who sells mandrel frame rails?

welding stronger?...metal fatigue bro!

haha yuppers, I know...

NASCAR requires it and so does Super Trucks. NHRA allows bending on the back half of a Funny Car, but only if more metal is used. AWS (American Welding Society) certification requires a welder to prove that he/she can put down a bead as strong or stronger than the metal on either side of the weld. If you can't do that you can't get certified. A bend will never be as strong. Remember the last time you sat on cheap metal lawn furniture? It gives out at the bends, just like an Allen wrench does.

i was aws certified, shits hard to get, except for tig.

if you were aws certified, u should know this..

nope i didnt...

Edited: 11/26/2006 10:29:35 AM by MDcrew208

that's all news to me --- what you're saying is that to be certified you have to have welds "stronger" than the metal , i've never heard the idea that if you cut a piece of metal in half and weld it back up it will be stronger than before you cut it---???? -- also , i've heard that bending metal actually makes it stronger / think about a piece of sheetmetal, if its flat it's weak but if you brake it it becomes more stout.

http://www.progressiveautomotive.com/Chassis.htm

These guys claim that welding the frame is better, I have not had a chance to review their website yet, but you may want to take a look at it,

i guess you mean pie cutting it like 10 times into a bend? i wouldnt wanna do that..........

wow, is this going to turn into a reverse 4 link debate? haha. Ok, when you bend your frame rails it stretches the metal so you have thin spots on the outside of the bend. The metal doesn't magically hop from the inside of the bend to the outside of the bend. Does it mean much to the typical guy here, nope, but it does to the hot rod guys and people that use their vehicles more than just driving on the street. I've used both, and either works well on 90% of all rides. I would not use a mandrel bent frame towing a 3 car hauler with my dually but would not think twice with a welded frame. Your typical hot rod doesn't have that issue, so either will work, and the people that that have enough HP to cause problems with it have roll cages to help trianglate everything. Welded frames are stronger, more even througout, and can be designed to any spec. your mandrel frame rails can be bent to your specs, but take longer to have someone to do it for you, (unless u have a bender and can do it yourself). Also to mention, normally most welded frames are thicker but not allways.

PS. Dusty- Sorry for jacking the thread into a discussion, either will work, but since its going under a truck if you want to stick with a mandrel, go with the thickest you can find, not only cause of not having a roll cage, but in the "real" world its allways best to have a little bit more frame for the people that like to rear end you and such. But with a sheet of 3/16 and some cardboard, you can have some flowing welded frame rails done in no time.

Originally posted by bdroppeddak



i guess you mean pie cutting it like 10 times into a bend? i wouldnt wanna do that..........

uhm, no, using sheets and cutting out your sides, and then your top and bottem parts. Kinda like a 4 part notch.Here is one I did many years back in a mitsu to give you a idea.