Bumper Build 101

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AxleIke said:
If you don't powdercoat, use the hammerite. It is the strongest paint in a rattle can I've seen that still has a really nice finish. I hit my bellypan with that stuff, and its held up well even with rock hits.
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Thanks Isaac!

green73 said:
Appliance epoxy in a spray can goes on very nicely and dries like Powdercoating. Check your local Lowes/Home Depot. It comes in black, silver, almond, and white. I have used that and hammerite paint, and I like the Appliance Epoxy better.


Very nice design!
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Cool, I have to check that out, I have never heard of it before.

Rezarf <><
 
nice work as usual, and even better write up, what size rod did you use on the recovery points? Your write up sounded like you were making a show out of it " remember always wear your safety glasses and follow all manufactures safety instructions"
 
dieselcruiserhead said:
Good ol' flux core (used it for years)... Wait until you get a 220 MIG at some point, it will change your life :)
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Nope, this IS a 220 MIG welder. I only run CO2 on my welds so I get a little spatter, but better penetration.

Thanks! :D
 
Looks like you could have a plasma cutter hiding in your shop, any reason you used a grinder/cut off instead?
 
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psreno said:
Looks like you could have a plasma cutter hiding in your shop, any reason you used a grinder/cut off instead?
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I wish! :D no plasma for me
 
So after Rising Sun has everyone set up as licensed 2m operators, you can begin the next semester's coursework and teach welding for newbs! I'd be on the front row for that one.
 
REZARF said:
Nope, this IS a 220 MIG welder. I only run CO2 on my welds so I get a little spatter, but better penetration.

Thanks! :D
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Interesting.. I ran CO2 only on the 220 welder I used for most of what I built my first 55 with, I was borrowing it and he did the same thing... Hate to say it but I would never go back.. It is night and day with CO2/Argon C-25 as its called.. Less crowning, cleaner welds, less spanner, overall better, night and day.. What welder do you have?

Otherwise looks great as always Drew! I also can't wait to maybe build a trailer like yours, a whole lot of inspiration and good planning there!
 
Thanks so much, i am using a Lincoln SP-175 on straight CO2. Will probably go C25 when I start into the sheet metal... but for now i don't know any better! :D

Thanks for the nice words.

Rezarf <><
 
GzrGlide said:
Just curious why you didn't get longer shackle mounts and weld them to the bumper on the front and rear faces (you'd have to cut a hole through both faces)? Is just welding them to the front going to be good enough?

Great looking bumper! Excellent work.
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Turns out, this is wiser than I first thought. There is much debate on how to weld these recovery points safely and I decided after talking with lots of veterans who are more in the know than I, to open up the rear of the recovery points and burn them in there as well. I stand corrected :D

I think in a winch pull I would be fine, but for a dynamic load of a snatch strap, the extra welds can only help. I am a booger or safety so this was a no brainer.

I opened up the rear of the shackle hangers with two sets of holes. I drilled a 1/8" hole about 1/2" into the shackle material, and another 1/2" hole just until I passed through all the base metal. Then I cranked the welder to the max and fed lots of wire into the "pilot" hole and let it burn in really deep, then as the puddle came to the top, I started to work the weld into the base metal with a rosette weld.

In the last pic you can see the heat affect of the weld on the other side. I think for the time (20 minutes or so) this was safe cheap insurance.

Rezarf <><
pilots.webp
plug weld.webp
finished.webp
 
Something cool to add, I have a student friend with access to an industrial size powder coating system...

He hooked me up with a high-gloss, high-quality gloss finish on my newly built bumper. I hope to swap the winch and fair-lead from the original this weekend, and then get to mounting my new Hella 4000's :D
good powder coat.webp
 
Got finished installing the bumper this morning... crappy part is, I messed up big time putting my winch onto it and wired my pos and neg backwards :doh: So now I gotta' fiddle around with the winch and see what damage I did... errrrrr. Once I figured it out, and rewired the winch, it spooled in for about 2 seconds, then nothing. Now I only get "click" when I control it from the remote... any guesses?

Otherwise, the bumper came out nice I think.
Good-front2.webp
lowgood2.webp
side.webp
 
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