weld on beadlocks

[new2zukes]

well ive been doing some research as to how beadlocks work as i had no idea other than they lock the wheel to the rim. and now i have a better understanding of them i have rang a few companies that did beadlock rings one company i emailed no longer make them but have some excess stock and they are getting me a price for the rings and i was going to weld them onto my rims myself. does anyone think that welding beadlocks myself is a bad idea ? if so why ? oh and im not an expert welder but can do some neatish welds only been welding for about 1.5 years (not as a job) i know that if i dont run tubes the welds will have to be totaly air tight but i was going to run tubes in them so does this mean the welds dont NEED to be air tight? came across this website seems to be good help.
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/beadlocks/index.html
thanks.

martin

[Sadam_Husain]

At around 100 bucks each to get a set of rims beadlocked it would be worthwhile getting some who is setup to do them to knock them up for you, the last thing you want is a bead slightly out of centre or alignment

[Pedro]

while the welds don't need to be air tight it would be very beneficial to have 100% weld coverage with good penetration.

if you leave craters or unwelded section you are running a serious risk of rim failure when you inflate and use the rim. unless you are confident to the point you could weld a roll cage for a good friend then I would suggest finding a welder or engineering shop to glue them together,

You could clean all the paint and rust off, tack them together and get them ready to weld, if all prep is done, then if it took more than a hour two, i would be surprised


Cheers

Pedro

[new2zukes]

thanks for the input, i think the ring is made from about 5mm steel or something and the rim is only thin steel on the edge would this be a problem to penitrate the thicker steel? these rims are only going offroad spend most of my time in 1st or 2nd gear so there isnt much of a speed factor. i do have a mate thats a ticketed welder so can hopefully get him to do welding for me.
thanks
martin

[Pedro]

It does not matter if on road or off road, if a rim fails violently it can remove heads, arms and legs, the force withen a tyre are massive when inflated, i have seen a split rim let go and open the safety cage up like you inflated it!! if you have certed mate then get him to weld them up,

Cheers

Pedro

thanks for the input, i think the ring is made from about 5mm steel or something and the rim is only thin steel on the edge would this be a problem to penitrate the thicker steel? these rims are only going offroad spend most of my time in 1st or 2nd gear so there isnt much of a speed factor. i do have a mate thats a ticketed welder so can hopefully get him to do welding for me.
thanks
martin

[new2zukes]

hey thanks for that makes me more aware of the dangers i have just perchased the 2 rings and bolts for the beadlocks and it came to $80 each which doesnt sound too bad to me. thanks again for your input.

martin