WELDERS....what does it take to weld a MT family kit?

[1973Guppie]

buy a welder and learn OR buy the complete cage from MT.........

ps - I would of spent some serious $$ paying people to weld stuff, I have gotten a TON of use out of my mig. If you are into this "sport" you are gonna need one, period. I have a miller 220 and love it. Not a fan of lincolns, had one and the miller is that much better.

 

[Pierps]

How do you bevel .120 wall tube (most roll cage material) down to 1/8"?

You don't know how to weld negative thickness tube? What kind of an amateur are you??? ;p

 

[Weber Sarge]

A full family cage would take me a day with a good helper . That's between $5-700 total .
110v mig units will weld 120 wall but it has to be properly beveled and 2 passes . You can easily make a great looking weld but full penetration into a blind joint even with the welder cranked way up is tough . Unless you learn to do destructive tests you'll never know if your welds are up to snuff on a cage . I've welded race car cages for several local teams and a couple were sent out for testing/heat treating . Don't trust your family's safety - get a pro .
Sarge

 

[alex e]

I meant Miller, sorry. I'm hearing $85 an hour locally and for that I should buy even a good used Miller machine and learn a new skill. Can't hurt to add to my Most Interesting Man In The World resume! At the in laws' farm we have a full metal shop and stick welding setup, welding tables, a big ass swinging ibeam with chain tackle for lifting an engine or whatever from a truck bed. I would hate to have the rig 3 hours away from me though. Still feel better dropping a grand + on a welder and doing it with some assistance. I'd still pay the tutor.

 

[lcwizard]

I meant Miller, sorry. I'm hearing $85 an hour locally and for that I should buy even a good used Miller machine and learn a new skill. Can't hurt to add to my Most Interesting Man In The World resume! At the in laws' farm we have a full metal shop and stick welding setup, welding tables, a big ass swinging ibeam with chain tackle for lifting an engine or whatever from a truck bed. I would hate to have the rig 3 hours away from me though. Still feel better dropping a grand + on a welder and doing it with some assistance. I'd still pay the tutor.

Don't worry about it. My first cage and the next four were welded by stick. The
first and second were embarrassingly bad. Luckily they belonged to myself and a close friend. There is no way to get better without practice. If you mess it up a skilled welder can fix it if you are unhappy with it. It's hard to find a welder too small to do .120 wall tube. Buy the welder and make your family a bunch of useless furniture for practice. No one can have too many coffee tables...

 

[fieldsken1]

Where are you located?? Maybe I could help

 

[alex e]

Ken I'm central TX....do you still have that awesome blue 40 from a while back you built? I loved watching your build.

 

[rsnellie]

If you have the time you could do like I did and take a couple classes at a local Community college. This way you can understand all the variables involved in all types of welds and joints. You can also learn the differences in types of metals and burning temps requires along with proper gases. Takes the guess work out. For your final exam if like mine you could bring your cage in and use one of the multi thousand dollar welders then have it x-ray for free. Probably the best couple hundred dollars and night classes I ever spend on a hobby. Knowing what I do now would I weld a cage prior to welding classes? Not a chance. Also you said you were central Texas. Austin has one of the best welding schools in the nation. The professor at acc has a phd in welding! Just don't take the class in the middle of summer it gets brutal. Especially when metal smithing.

 

[bikersmurf]

I'm all for learning to weld... And I do know how to, gas, Stick and Mig weld.

That said, I paid a welder for an hour of his time to weld my motor mounts to my frame. $60 gives me piece of mind, and I know my motor isn't going to break loose somewhere in the middle of nowhere costing me a $500 tow bill.

 

[bikersmurf]

If you have the time you could do like I did and take a couple classes at a local Community college. This way you can understand all the variables involved in all types of welds and joints. You can also learn the differences in types of metals and burning temps requires along with proper gases. Takes the guess work out. For your final exam if like mine you could bring your cage in and use one of the multi thousand dollar welders then have it x-ray for free. Probably the best couple hundred dollars and night classes I ever spend on a hobby. Knowing what I do now would I weld a cage prior to welding classes? Not a chance. Also you said you were central Texas. Austin has one of the best welding schools in the nation. The professor at acc has a phd in welding! Just don't take the class in the middle of summer it gets brutal. Especially when metal smithing.

I'd check into that as an option.

X2 on welding in the summer. Built my floor in the summer... No rain, but it was stupid hot.

 

[alex e]

I paid a welder to weld in my mounts too, plus the tranny mounts. My Saginaw kit and frame reinforcements as well.....but he's in the North Sea on an oil rig and his wife is terminally ill.....they are friends of ours and he does tremendous work.

 

[tyama]

Miggin'

Hiya, I just got the metal tech cage done in my forty. I already had a Miller 135, a chop saw, a grinder, and another grinder with a cutting wheel on it. The notches weren't too bad, I used a template for different angle pipe cuts I found after searching some websites like mud and pirate 4x4. You have to be careful about lining up your cuts and may need to adjust them (even the factory ones) to get a good fit. After getting all the notches tack welded, I took the cage to a shop where they charged $150 to finish it up. It was a slow chore to do all the notching, but it was less than a PITA than I thought it'd be.

If you are interested in welding, I'd go with the other comments about learning from a local class and getting some equipment. There's a lot of fun things you can make for your truck, house, trailer, and yard.

Best regards, ty

 

[fieldsken1]

yeah i still have the blue one thanks. wish you were closer i would do it for free. so bored sitting here

 

[reddingcruiser]

My two cents. Take a class, learn some basic metallurgy, weld theory, joint prep, and practice, practice, practice. Also, learn how heat affects metal (distortion). Welding flat plate on a work bench and welding out-of-position are worlds apart. Welding around a coped pipe takes practice. MIG is easier that stick if you've never welded before and you don't have to learn to discern what's weld puddle and what's slag.

Once you know what you're doing you'll realize that a good welder is worth the money. Miller and Lincoln both have nice 220v MIG machines in the $2000 range that will weld anything you'll ever put on an FJ40. You can pick up used machines for $1000 - $1500. (I got my Lincoln SP250 with remote for $300 from a guy that didn't know what he had!)

TIG gives you better control, and IMHO more fun, but requires much more attention to joint construction and prep. And decent equipment generally is too expensive for most shade tree mechanics.

Oh, did I mention you need to practice and practice

 

[bugsnbikes]

go grab a craigslist Lincoln 220 buzzbox for $100 and practice for a week. Grab a few youtube intros to stick.........and you are off to the races.

OR- spend $500ish on a used Miller 140autoset. You can run .035 wire and practice a week on some tube til u get something you like. Will do .120wall easy with a bevelled edge.


The reason most shops are giving you a "highish" price is because of the liability. Chances are you drive up in a Cayenne or X5.......and all they see is Lawyer fees and someone who will sue them for another German vehicle for the fleet.

You need to find someone local on craigs who has $18 in the bank.....and no worry if you sue him for his $18 life savings. Chances are theres plenty of vietnam era navy welders , strung out on amphetamines and booze that have a welder and a closet full of stories who will do it for some $'s for the local pig roast where he will kick up the straw and spit chew on some toothless ladies shoes.

other option would be to find the local welders union hall--- post an ad---and some derelict who cant seem to get work in town will weld you up something nice.

 

[Trollhole]

600 dollars and two days of work.

 

[Griffin]

local shop in ATL is around $90-100/hr., 8 hours to install the kit. And that does not include frame tie-ins, hip guards, etc., so figure 9 hours?

This is why I don't have a family cage, yet. They are too damn expensive to install.

 

[Griffin]

600 dollars and two days of work.

will be in touch one day

 

[bikersmurf]

yeah i still have the blue one thanks. wish you were closer i would do it for free. so bored sitting here

"Road Trip"

Pay some one who really knows there stuff, or you re better off just doing it yourself.

That said, I'm sure a Metaltech cage is 10x stronger than most of us will ever need... Hecht, many, many lives have been saved by the stock "decoration" installed by Toyota. In most cases I do the work myself, because I'm tired of getting screwed by professionals who are lazy, and don't do things right... Even though they know how, and you are paying them to. Don't go for the cheapest guy, save someone good time.

 

[fieldsken1]

"Road Trip"

Pay some one who really knows there stuff, or you re better off just doing it yourself.

That said, I'm sure a Metaltech cage is 10x stronger than most of us will ever need... Hecht, many, many lives have been saved by the stock "decoration" installed by Toyota. In most cases I do the work myself, because I'm tired of getting screwed by professionals who are lazy, and don't do things right... Even though they know how, and you are paying them to. Don't go for the cheapest guy, save someone good time.

Are you saying I would do a bad job. There are people willing to help and not except something in return