I'm bored and have a welder…….

Ok so the cardboard cut out didn't go too well but it looked half decent other than the wavy edges from cutting. So new plan I'm going to just draw it up on 3D CAD and then print off a sheet with the dimensions and angles for the front bit as that'll be getting cut by the local fabricators anyway so I can have a solid front piece with some bends in it rather than welding 5 pieces of metal together then the rest of it will be cut by me as they have no bends and are all simple shapes and are all duplicates of each other so once ones cut I can just use it as a template for the other 3.
I'm going to do the CAD tonight so I'll upload a pic when I'm done.

get it cut and bent right and you'd only need one piece and four welds matey

You make a good point I'll see how much it'll cost for cutting and bending the whole lot but it'll be more than four welds be about six by my count then however many strengthening plates I put in and the chassis mounts

But yeah it would be a lot easier that way

Dr_evil said:

You make a good point I'll see how much it'll cost for cutting and bending the whole lot but it'll be more than four welds be about six by my count then however many strengthening plates I put in and the chassis mounts

But yeah it would be a lot easier that way

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and alot stronger , i do a fair bit of fab work now and then, it always pays to find the most efficient way to fabricate, bear in mind that the strengthening hasn't got to be as thick as the rest if it's placed in the right spots too.

bigsi13 said:

and alot stronger , i do a fair bit of fab work now and then, it always pays to find the most efficient way to fabricate, bear in mind that the strengthening hasn't got to be as thick as the rest if it's placed in the right spots too.

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I think this'll be the best option then Si, thanks for that. I'll go out and get some quotes tomorrow when I pick up the welding wire and a new mask Was also gonna look at making some rock sliders but they can wait for a bit. I was only planning on using 3mm to strengthen it anyway but yes good point with the added strength and ease of building, I doubt it will cost that much as with the big industrial tools the guys have it shouldn't take them long to plasma cut and bend some steel sheet

owl said:

Just done a quick calculation and 4700 x 2700 in 7mm weighs 786 kilos. I am sure 5mm would be better and weld in a separate winch mounting plate straight to the chassis.
Also if you buy your steel from a proper steel stock firm most of them have the equipment to cut to size each piece and fold the various bends on their press brake, I had a dozen cuts and bends done recently for £20.

I also made my own press brake which I have bent 6mm in if you want the drawings I can post them up. ( I think I still have them ).

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I like that!

Simplest one I've seen and easily fabbed up I reckon. Project 73 for me then ... think I'd like the bottom to be interchangeable for pressing seals and bearings and 'other stuff' too ..

And so it begins, pics to come later

Looking forward to seeing them, as I was toying with having an attempt to make some front and rear bumpers

Ok…….so I may have overshot on the chassis mount distance a little I'll cut it down a bit before it gets powder coated but for now it'll do.

I welded the front plate to half of the mounts and tomorrow I will weld the other half of the mounts into place as well as the bottom bash plate bit and some vertical supports for jacking purposes. I'll also weld in a couple of strips to support the mounts but heres some pics so far. Its very big and lethal I've removed it now anyway and the bullbar will go on in the morning before I make my trip out to town for more metal

Before you go much further, I'd suggest you take the grille off and have a good luck how far back you can fit a winch before you need to cut metal .. there is some leeway to go towards the radiator ..

I'd certainly prefer to not have a winch than have anything like that much hanging that far out in front ...

Paul D said:

I like that!

Simplest one I've seen and easily fabbed up I reckon. Project 73 for me then ... think I'd like the bottom to be interchangeable for pressing seals and bearings and 'other stuff' too ..

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Me too drawings it is then..

Paul D said:

Before you go much further, I'd suggest you take the grille off and have a good luck how far back you can fit a winch before you need to cut metal .. there is some leeway to go towards the radiator ..

I'd certainly prefer to not have a winch than have anything like that much hanging that far out in front ...

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yep That is way too far out.
This is mine

Paul D said:

Before you go much further, I'd suggest you take the grille off and have a good luck how far back you can fit a winch before you need to cut metal .. there is some leeway to go towards the radiator ..

I'd certainly prefer to not have a winch than have anything like that much hanging that far out in front ...

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I dont have that much space I have air-con fans sat right behind the grille, I'm gonna cut it back about 7cm though rather than have a battering ram on the front

Even with air con it doesn't need to be more than 6" out. most winches are only about 250mm deep.

Dr_evil said:

I dont have that much space I have air-con fans sat right behind the grille, I'm gonna cut it back about 7cm though rather than have a battering ram on the front

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oooh air-con ... Muddy off-roading, hmmmm .. I'd suggest the further out a bumper can be would be, if you look at the vertical down picture, at least halfway back, better still 2/3rds back. No winch will make up for extra overhang unless it costs £000's and the weight that far in front will mean you need Very Heavy Duty springs and shocks.

Don't get me wrong, I like the rough design of the bumper, it just seems like overkill to me, and would make, perhaps, the chassis flex or break before it does!

redhand said:

Even with air con it doesn't need to be more than 6" out. most winches are only about 250mm deep.

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I'll be cutting it back 3" as I said I don't want to be cutting into the grille though hence it sticks out a bit further than it should really but I'm not bothered

Paul D said:

oooh air-con ... Muddy off-roading, hmmmm .. I'd suggest the further out a bumper can be would be, if you look at the vertical down picture, at least halfway back, better still 2/3rds back. No winch will make up for extra overhang unless it costs £000's and the weight that far in front will mean you need Very Heavy Duty springs and shocks.

Don't get me wrong, I like the rough design of the bumper, it just seems like overkill to me, and would make, perhaps, the chassis flex or break before it does!

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Yeah as I said I'll be chopping it back, I'll most likely do it tomorrow as I need to get the bottom and top sections cut so I need it to be in the right place for that. I'll also pick up the correct size drill bit this time, took me ages drilling the four holes cos the 10mm was too big an advance from 8mm on that steel

As you say the bumper is overkill I know it is but I quite like the fact it's tough but yeah it will be coming back in a bit soon so it's not so ridiculous! It wants to be similar to the one in post one so about 7cm cut off should do it.


Impressed with that Sealey though it ****ed through the 3mm I was playing with and left a nice weld on the 5mm I used for the bumper

Too much nose weight. and plod mite decide it's dangerous vehicle if it sticks out that far. I'd re assess ya plans and cut ir back a lot more Yu can allus get another grill if ya take the the winch off.

Have a look here Goodwinch Winches & Parts, Electric Winches and Winch Bumpers, UK – Goodwinch.com all the dimensions for a goodwinch TDS are there 6.49" or approx 160mm is depth of the winch which means you could have it sticking out 6" and the winch would fit without having to cut the grill.

redhand said:

Too much nose weight. and plod mite decide it's dangerous vehicle if it sticks out that far. I'd re assess ya plans and cut ir back a lot more Yu can allus get another grill if ya take the the winch off.

Have a look here Goodwinch Winches & Parts, Electric Winches and Winch Bumpers, UK – Goodwinch.com all the dimensions for a goodwinch TDS are there 6.49" or approx 160mm is depth of the winch which means you could have it sticking out 6" and the winch would fit without having to cut the grill.

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I'm gonna trim it back so it sticks out about 8" in total with the bullbars right now its a 17" in total so I can afford to lose quite a bit of it and use the left over angle as supports within the bumper. I measured up wrong in the first place so its my fault

Just trying to criticise constructively ...

Do you have a particular winch for it yet? If you haven't, don't cut any holes for rollers/fairlead, mounting bolts etc, leave it blank and solid .. different makes and model ranges have many different sizes .. cut the holes wrongly and you're not going to fit some winches easily ..

Or ditch the bull bars. Put A bar on with bar going across above lights?