slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) I'm thinking about building my own swing arm out of Chromoly round tubing. I have all the equipment and tools to build one at my friends shop. I have a lot of hands on with aluminum and most of my expirence welding has been with that, so I Have a few questions on the materials used. I mostly do off-road and trail riding and want to build it stout. I see a lot of other drag swing arms out there made out of 1" Chromoly. Was wondering what size and thickness materials I should use for the swingarm bearing tube and the tubing running to the axle housing. The bearing tube should be easy to figure out with the stock bearing size O.D, I'm going to buy the shock mount tabs and axle housing materials prefabbed from JDS website and am not sure what thickness and size tubing I should use to make it somewhat lightweight but most important strong for the rocky and rough terrain we have here in AK. I've done a little research on them online and didn't find any accurate measurements or materials list. I will be making it a plus 4 length with skid plate mounts. Lastly I'm doing the same thing with the subframe, going to chop the stock one off since its bent and make one to my own touch, I'm thinking 1/2" tubing for that. Or maybe 5/8 to 3/4? I've never dealt with chromoly before so I'm not too familiar in the sizes they Have. Will also be buying the subframe mount tabs off JDS to make it look clean and simple. Finishing touches will be a good clear coat finish to show the raw metal color that I'm infatuated with. Any info on a good starting point with a materials list would be greatly appreciated Thanks Edited December 7, 2015 by slag_350300 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2otoofast4u Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 3/4 058 or 065 for the sub frame unless you are really trying to take weight off. JJ&A has all the swinger components you will need. However, by the time you buy all the shit to build a swinger you can buy one for damn near the same price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 most swingers ive seen are near 7 benjamins if not more. i cant imagine the material anywhere near that much. mostly your paying for labor time to cut, bend, fit and weld. but the problem i see is if you have little to no experience welding steel in a structural application, specifically tubing. may want to practice on some scrap pieces first. ive welded a bunch of aluminum but never any steel tubing so i cant offer any first hand advice. might be some gas purging process youll have to do on the inside but im not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locogato11283 Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 There's no incentive to build your own sub-frame or swingarm. You'll have more in the parts, time and labor than what you can buy a new one for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 3/4 058 or 065 for the sub frame unless you are really trying to take weight off. JJ&A has all the swinger components you will need. However, by the time you buy all the shit to build a swinger you can buy one for damn near the same price. Thanks for the info and yeah I am sure it will be, I've seen them go for $300-350 brand new without skid plate mounts. I've welded structural steel and know about the preheat process and penetration importance. I've been welding aluminum for 9 years and figured a good time to learn would be building my own parts. We will see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 There's no incentive to build your own sub-frame or swingarm. You'll have more in the parts, time and labor than what you can buy a new one for. I'm guessing I would need somewhere around 10 feet of tubing to build a subframe. and if I remember right the 4 subframe tabs were $30 and a weekend of my time would be more than buying a new one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 where do you buy a new swinger for $350 ? handbuilt ones are 7 bills. unless your talking a stocker that somebody chopped in half and just welded a +4 plug back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 where do you buy a new swinger for $350 ? handbuilt ones are 7 bills. unless your talking a stocker that somebody chopped in half and just welded a +4 plug back in. http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/251256028526 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I'm not worried about the price, I'm doing it for the project. I build fishing vessels for a living and I would like to build parts for my wheeler. I'm more than capable of getting the job done I'm just reaching out for advice on the materials used for building them. They have a big selection of "do it yourself" pre fab parts on JDS site. That is what started the fire under me to make my own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I stand corrected thought he was refering to something more intricate than just 2 round tubes running back to the carrier housing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Clues, you lack many. Jds is $300, stellar is $300, fast sells them for $285, jl is $315. http://www.jlengineering.org/catalog/item/8029379/8657384.htm http://bansheehq.com/forums/index.php?/topic/174466-stellar-machine-and-performance-4130-swingarms/ http://www.jdscustoms.com/product/yamaha-banshee-swingarms/ http://farmandsandtoys.com/partdetail.asp?partid=414 Man I like that stellar swinger. $300 is a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 (edited) Pm zillafreak for help. He knows everything until it's time to answer the question Edited December 7, 2015 by registered user 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Clues, you lack many. The stage is all yours. Show him how to make a swinger oh great one with all the clues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slag_350300 Posted December 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 That is my only dilemma, a jig setup is prob the most time consuming part of the job. I may just order one from stellar and just stick with the subframe build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
registered user Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Someone is clearly upset they spew shit but facts prove them wrong. A basic tube swingarm is simple to design. Just need to make sure you keep it straight during welding. Everything is simple when you've never done it Like I said before I thought he wanted something more elaborate than just a single tube ya fuggin wanker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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