Jim;
Welcome to the exasperating world of round tubing. Cutting & welding
round or oval tube intersections is a nightmare (at least it is for me)
and that's the reason most folks stick to square or rectangular tubing
for chassis fabrication. Round tubing has a theoretical advantage but
that is overshadowed by its practical fabrication difficulties.
Sometimes you just cant get 100% weld coverage; gussets help spread the
load over a wider area and they can make up for less than complete 360
degree welded joints.
Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-land-speed@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-land-speed@autox.team.net] On Behalf Of J I Waldron
Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 7:50 AM
To: land-speed@autox.team.net
Subject: Ladder Frame diagonal cross brace welding.
Perhaps I am over thinking this.
I'm building a frame from round tube, with two horizontal main members
and
several vertical cross members. I want to diagonally brace each square
section. So, a single box section starts out looking kind of like a
Roman
Numeral II (2) and with the diagonal brace winds up looking kind of like
a
Roman Numeral IV (4).
I weld in the first vertical cross member (lets call it the one on the
right
side), all around. Then I put in the diagonal brace, and the next
vertical
member (the left side) to hold it in place. Assume the diagonal runs
from
lower right to upper left. I can weld the lower right end of the
diagonal
all around. I can weld the lower end of the left vertical all around.
At
the upper left, with the vertical member snugged up to the diagonal, I
can
weld the diagonal all around, but I can only weld half around the
vertical
because the other half is now covered up by the diagonal.
I assume the loads are carried through the welds on the diagonal member.
But, half the circumference of the vertical tube is not welded to the
horizontal.
I can't be the first person come up against this. Is it just not an
issue,
or am I missing a simple way to weld up everything?
Thanks,
Jim.
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