# Metal, lightweight / durable. **URL:** \ **Category:** PittSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [June 1, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862 "2004-06-01T07:24:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 7:24am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/1 "2004-06-01T07:24:04Z")
i’m looking for some sort of metal to use for a rebar. what i am planning on doing is cutting the oem rebar apart, and using the mount points only. Then, simply getting a 1 inch round (give or take) and just making a little rebar out of it. sorta like this. * * * | engine bay | so yeah… pretty simple design and idea… but the question is, what kind of metal to use and where to get? i’ll be asking someone (one of you :love: ) to do the welding for me, so keep in mind it needs to be a good metal to weld with… also as light as possible (within reasonable price range)… ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/2 "2004-06-01T07:29:19Z")
chromoly tubing,stronger & lighter! ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 8:36am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/3 "2004-06-01T08:36:22Z")
where can i buy it? and more importantly, where can i buy it so that i don’t have to buy 100’ of it? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff95TA](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jeff95ta/32/5935_2.png) [@Jeff95TA](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jeff95TA)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 8:53am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/4 "2004-06-01T08:53:54Z")
Beacon Supply in Belle Vernon carries some metal beams/angles/channels/tubing. Not sure of exact materials or lengths. 724-929-6600 Bicycle frames are chromemoly! ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 8:55am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/5 "2004-06-01T08:55:37Z")
> [@turbovw18](#): > > where can i buy it? and more importantly, where can i buy it so that i don’t have to buy 100’ of it? i’ll check some the guys i know!!!how big of piece u need? ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 9:28am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/6 "2004-06-01T09:28:24Z")
just need to make a rebar… so i’m thinking like 5 feet? about 4.5 feet across the front bumper and about 2inches out from the mount… i haven’t measured exactly… i’ll probably be making 2 or 3 of them, so upwards of 20 ft… but just for me, about 5-6. ---
**Author:** ![silvrhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvrhand](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/silvrhand)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 12:10pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/7 "2004-06-01T12:10:13Z")
titanium ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 12:15pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/8 "2004-06-01T12:15:58Z")
> [@silvrhand](#): > > titanium i’m no baller man… just a techie, we don’t all work for networking superpowers :hahano: but yeah… titanium would be a little too much??? ---
**Author:** ![Shaggy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/shaggy/32/5945_2.png) [@Shaggy](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Shaggy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/9 "2004-06-01T12:28:45Z")
> [@8.1crew](#): > > i’ll check some the guys i know!!!how big of piece u need? :bowrofl: no comment ---
**Author:** ![Pewter](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/pewter/32/5936_2.png) [@Pewter](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Pewter)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/10 "2004-06-01T13:15:30Z")
:offtopic: > [@Shaggy](#): > > :bowrofl: > no comment ---
**Author:** ![Darkstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@Darkstar](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Darkstar)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/11 "2004-06-01T20:20:49Z")
Aluminum \> Chromoly ---
**Author:** ![peterock17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@peterock17](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/peterock17)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 9:35am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/12 "2004-06-02T09:35:50Z")
yeah, but welding aluminum is a pain in the ass. chromoly is stronger than most aluminum and cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![taco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@taco](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/taco)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/13 "2004-06-02T17:52:23Z")
Your not going to be able to find anyone around here to weld titanium for any reasonable price. Welding aluminum isn’t too bad if you have a tig welder, I think it is easier to tig than steel. Chromoly isn’t exactly the easiest to weld, to do it right it needs to be either tig welded or oxyfuel welded. Regular mild steel would be the cheapest and easiest to work with. It can easily be welded but it is on the heavy side. I am not entirely sure what you are trying to build but I think my first choice would be aluminum if you have the equipment to work with it since weight is a concern. ---
**Author:** ![Shaggy](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/shaggy/32/5945_2.png) [@Shaggy](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Shaggy)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/14 "2004-06-02T17:53:49Z")
wood and duct tape works well ---
**Author:** ![Jeff95TA](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jeff95ta/32/5935_2.png) [@Jeff95TA](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jeff95TA)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/15 "2004-06-03T03:06:33Z")
I don;t understand the application either, but if you pick a few materials, and give me some rough dimensions, I can size them so they have the same strength/stiffness and compare weights. Or you can just eyeball it. ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 5:51am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/16 "2004-06-04T05:51:55Z")
it’s a bumper rebar… the big chunk of metal that IS under the bumper skin. on my vw it’s conformed to the structure of the car, swoops in and out with the bumper / grille… i’m putting a Front mount IC on there hopefully this weekend or the following week… i CAN NOT run the stock rebar. so my solution is to chop off the stock rebar mount points and simply put a bar in it’s place… i wanted something smaller 1" dia so that i can run the bar straight across the front end and still fit the bumper (i have a euro bumper which is about 3inches shorter \*depth-wise, than a US bumper) so i hope you understand what i’m trying to do here… nothing to special… just a rebar. didn’t want to use mild steel because of the weight. where could i source chromolly? i have the measurements on my other laptop at home… i can post them up if need be. ---
**Author:** ![silvrhand](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@silvrhand](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/silvrhand)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2004, 2:42pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/17 "2004-06-04T14:42:11Z")
I do believe to weld chromolly you have to heat it up really hot… I could be wrong though ---
**Author:** ![taco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@taco](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/taco)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2004, 9:45am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/18 "2004-06-05T09:45:53Z")
[www.onlinemetals.com](http://www.onlinemetals.com) ---
**Author:** ![fshowcars](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/fshowcars/32/5937_2.png) [@fshowcars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/fshowcars)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 6:29am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/19 "2004-06-07T06:29:11Z")
Taco thanks!!! jeff… any word on teh chromoly… need to get something in the works ASAP,… don’t want to drive around with no rebar… ---
**Author:** ![Jeff95TA](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/jeff95ta/32/5935_2.png) [@Jeff95TA](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Jeff95TA)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 10:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862/20 "2004-06-07T10:33:58Z")
I assume you want something close to the same strength of what was there originally. Can you tell me roughly the dimensions of the OE (at least diameter and if solid)? For what it’s worth, Beacon Supply doesn’t stock any aluminum or chromoly material. You might be better just going plain carbon steel, but go hollow instead of solid (assuming your original was solid). [Next page](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/metal-lightweight-durable/166862.md?page=2)