Metal guru's....help!

[Falcon351C]

Ok guys....I posted yesterday about how my buddy gave me his chromemoly tubing and I wanted to see if it would work with my mild steel rollbar. Well the answer was no.....but I wanted to make sure my friend wasnt mistaken about what the tubing really was...since I dont notice a weight difference.....and it cut and grinded just like mild steel. So I checked competition engineering, the company that made the cage kit that he gave me. Well no where could I find that they offer a chrome moly cage....and the part number says it's mild steel. But the prob is....the tubing I have is 1 3\4 X .120 wall...or so it appears....but on the site it said it would be 1 3\4 x .134. So maybe my eye decieves me...and it's actually .134 wall. So to cover my bases...I called summit racing...which is where my friend actually ordered the bar from...and that part number is to a mild steel bar....so from all accounts it's seems it's actually mild steel tubing...which would be awesome...but im still kinda wondering about the wall thickness....It looks like .120 wall to me......so Im just wondering is there any way I can physically tell it's chromemoly...maybe some test? It feels like mild steel....it cuts like mild steel...so it has to be mild steel right? lol please help me out...I have a new hope that it's mild steel..and I can use the pieces! thanks in advance.

 

[smallv6]

Geeze, I thought I was going to have to use my vast knowledge
of Iron Maiden

It is most likely, from the sounds of it plated mild steel
If you cut the pipe does it appear to be plated?

 

[Falcon351C]

Well....i cant really tell if it's plated or not..but another person suggested that as well. The tubing is a bit more shiny than mild steel...no heavy scale or anything...it's pretty smooth..seems to be just a tad more smooth and shiny than regular steel....but yet very similiar...say it is just plated...then I assume it will mate to my exsisting mild steel correctly?

 

[musclecar neal]

its mild steel.

.134 is what they say they use and it should be. have you measured it? Most chrome-moly ( its not plated, chrome-moly is an alloy) is .083 in that size so you would know its C-M tubing from that stand point. Go ahead if its the kit he and the manufacturer syas its is you are good to go and its what you want.

 

[6PacktoGo]

It's likely mild steel. Does it have a seam? If it does, it is surely mild steel, since chrome moly does not have a seam. Most often the tubing in kits is 1.75 X .134 ERW. That is extruded rolled and welded (seamed) mild steel tubing. The reason it is .134 thick is because NHRA requires a minimum thickness of .120 on mild steel, and cheap tubing has poor thickness quality control. They have to make it .134 because if they make it .120 or .125 it will have thin spots that will cause it to fail inspection.