching and welding yourself...lot cheaper than a $400 loss. Find out what radius' they do in your chosen tube size, make templates with heavy wire and take them to them. you can use pool noodles to check for clearances.

Its not the asthetic of having a ripple in the pipe that worries me, a ripple or kink means a now weak piont, and my engineer won't let me get away with that in a fit.

Also i found out today that 32nb tube is the same size as 32pvc pressure pipe, so think i can even mock up what i need with a heat gun and then get then made up in steel i match. might be able to do it this way to get the accuracy

Surely there's enough VWnuts in your family to share the costs......

none with any money though! besides cal and rat lookers don't need barwork just big webbers, think the brother has dropped something like 15g on the the underside of that oval

Most of the bow and arrow type (cheapy) benders have dies for pipe. You want tube.
Pipe is measured internally, generally has a welded seam and is heavier for a lower strength.
Tube is measured externally, needs different dies (to get a good result). Most common size for cage and barwork are 1 1/2 and 1 3/4 inches. Tube is used for roll cages, barwork, chassis construction, light aircraft, racecars, and so on. Pipe is for poo.

ok, ok, fine. . . .. . . . .. . . . am using TUBE for the front half of the cage and PIPE for the rear, engine cage, bumper, side bars ect.
my bumpers may be made of poo, but my wallet will be happier for it

hey terry, what was the cage in your baja made out of?

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Quote:

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