8 3/4 rear axle tube

until recently i was thinking about bracing the axle tubes until a friend went to do just that and it appears his tubes are now no longer straight. the axles won't go in now. any experience out there on this. maybe preheat the tube first. thanks for any help on this

Your supposed to put in a jig bar. clamp and weld in short bursts alternating from side to side. He should be able to correct this and reweld. Or he could have left the axles in....

Welding does funny things. In many cases I used the heat from the welding to "draw" the pieces into propper alignment. Propper fit is crucial before welding. Many small tack welds from the braces to the housing on all pieces will make the new iron a jig in it's own right. Small amounts of heat in different areas will keep the warping to a minimum. Move from one side to the other, front to back, never too much heat in one specific area. A temporary brace opposite the permanent brace that can be easily removed would be cheap insurance, a throw away jig so to speak.

Just had a thought. There are many braces for off road truck diffs on the market, front and rear. Usually involving a couple of brackets and U-Bolts for the axle tubes, a saddle for the center section, and a formed rod with threaded ends to tension the rod. Why wouldn't something like that work on an A Body?