looks nice and strong keep us posted.

 

maybe i just should've waited a little longer and bought one....

looks really good, i can only hope mine looks that good

 

make sure to leave enough of a gap to compensate for the frame flexing.

 

Dang BruceTS, those pictures are huge. Good looking bumper though.

 

I just uploaded them for charles, he's supposed to build a webpage showing the step by step process. there are a few minor changes from my original design and some things that I had planned to do to mine but never got around to.

As for gap, a minimum of 1" to about 1 1/4", but more won't hurt, the weatherstripping will hide it quite well and help prevent body damage from hard impacts. On the Rubicon I hit so hard when I drove fast off a ledge, you can see in the picture how much the bottom wing caved in. When this happened the frame flexed up and the top plate came in contact with the body, but no damaged occured, because of the rubber dampening the blow and the top plate bent downwards.

 

yeah guys, once this thing is finished, i'll put up a webpage with pics of the build process. that should be in the next week or two.

okay not week or two, but more. still not finished, but i'll get that webpage up asap.

 

Holly crap I can't believe I missed this thread.


One word... DIG!


When can I come over and help?!

 

ok, so its been a while. i started this spring break and didnt realize how much time it really takes (me anyway). i've been working on it a little bit each night this week.

first off, Plan B. i made different mounts. i wasn't digging the size of bruce's design and really, i didn't think i needed mounts that big.

so new mounts:



left them unwelded this time around until i got ready to weld the main bar on them.

then moved to the main bar, welded in the hitch receiver:






now here is where there arent many pics, mainly from friday and saturday's work. i bolted the brackets to the frame, set the bar on, grinded here and there to get it level, tack welded, removed, fully welded. cut the angles on the ends, sanded the entired thing, primed.

i'm not sure if i shouldve primed it or not, but i may not have time to work on this for another couple weeks, so it seemed like good idea.

whole thang:



some of my better welds:



bolted up:








well that's it for now. as ugly as the sides are, i'm not putting the stock bumper back on. its a pain to remove/put back on. i will just acknowledge the fact that my truck is 'ugly' for now and move on...

chris. i need your help. i'm scared of the side wings

oh yeah, my HF grinder is about to die. i have great timing. :cry:

 

nice progress dude not planning on using the plastic shroud? after looking at all the buildups for this style bumper for endless hours...bruces, andy's etc, seems like not such a hard fab project to take on. is this your first fab project? if so how is it on the difficulty scale?im thinkin i may want to give this a go too. or at least get a template up or something. im decent with a wrench & grinder...but welding is something my buddy can hopefully school me on. what did you use to cut your plate & tube with? and how did you bend the shape of your mounts? notch n bend?

update with lotsa pics

 

thanks

i have not made up my mind about the plastic shroud yet. if i want to, i'm pretty sure i can make it work, it seems to be at the right position. if i dont want to mess with it, i'll plate the top at a later time.

my first fab project...yes, my first major project. and it is a ton more work then i had predicted. it is also more expensive than i figured, the cutting discs add up quickly.

its not necessarily 'difficult', purely time consuming. the grinding and cutting is easy. if you are going to do the welding, obviously get some practice in, but be sure and practice on the same type of materials you will be using. i just recently discovered that welding 1 setting lower than previously left a much cleaner and more controlled bead. so just play around with it.

i cut with a 4.5" angle grinder with cut off discs. to bend, just groove it and bend. for the 3/16" plate, you have to groove it pretty deep to be able to bend a right angle.

my best advice would be to look at pictures of lots of different bumpers (sonoran, bamachem, BruceTS, armorology, rockware) and figure out what works for you. they all look and mount a bit different.

 

Im not doing the plastic shroud but I thought about making the plate out of 1/8" or even thinner with a couple supports so if something does get crushed it wont smash the rear door . Just a thought for ya.

 

you were smart to build off the hitch. getting the holes lined up in the brackets was a PITA.

 

Get It Done!


I don't know if this is just me but I don't paint mine untill the very end. You will probably experience some pealing without using primer. If you want to primer it later, you need to sand all the paint off. That sounds like a whole lot more trouble than some surface rust that could collect over the corse of the project.

Definatly digging the progress, can't wait to see it in person.
btw good lookin welds!

 

I like your idea for the mounts. If I had the energy do mine over again I would make them more like yours. I took the simple approach but I am willing to bet I will need to re-inforce mine a little bit more for upward/downward forces. Its basically just 3/16 flat stock and 1/4 side peices.

 

got any more pics of you bumper vegas?

 

PM sent. I'll start my own thread later this week for everyone to look at/laugh at.

 

Get back to work. I want mine.

 

you've got that right!

 

more tomorrow...

 

it's gettin' there...