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vanlow

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So what is the best tubing for frame building and by best I mean good quality, strong, easy to weld and not going to break the bank.....
I would really like to give a frame a shot but dont want to spend a whole lot of money on something that may not even be ridable. I thought of using old bike frames but most tubes aren't long enough for what i want to do and you have to strip all the paint too.

let me know what to use and where i can get it thanks
 
don't know much about welding, but i know mcmaster-carr is a good source for both hi-ten and cro-mo tubing, the most common bicycle steels..... :D

http://www.mcmaster.com
 
I hacksaw old frames for tubes for custom bikes because Im cheap.

Then I get my buddy to weld them because he owes me too many favors.
 
The tubing will need to be matched to your design intent, skill level and type of fabrication. What is it you would like to accomplish?
 
I want to use between 1.5" to .75" tube, that will be mig welded. I want a decent grad steel that doesn't cost a ton. I don't want to use chromoly for somthing that might end up in the trash..... I'm not sure of wall thickness either what should I use???
 
Most of them will be bent. I have a 12 ton bender. I won't need lugs to joint the tube there shouldn't be any butt joints. All of the joints will be notched.
 
If you are building a beach cruiser style bike and weight is not an issue I would use some common mild steel tubing (1020 DOM). A wall thickness of .120 will make your life easy when it comes to the bending and welding, if weight becomes an issue you can go down to .065 wall thickness. This tubing is easy to work with and will give decent results, just keep it away from scales.
 
I use 16 gauge DOM mild steel tubing from Tractor Supply or Home Depot. Also you can fill it with sand cap off the ends with tape and bend it by hand over a simple form cut out of plywood or even a 55 gallon barrel. You can make nice sweeping curves with out even owning a tubing bender.
 

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