tower metals

BLazeItUp · Newbie Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 3 City: Trevor

I am about to build a tower for an old sunsport and I was just wondering what metals would be the best if anyone has any experience with any good ones or any to stay away from, right now I' thinking 6061-T6 or 6063-T6 at 2 or 2 1/2 I just dont know what is a good wall thickness to go width to make sure its strong enough. I know I will go with one of these two but I just dont know anything about them or which one is better, cheaper and what would be the best way to go. thanks

ace__05 · Newbie Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 35 City: Milton

6061 T6 is probably your best bet as it's most likely easier to find and is more than adequate (probably cheaper too). I'd say go for a thickness of 1/8" on a 2" OD tube.

good luck.

BLazeItUp · Newbie Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 3 City: Trevor

I was looking at metal online and I'm not sure if I should be looking at the round tubing or pipe, im thinking tubing right, and I wanted to know if .125 wall is thick enough for a 2" od or for a 2.25 od tube cause .25 wall is expensive

justin962 · Newbie Joined: 29 May 2006 Posts: 19

I read that a few places use 3/16ths for their towers.

Dip_Krew · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 5:52 am Post subject:

my tower is 1/4" thick. 2.25" round tubing. use 6064 aluminum, 6061 does tends to crack and tear when you apply pressure to bend it.

6064 is designed for bending and making angles with

Dip_Krew · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 5:53 am Post subject:

for wall thickness, you can probally get away with 3/8"

joedirt00 · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 5:59 am Post subject:

3/8"

I hope you realize how thick that is.

I believe Monster Towers are are 1/8". If you go stainless it could be thinner.

ace__05 · Newbie Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 35 City: Milton

Anything over 0.125" thickness is overkill.

You're going to want to get the tubing. Pipe has different sizing standards. 2" pipe with 0.125" wall thickness means that the pipe's outer diameter is actually 2.125" and it's inner diameter is 2".

0.25" thickness is WAY too expensive.

6061-T6 is perfect. Probably 90% of commercial aluminum towers use this, so it must be good enough for the job.

Dip_Krew · Posted: Jun 20, 2006 10:16 pm Post subject:

kingwakeboard · Newbie Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 6 City: N/A

would 1 and 1/2 inch 6061 T6 with a .250 wall be ok???

kingwakeboard · Newbie Joined: 05 Aug 2006 Posts: 6 City: N/A

or could i get away with .125

ace__05 · Newbie Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 35 City: Milton

on a 1.5" OD tube, I think 1/8" wall thickness might not cut it. I wouldn't risk it. 1/4" is probably overkill though and would add unnecessary cost. Personally in terms of strength and looks, I'd suggest not to go lower than 2" OD. If you were thinking of 1.5" OD with 1/4" thick tubing, 2" OD with 1/8" thick tubing will be cheaper.

MrBlean · Posted: Aug 23, 2006 12:40 pm Post subject:

I'm no expert on things mechanical but do know that the ability of tube to withstand bending moment is proportional to it's diameter. The larger diameter the tube, the stroger it will be. That's why, with their fat tube, MonsterTower is able to use such a thin wall section. I think it's ugly but that's just a personal opinion.

The difference in most of the T6 alloys is in how they are annealed (or not) to make them easy to bend without cracking. Some work-harden almost immediately and hence crack during fabrication. Welding properties are important too and the annealing affects those. Weld cracking on aluminium alloy is quite a problem as the alloy expands enrmously when hot then 'pulls' the weld when cool and contracted.

skeets44 · Outlaw Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 119

go with 2" sch 40 which is pipe with a diameter of 2.375 and a wall thinckness of approx. an 1/8". It will be easier to find hardware for the tower and it is plenty strong.