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Cage rebuild

Des Moines Boater

Des Moines Boater

Well-known member
I'm changing my cage from a full cage to a pancake cage. I have the frame work complete and I'm getting ready to weld on the wire. My question is how do you builders weld the wire on and what gauge wire do you use? I gas welded most of the cage frame and Tig welded some of it. It would take a long time to Tig or Gas weld it. So, what is the fastest, easiest and best way to weld it. The frame is round conduit.
 
Just spot braze the wire.

What Guage wire did you select? Hopefully fairly heavy. I like 10 gauge 2"x4" wire mesh.

I put the flame on the conduit close by the wire, and get a cherry spot going, and keep the rod down in there staying nice and warm so it's ready to dab.

Work the cherry spot over towards the wire and the wire will heat up super fast of course, then put the rod to it.

The whole trick is to get the cage tube hot enough, before you get the wire so hot that it gets brittle.

Take some scrap conduit, and wire to practice on first. It's easy really, but a whole lot easier if you've got someone to hold each piece of wire down on the tube while you tack it.
 
I use a gas mig with .023 wire and prefer the heavy guage 2x4 wire ,keep the heat on the conduit and pull it to the wire ,its much faster and cheaper than brass .
 
Robert, theres a difference between brazing, welding & soldering. Soldering doesnt create the strength necessary to withstand the vibration and stress. Brass and welding does. Besides, you'd have a grand in solder doing your cage.

Scotty
 
I used mig to do mine. A spot weld on each side of the wire and then one quick pull over the wire to tie the two spots together worked ok.

Brazing is probably a lot better, but takes more time and burns off more of the galvanizing on the wire. DON'T INHALE THE FUMES!!!!!

More tips on the pancake cage:

Make sure you have clearance for the distributor with your inside hoop! Sucks if you omit this step, then you have to tweak your cage like I did.

Also, make sure you have plenty of clearance for your prop especially if you have a Warp Drive. They flex a good bit.

You'll also need some braces coming forward to keep the cage from flexing. I used two long ones from about 1/4 way from the top, on down to right behind the seat. Then I put two short ones at the bottom to the front legs of the engine stand. Also, two flat bar braces from the rudders down to the splash guard on the transom. When they're all bolted on, the cage is quite rigid. When they're not, the cage is very flimsy!
 
Goog point Red.

You gotta remember the forces generated by your rudders will be transered to the boat through the cage.

It needs to be rigid.

Des Moines seems to be a very expierenced airboater, and I figured he had never had to tack wire before. I was in that boat myself at one time.

I'm sure he's built a good cage structure, but it don't hurt to mention the structural rigidity needed. If not for him, then for others.

Just for Safety's sake.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I was hoping for something simple but it looks like I'll weld the 100 or more spots. It just takes so long but it'll be done by the end of the day. You are all correct on the structural importance of the cage. I damaged a prop on my first airboat when the cage came loose due to Corrosion. On my other boats I bought in Florida I always cut down the seats so I can sit in the boat instead of above it. No Sawgrass in Iowa. First I drain all the salt water out of the tubing and then replace tubes that are bad. I always have to do some engine work, so, I love the pancake cage. I lost a valve head in the number one cylinder last week, so, I decided while waiting for the new cylinder and piston I would turn this into a pancake cage. Next one will be the square tubing.
My previous experience is in welding tube and fabric aircraft frames and hardware. I usually gas weld or tig weld. I've never brazed anything, so, I'll stick with my copper coated wire and torch. I couldn't find 11 gauge wire. 14 is the best I found, so, I'm using wire shelving. I'll include photos later. Thanks again to you all.
 
GOOD IDEAS EVERBODY ! A GOOD FIX IS TO BUY SOME TIGSTICKS AND WELD THE WIRE TO THE STICKS AND BAND IT ON THAT WAY IF YOU HAVE A BAD DAY ! EASY TO FIX AND YOU SECTION THE PEICES !PANCAKE CAGES HAVE A WAY OF NOT GETTING THE BUSHES OUT OF THE WAY ! :shock: TIG STICKS WELD SO GOOD TO NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK !AND THINK THEY DONT PULL AS GOOD AS OTHER CAGES DOWN THE ROAD ! :D
 
There is another way to do cage wire that I was told but have yet to try is to take 1/8" cole roll and make your own how ever big of squares you want or patterns with the wire but you have to do alot of welding at every over laped piece. here lately most are starting to go with a 3/4 cage
 
Here's a picture of what I have so far. Still needs a little work but I can take it out once I get my cylinder back on. I think I'll pay someone else to make my next cage.

cage12.jpg
 
Yeah, it's a PITA, ain't it? LOL

What kind of wire is that?
Looks pretty heavy gauge, almost like metal shelving?

Another thing I was going to tell you is that zip ties (cable ties) are your friend. I used probably about 300 of them when I put my cage together. They're a cheap way to get the wire to stay put while you weld it on.

But it looks like you've got it under control so far.

Nice boat. Is that a Banks-Maxwell prop?
 
You're right Red Dwarf, it is a pain. That is metal shelving. I didn't have time to find heavy gauge cage wire so I went with the shelving. It is mostly 12 guage but it ended up heavier than I wanted but not too bad. That is just a spare prop I've had for years. It looks good enough to use but I've never used it. The prop I have for the boat is a new Florida Air Prop.
The wire ties are a great idea. I used safety wire where i needed the tie downs. I'm going with square tubing and letting someone else build it next time.
The boat is nice but not what I need. I bought it off of Airboat Trader because of the engine. It was built by Outlaw Aircraft Engines and he puts out a great product. Notice my new 9 row Hayden Oil Cooler. The previous owner ran the engine hot because he didn't have a cooler on it. I'm sure that's why I lost the valve. It runs cool now. I also installed CHT guages to monitor the head temps.
The boat only has a 17 inch transom, which isn't enough for running the river here. I sank the boat one day at a steep boat ramp. It swamped just trying to put it in the water. Luckily I had a rope on the boat hooked to the trailer and just pulled it up the ramp, drained it and ran it the rest of the day with no problem. I'm more careful now launching the boat but I would prefer a 20 in transom. Maybe on the next boat, but I'm keeping this engine.
 
I went through a cage rebuild after New Year's Eve. Took a full weekend to get it done and I went from a full cage to a 3/4 cage. I can still work on the engine and it does a good job deflecting limbs and small branches. I just have to keep a constant look out for the large limbs. :oops: There are some pictures of the cage building somewhere in my gallery.
 
c chardt, i used 1/8" coll-roll wire strands to make the wire on my cage, boy is it a pain in the REAR! but it looks better than regular and holds up better, i did 4x4 squares on my little boat
 
I am using 1/8 stainless rods for my wire and I am anticipating using 5" squares which when viewed from straight at the bow are not really 5" because of the angle, I am trying to free up the airflow to the prop.
 
I'm seeing lots of good tips in the above posts and I have aluded to something in other posts.

I have never built a welded cage. Motorstand and mounts yes, I stick weld them, but nothing else. I know all the structural and strength arguments I hear and I won't chalenge that a weld is marginally superior.

My curiosity is this. Has the price of materials gone so nuts that brass and gass is now more expensive than electricity and steel? It used to be WAY WAY WAY cheeper to braze a cage and rigging. Gas was so cheep it wasn't even a factor last time I built one.

I about felll out in astonishment when I went to buy a piece of 1/2" x 12" x 5' steel when I was home. The metal shop blamed it on the Chineese building that huge dam. I doubt thats the case. I'm given the same excuse for the high cost of concrete and the same for wood. Are the Chins about to eat us out of house & home? It just doesn't sound legit to me. But something has caused the turnaround.

Scotty
 
THE WAY 141 IS DOING IT IS THE WAY TO DO IT ! YOU CAN BUY 5 32 STAINLESS TIG WIRE CHEAP , THIRD THE COST OF WIRE AFTER THE CUSSING AND CAN FIX IT WITH OUT ANYBODY KNOWING THAT YOU DID !I HAD WIRE HAD THE BEFORE THE MIND KICK IN SORT WORKS THAT MOST OF THE TIME ! :D ITS 316 STAINLESS BETTER THAT WHAT YOU SEE ANYWHERE ! :D
 
I used to have a nice little AC/DC tig machine but that was a long time ago. I look now and it looks like sommers around $3k to replace it now.

Id rather tig weld than any other welding process, but is it cost effective?

Scotty
 
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