Noob cage welding.. How do *you* do it?

[Stray]

Hi guys,

I did something dumb and cut my wraith cage. i have glued it back together, and it kind looks cool, but also looks a bit s##t. Instead of buying another cage and getting it shipped to Australia (shipping costs more than the cage!!) i have this great idea to try and make one.

Here's the thing. I have never welded before and have no idea where to start.

I'm actually a mechanical engineer (from Uni, however I don't work as one) so have a great theoretical understanding of engineering, and I've built many many things.. just never welded. (I have hundreds of hours soldering)

I see this as a perfect opportunity to learn, and also a really fun little project.

I couldnt find a thread on it here so I figured I would start one.

my question is, what type of welder should I get, what things should i look out for, and really what have you guys done when welding your own cages/frames/various RC things?

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[Mike Flea]

Try brazing, a lot easier. You can pick up a MAPP gas torch, an igniter torch head, some silver solder, or silver rods, and "Safety Silv" flux, or a comparable brand usually for under $50, although I see you're from Down Under, so not sure what your costs would be.

I used brake line for my 1/6 Jeep cage, easier to braze than solid rod. Fishmouth your ends that are brazed perpendicular to the cage, I use a dremel grinding wheel.

Use clamps or magnets to hold pieces together, but DO NOT put the magnets so close to the joint that you will apply heat to the magnet (some magnets will shatter under a heat source).

Make sure you flux your joints prior to applying heat, the silver will flow into the joint.

Heat the joint to turn red just enough to get the silver to melt, too much heat, you'll waste solder.

Until you get the hang of brazing, you Will waste some solder....all part of the learning process.

 

[MasteroFlego]

Anyone tried muggy weld super alloy 1? It's supposed to have a tensile strength of 20,000 PSI. I'll be using it when I finally get around to building my cage.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Stray]

Thanks Mike,

I was considering brazing

ill look into it,

ive never heard of muggy weld, do you have a link?

 

[MasteroFlego]

Thanks Mike,

I was considering brazing

ill look into it,

ive never heard of muggy weld, do you have a link?

Here you go: https://www.muggyweld.com/

They have some videos on youtube demonstrating it.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[ferp420]

I use a cheap harbor freight flux core wire feed welder it was only $90 i tryed bulding a wraith cage i was able to build it but its a bit big like 1/5 scale big it.dwarfs my yeti xl ive also built a.few smaller cages on your plastic cage if you drill a hole ine the center of the cage and use a pice of metal rod push the rod in to the hole and glue it up i held my plastic cage together for a long time like that before buying a cheap metal cage off of ebay if i end up making one i want to use metal lower cage and the top of the plastic cage stong and heavy down low and light and flexable upper cage in my opinion you should get a welder the wire feed is cheap and very easy to use but requires alot of clean up the mig welder is much nicer welds but there alot more money then there is a tig welder super clean but n3eds more skill and more money there are alo5 of other welder options but i think there to much for a thin little cage the cheap wire feed will weld just about anything and is a very fun toy in its self ive never met anyone who regreated buying a welder and learning how to use it they usaly pay for them selfes on the first project i get all my rod from old shelfes or racks or carts or cages so its cheap i also have a $14 grinder with a cut off wheel to cut up the metal and clean th3 metal and slag it takes alot of practice to w3ld small rod though but its way stronger than brazing and worth the effort

 

[Rattzo1]

Hi guys,

I did something dumb and cut my wraith cage. i have glued it back together, and it kind looks cool, but also looks a bit s##t. Instead of buying another cage and getting it shipped to Australia (shipping costs more than the cage!!) i have this great idea to try and make one.

Here's the thing. I have never welded before and have no idea where to start.

I'm actually a mechanical engineer (from Uni, however I don't work as one) so have a great theoretical understanding of engineering, and I've built many many things.. just never welded. (I have hundreds of hours soldering)

I see this as a perfect opportunity to learn, and also a really fun little project.

I couldnt find a thread on it here so I figured I would start one.

my question is, what type of welder should I get, what things should i look out for, and really what have you guys done when welding your own cages/frames/various RC things?

Thank you so much for your time!

Yes start off with braising it is very similar to soldering just a tad more heat. Get a map gas and oxy torch set and you’ll be good to go

 

[Stray]

Well turns out I have to move house, which sucks but is also awesome as I'll finally have a workspace vs the coffee table in an apartment lounge.. Once we have found somewhere and settled in, my cage shall be built!

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

 

[durok]

Well turns out I have to move house, which sucks but is also awesome as I'll finally have a workspace vs the coffee table in an apartment lounge.. Once we have found somewhere and settled in, my cage shall be built!

Sent from my LG-H870DS using Tapatalk

Someday I hope to be in a similar situation. Would love to experiment with welding up some simple stuff - start with maybe just a roll bar, a bumper, a bicycle frame (lolz)... OK, maybe end up making the last one after getting good!

Apartment living sure gets old after a while. Maybe it's about time to look into buying a damn house...

Good luck, keep us posted on your first welding project!