Im considering drilling and tubing my split model A bones, i know its been done for years, but really, how safe is it actually to do that? theyre solid original bones i split myself lathed up threaded bungs with new tie rods in them, but structurally how strong/safe is it to do this, iv head opinions of both being fine to do and also not safe or strong enough to do, anyways i was curious so though id ask as i do like the look of them drilled, but isnt necessary if i think it wont be safe enough thanks Charlie
Brazing? I wouldn't. As Bob said, i'd Tig weld them in. Make sure someone (or yourself) are qualified to perform the work and you shouldn't have a problem.
Look up Harv117's thread on his bones for inspiration. As long as you don't go overboard with the holes, you'll be fine.
Back in the day a lot of guys drilled out the face of the bones but left the back intact . Looks really cool and you can paint the inside of the holes a contrasting color. Just a thought Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
ok cool thanks guys just wanted to know what the general thought is as like i said iv heard both opinions, im qualified enough to do it, im my works head welder fabricator and tig weld everyday i might do it then see what i feel like soon will be on my build thread if i do it Thanks Charlie
A bad idea. The holes open on one side leave the inside open to fill up with all kinds of crap as well as water and the corrosion that comes with it. Properly done the holes go all the way through and tubing is TIG welded in to close the holes and add strength. Brazing is a poor choice and another bad idea.
Done with a nickel bronze rod, brazing works fine. Had a "sports racer" with a space tube frame years ago, all brazed together, it hit an Armco barrier at over a 100 and bent the frame up bad, but no breaks at any joint. The driver survived with lot of bruises but no break to him either and that counts for everything. Bob
The holes aren't going to "lighten" your split bones, you are going to add more metal than you take away. - more weight They are more for looks than anything else, you are NOT going to make any improvements to Henry's design by doing this. TIG it as others have said. my .02
Today they are just done for decoration. I did not add the tubing because they were never done that way when they did drill them to remove weight. Who ever started the wives tale about TIG welding being stronger than other types of welding should be horse whipped. That's pure horse shit.
Please quantify "holding power" and "much better". If you're correct, there must be plenty of scientific proof all over the internet you could post. I'll wait.
You guys must have thought you were on the aerospace design and fabrication theories website We are talking about welding tubes in 80 year old wishbones
I TIG welded mine and also re-welded the top and bottom factory welds. I ran a cutting wheel on the factory welds, MIG every few inches to hold it together, and then slowly TIG them up top and bottom.
Well,when I first started messing with cars (around 1955) guys were building hot rods,and IF anyone was lucky enough to even have a welder,or even access to one it was a stick ,or torch. The cars built then is what you are trying to replicate now,and all of a sudden it ain't no good unless it is TIG welded---BULLSHIT! [FONT=Arial, Helvetica][FONT="]Like MIG welding, there are a number of references sighting "inventors of TIG welding. However Russell Meredith, working for Northrop Aircraft, was the first to produce a system that was a true production tool applying for a patent in January 1941 (US Patent # 2,274,631, Figure 1 left.) He was concerned about meeting a critical national need of welding light weight aircraft materials. In the first line of the patent it states; My invention relates to welding magnesium and its alloys - - so relatively low melting point materials may be efficiently welded by an electric arc. He goes on to say that airplanes are being made of lighter materials and a more efficient method of joining these materials is needed. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Are U welding magnesium??????[/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT]
It doesn't really matter what you are welding, the technology was there in 1941. The only difference between welding aluminium or steel is changing the tungsten, filler rod and from AC to DC. Whether Argon gas cylinders were available in that time, I cannot say.. but if they were welding aluminium back then.. i'm sure steel was very much doable too.
Was it the norm? Nope. Is it "common" for people to have cnc equiptment in their home shops today? Nope. But,,,,, SOME DO. Just as some did then. My grandfather had a heliarch machine in his HOME shop in the early 60s, where he was building cars and quarter midgets (family grew up with 1/4s and racing them). That monster of a machine was still in his shop when he passed. Hauled it off for scrap, but sure do wish I knew where those 50 or so 1/4s ended up. If you read above on my first post, I simply said "as long as its done correctly", I never said it had to be tig. You are correct to say that not everyone had them and many were lucky to even have ANY welder, but whether you admit it or not, it was being done by some people, and even at home. We still have his early 50s lincoln arc welder with the 6 volt battery charger leads. My daughter owns (and still uses) it.
Yeah, MIG, TIG, stick welded. Just weld the tubes in solid, grind smooth and paint. Plenty of Hot Rod frames have been boxed, etc with stick welds and have stood the test of time.
Sure if you have tig, use it. But this idea that brazing would not be is BS, properly done with the right alloy brazing is a perfectly acceptable way to do it.
Funny how a simple question turned into a pissing match!Drill them and if you need to, get someone you know is a good welder to weld in the tubes.my 2c And yeah,I reckon it's a cool look also,IMHO
That type of brazing of chassis parts goes back as far as the 1920's Bugatti GP chassis, done right it works fine. Bob
TIG is cleaner, and looks better from the start, I wouldn't want to spend the time and money on grinding the MIG crap off tubed split bomes. but if you like the backyard stock look, fine. Bob
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