Got a barely used 110 mig welder recently. Was thinking about fabbing my own step bars for my "vertically challenged" passengers, and to be honest, it just sounds like a fun project. Soooooo.....

Show me your bars! I know some of you have designs for sliders, etc too, I'd like to see what you came up with! Tubing or square... how did you anchor it? I'm thinking of putting them to plates that bolt on, rather than just welding to the frame (too permanent and I'm that good with a tiny welder).

 

I think you would want to weld them to the frame. IMO, the bolts will never be as strong or as rigid as just welding it to the frame. And what is the worst thing that could happen, you cut them off? hahaha

 

Actually, I was thinking strength as a reason NOT to weld them to the frame. It's a 110V welder, so being able to hit a mounting plate from two sides would seem to make more sense than trying to build off of a thick frame. Again, I'm must talking step bars, not sliders.

 

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack your thread, I'm hoping to be helpful here.

What welder do you have? I would feel great about putting (entire truck) load bearing members together with a 150A machine. No question if it's just a person step. I don't know if there's a MIG welder so small you can't support your own weight if you use it well. Use .030 wire. It'll be great. Technique is important, so practice until you feel great about it.

A nice thing to do is destructive testing. Make a joint like you're planning to mount to the frame, weld it to a piece of scrap that is comparable to the frame, and then break it. Stick a long lever in the tube and destroy it. Odds are you'll buckle the tube before you break a weld, even with your little household welder. Destructive testing will surprise you as to how terrible a job you can do and still be freak'n sweet.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread....

 

I cant remember what my HS shop teacher told me, But an ARC welder with 6011 should hold like 10000lbs per square inch
Thats IF the pentration is good and solid

if my number or units are way off my bad, if someone knows the correct number they should let us know

 

With a 110 welder you'll get good penetration maybe up to 3/16" thick material. And you'll probably be doing multiple passes to accomplish that. If you want to do 1/4"-3/8" you'll need a 240 welder, there's really no way around it.

I'd go with tubing. It slides over rocks a little easier. And though I prefer welding sliders to the frame, with a 110 welder, I'd bolt it instead.

I'll try to find some pics of the sliders I had on my old green machine.

 

Sorry, couldn't find any undershots...

 

how about bolting it to the frame and then laying a bead on a couple sides of the mounting plates? That would make it a little more rigid.

 

You could do that if you wanted. There's nothing wrong with bolting it, many people go that route especially if they want to take em off and don't want to break out the torch and grinder.

But yeah, if you're worried about the strength of bolting it, you could always throw a bead around the mount.

I just prefer welding anything instead of drilling and bolting. Hell, even the toolbox and train horns are welded to my dodge instead of using bolts