Main Roll Hoop Q

[Dan Lentsch]

Hey guys there is a bit of a debate going on with our team about the interpretation of rule 3.3.4.2.

It says:
The Main Hoop must be constructed of a single piece of uncut, continuous, closed section steel tubing per Section 3.3.3.

Does this mean that the tube has to be one long piece that has been bent into the hoop, or can it be sections of tube that have been welded together to form one solid tube? It has been going back and forth for about a week, and I'm just wondering what everyone else does.. Thanks for the help!

-Dan

[Dan Lentsch]

Hey guys there is a bit of a debate going on with our team about the interpretation of rule 3.3.4.2.

It says:
The Main Hoop must be constructed of a single piece of uncut, continuous, closed section steel tubing per Section 3.3.3.

Does this mean that the tube has to be one long piece that has been bent into the hoop, or can it be sections of tube that have been welded together to form one solid tube? It has been going back and forth for about a week, and I'm just wondering what everyone else does.. Thanks for the help!

-Dan

[Anday]

When they say continuous, they mean a single length of tubing.
That means it's gonna have some bends.

[Marshall Grice]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Does this mean that the tube has to be one long piece that has been bent into the hoop, </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
above is correct.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> or can it be sections of tube that have been welded together to form one solid tube? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
above is incorrect.

[Pete M]

The rule is pretty clear, "uncut". Has to be a single tube from start to finish.

[BStoney]

Ah..the art of main roll hoop bending...

Sand, woodenplugs with gas build-up vent holes, some heat and a series of pins to bend it around...

OR

Hydraulic/electric tube bender

OR

Contact your local hydraulic fitting/mechanical job shop...and they should have a 3-wheeled roller to custom bend whatever you want...just make sure to provide them with enough tube for 2 or 3 hoops so they can get the proper setup

OR

Find a shop with a CNC bender to help you out

[Mike Sadie]

If EVER in doubt about something like this send an email to Kathleen Mcdonald (katklauz at aol dot com). Usually you will have an answer within a day. Also, if the tech inspectors at competition say what you did is not legal, you actually have a leg to stand on.

[Dan Lentsch]

thanks for the clarification everyone! we are going attepmt to make the hoop this weekend using a hydraulic bender..

[Aaron Heisler]

Two things to keep in mind:

1) For our hoops last year I contacted a local spint car shop and he bent our front and rear roll hoops for $15 bucks and he did it the day we dropped it off so I would recommend using an outside source if you have any problems doing it yourself.

2) The same guy who did the work in 1) was very concerned with where we got our tubing. Turns out that most of the tube that fsae teams buy (we got ours conveniently from Dillsburg Aeroplane Works in PA....very good price!) comes from China now and their tubing is of a much lower quality than US made tubing. He recommended that we use a piece of tube that he had in shop from one of the few US suppliers so that we didn't have any cracks in our bends.

Good luck!

[Wesley]

You could also find a way to locally distort the space-time continuum to achieve the shape you want for your roll hoop.

But I think bending may be easier.