Starting to make the roll cage

On wednesday we sent the tube order to another company, and it was told that they have the size we wanted in stock. So on friday I went there to get them.

We've been waiting to bend tubes for a month, so work progressed quite well.

We began by measuring the needed lenght and angles of the bends.

On friday the tubes were left outside filled with water, to make bending easier.

The rule book also states that: "The tubing must be bent by a cold working process".

Measuring and marking where to bend. We've been told that you should begin from the middle, so we did. You should also bend a bit too little, it's easier to get more angle to the bends, than take it off.

Not the first, but the second bend. This is the tightest bend. This is the tightest bend in our cage, we were just a little bit nervous... Notice the clothing has changed from the previous picture, it's starting to get a bit chilly outside.

A closer picture of the bend.

The ready main rollbar

The fit was a bit tight, so we had to press the rollbar a bit together when installing it. If you are way off, you should bend it a bit more, because if there is much stress in the tube, the heat when welding it will alter its shape.

The main rollbar is on.

We decided to bend the lateral rollbar inside, didn't work out. As soon as the metal warms enough that the ice looses it's grip, the bending doesn't work as well. We also realized that our first design isn't legal, as you can only have one bend going upwards. We had a small bend about 20cm upwards to make welding of the front point easier.

The new lateral rollbar. This is the trickiest tube to bend in our roll cage because it has two angles bent into different directions.

The main rollbar mounting foor and reinforcement plate. You have to secure each mount with bolts, and bolting them afterwards through the frame is a bit difficult, so we bolted them beforehands.

Ready main rollbar mount.

When the main rollbar was welded into it's position, it was time to cut the lateral rollbar into shape. We use a tube notcher to cut the tube into the right shape.

A picture of the junction. The tighter the fit, the easier it's to weld.

The main rollbar and lateral roll bar in position. They are barely visible from this angle.

Here you can see a bit of them...

Adjusting the fit of the lateral rollbar front mounting point.

The lateral rollbar follows the lines of the car quite well.

At this point all the hard work concerning the roll cage feel done. Bending the tubes and making the lateral roll bar got done. If they come out good, the rest of the roll cage is just straight tubes cut into the right lenght. Easy, right?