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Thu Nov 19, 2009 5:53 pm

So i definetly cant afford even a $100 used roof rack for the superbeater. With my newfound and still crappy welding skills I'm setting out to build my own. Its of my own design but has its roots in OE. Made out of 1/2 inch electrical conduit and 1/4 inch round stock. I'm doing this Thursdays at welding club at my highschool, so the materials etc dont cost me a dime :D :D :D Anyways heres my progress so far. These are the two side mounts. I'll update every Thursday if anybody wants to follow this. (wish it was everyday). BTW if anybody has two of the mounting clamps and is willing to part with them... :wink:

They need a little tweaking to the back leg lengthwise, but other than that, fits like a charm, and for a 17 year old hack, im proud of myself!

Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:46 pm

nice you gotta start somewhere. keep it up and you will do fine. :vw:

Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:38 am

thanks. If i get any good at making these, I might try selling them for those who, like me, want a roof rack for function and cant afford retail prices.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 7:43 am

cool

here is a roof rack somebody made. Might give you an idea for your drip rail clamps.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3...p;start=40

Not sure that conduit your using is strong enough.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:09 am

Sweet! I plan on building a roof rack for mine that will hold one or two bikes, so it will be cool to see how you do it.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:47 am

Not sure how strong it will be, but still really cool 8) Good luck!

Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:19 pm

its half inch conduit but will be reinforced with 1/4 inch round steel stock, and i spaced the crossmembers so there wouldnt be to much room between the top bar and the car. This is a protoype and i will do a weight test but am hoping for it to hold up to 200 pounds. The finished side member is stirdy as heck, so I think itll be alright.

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:20 pm

I wanna see you make a decklid rack I maybe interested in one....

Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:27 pm

mmmm...galvanized?

drink your milk.

Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:54 am

little BUGer wrote: I wanna see you make a decklid rack I maybe interested in one....

When i finish this one ill set out for the decklid prototype. If i start selling these then the roof rack will be 100 bucks and the decklid probably 50. The current one(s) im making will be all metal but i can make ones with stained wood slates for an extra fee.

But first things first. Gotta finish this sucker. UPdates next thursday.

Sat Nov 21, 2009 6:55 am

vwtrey wrote: mmmm...galvanized?

drink your milk.

:lol: Not galvanized. I would hate to die of toxic chlorine gas inhalation :wink:

Sat Nov 21, 2009 11:18 am

jwagner wrote: vwtrey wrote: mmmm...galvanized?

drink your milk.

:lol: Not galvanized. I would hate to die of toxic chlorine gas inhalation :wink: conduit is galvanized coated for protection of rust. thats what that white powder affect is around your welds.:wink:

Sat Nov 21, 2009 12:11 pm

Ahh galvanized wont kill you (right away). I have welded on plenty of zinc coated and galvanized hardware, smells like onions when you get it hot lol. Anyway I hope you are at least wearing a helmet that will direct most of the fumes away from your face so you breathe in as little as possible. Those fumes are harsh!

Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:13 pm

dang, D. (shop teacher) lied! Oh well. Yea i work under a HUGE fan system and wear a pretty nice helmet.

Sat Nov 21, 2009 4:34 pm

That conduit is absolutely galvanized and welding it will mess you up. At least grind away the galvanized at the weld areas before you continue welding. You'll also get a better weld. Have you tried breaking your welds? I ask because conduit typically has a brittle weld and breaks pretty easily.
I would also be very cautious of putting weight on it as electrical conduit is made for the purpose of bending easily. Take a piece and support the ends on a couple of bricks and see how much weight it takes to collapse. Then after it collapses, bend it back and forth and see how quickly it breaks apart.
I have used it for years as patterns for roof racks and bumpers, even roll cages on tricky bends, but I'd never use it for something that had to support any weight.
I don't want to rain on your parade. What you have done looks good so far and I hope it comes out as you hope.

Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:55 pm

At the very least, you are learning how to fabricate and weld. As was mentioned earlier be sure to clean off the galvanizing and wear a respirator and the good ventilation you have in the shop at school. You should be proud of the progress so far. You are doing a fine job for your first fabrication project.

If it does not hold the weight without falling apart, use it as a pattern and get some regular tubing or black pipe. You will need a pipe bender or you can ask your shop teacher how to bend pipe with a jig made out of a steel rim and a torch with a rosebud tip. A lot of old car rims have a nice groove to put the thin pipe into and tack weld it to the steel rim. Heat it with the torch and bend it slowly into place. With the torch, you can make your ends there thin by scoring the metal about an inch or so up from the end, heat it with the torch to cherry red. Put it into a vise up to your score mark and close the vise tight. Be sure that you heat it about 1/2 the thickness of the pipe up from the edge that is in the vise. If you are using 1/2" pipe then you need to heat the pipe 1/4" above where it goes into the vise. Be sure to heat it evenly around. What will happen is the area that was in the clamp will flare out. This can then be trimmed and welded and cleaned up with a grinder to give you a nice edge and crimp.

Sat Nov 21, 2009 9:00 pm

the shop has plenty of black pipe to spare so after i finish this one, i'll weight test it and go from there. Thanks for all the advice guys

Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:21 pm

Breathing in the fumes from welding or cutting galvanized pipe is commonly called Zink Fever among others. It is wicked bad to inhale and well make you very sick. Weld only in a well ventilated area. If you are useing flux core or stick then set a fan up next to you to blow off the fumes. If you are useing a shielding gas then just make sure you are up wind.

Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:03 am

im using a gas mig welder for now. Next week D. is going to teach me TIG welding. Like i said, i do this in the schools shop and there is a HUGE overhead fan system that sucks up most of the crap, but from now on i'll be much more carefull. I have to see if i can get into the shop tuesday since thursday will be Turkey Day.

Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:03 am

If you are in a shop with an overhead vent system then you should be good. If you start experiencing flu like symptoms, general aches and pains, chough, and low grade fever then you need to worry. You are getting to much. Good luck with the TIG welding. It is a way cool process.