Home Made Plate Front Bumper (1 Viewer)

[DiscoveredLC]

i disagree.
pretty? yes.
but it's not a solid bead, it's a series of tacks, on top of that it has the look of being run down hill. hard wire and down hill are not the strongest beads.
not saying it's bad, just what i see.

well, Im no "expert" weldor like you appear to be. Im a 24 year old college student who is a self taught fabricator and has no schooling, so please educate me on what I'm doing wrong.

I CAN tell you that I ran that bead in a horizontal position continuously with a "loop and swoop" technique. I also try and bevel all my joints with thick plate to get a good penetrating weld.

kind of insulting that you think I would weld a 1" thick piece of steel that will be put under so much stress with "a series of tacks."

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Judging by the looks of your welds, I would have made the same assumption. Take that as a complement! Those are purdy welds!

 

[Fosters]

So very similar to my old Discovery bumper

Nice work...Shipping would be costly sending one to me in Florida though

 

[brian]

well, Im no "expert" weldor like you appear to be.

i'am, been doing so for close to 20 years now. have several pipe certs, which also carry over to plate.

your machine is set too "cold". if you used the chart that is likely in or on it, it's close but still cold. how much color is on the back side of the plate behind the blocks?
if you put a bevel on that, it wasn't much of one. that weld is what, a quarter inch or so? actually looking again, right at the corner i can see the little bevel you had. that falls under, under cut. something that small, with a cold machine can do more harm than good. it's very likely that the very bottom of the bevel is now a void the length of the block.
the better way to mount that, instead of just setting it on the plate. would have been to cut a hole out the size as the block, and set the block through the plate, in order to weld both the front and the back side.

the third "tack" down from the top, you can see a dimple in the center of it, compare that to the tack on the joint visible in the back ground, same dimple. thats from the pubble cooling off. there is no need to "whip" hard wire on a horiz run, just push it. since the machine was cold, when you whipped(way too far i might add. you don't even throw 5p that far), the puddle cooled off, so while you may not have let off the trigger, the steel says otherwise., but more importantly, will think otherwise. it looks like there might even be alittle cold lap going on there.

like i said, i wasn't calling it bad, just what i saw. i doubt it will come off.....you asked for this post.

 

[DiscoveredLC]

Next on the build list is a new front bumper for my 80. The winch tray is 5/16, the top/front is 3/16 and the bottom part of the wing is 1/4" plate. Almost done plating the bumper, just need to finish the sides. The recovery points mount right in front of the frame, and they are welded front and back through the 5/16" plate. The slanted openings directly below the recovery points are going to have high lift jack points built in. I have a Warn XD9000 thats going to go in it, and the solenoid is going to be mounted inside the engine bay.

Im also going to bend a small section of 1.5" tubing for a Vision X LED light bar that will mount right above the winch on those 2 small triangles.

Should have the plate work and wing gussets done after class tomorrow!

i'am, been doing so for close to 20 years now. have several pipe certs, which also carry over to plate.

your machine is set too "cold". if you used the chart that is likely in or on it, it's close but still cold. how much color is on the back side of the plate behind the blocks?
if you put a bevel on that, it wasn't much of one. that weld is what, a quarter inch or so? actually looking again, right at the corner i can see the little bevel you had. that falls under, under cut. something that small, with a cold machine can do more harm than good. it's very likely that the very bottom of the bevel is now a void the length of the block.
the better way to mount that, instead of just setting it on the plate. would have been to cut a hole out the size as the block, and set the block through the plate, in order to weld both the front and the back side.

the third "tack" down from the top, you can see a dimple in the center of it, compare that to the tack on the joint visible in the back ground, same dimple. thats from the pubble cooling off. there is no need to "whip" hard wire on a horiz run, just push it. since the machine was cold, when you whipped(way too far i might add. you don't even throw 5p that far), the puddle cooled off, so while you may not have let off the trigger, the steel says otherwise., but more importantly, will think otherwise. it looks like there might even be alittle cold lap going on there.

like i said, i wasn't calling it bad, just what i saw. i doubt it will come off.....you asked for this post.

I said "expert welder like you appear to be" because it says your a weldor on your profile.

I quoted my first post, and you can see that I did cut through the piece of 5/16" and welded the front and back of the recovery point. I measured the weld from toe to toe and its a hair under 3/8". The opening on the recovery point is 1" for reference. Not sure what you are looking at in the picture, but the recovery point is welded all the way around in the pic. You cant see a bevel anywhere...

You started doing this when I was 4, so of course my welds arent going to be as perfect as what you might want to see. Not to make you feel old or anything..... hahaha

 

[brian]

You cant see a bevel anywhere...

You started doing this when I was 4, so of course my welds arent going to be as perfect as what you might want to see. Not to make you feel old or anything..... hahaha

i'm dealing with a half blurry pix(old and all), and i did'nt read the letters and stuff, but look at the upper corner, and tell me what that looks like. from my point of view, it looks like what was left of a bevel.
so it's all good. turn the heat up a touch, and leave the feed speed alone.

the problem, with doing it for a living, i don't feel like doing it when i get home.

i'm not old, i'm experienced

 

[DiscoveredLC]

i'm dealing with a half blurry pix(old and all), and i did'nt read the letters and stuff, but look at the upper corner, and tell me what that looks like. from my point of view, it looks like what was left of a bevel.
so it's all good. turn the heat up a touch, and leave the feed speed alone.

the problem, with doing it for a living, i don't feel like doing it when i get home.

i'm not old, i'm experienced

haha, Im still trying to learn what a perfect weld looks like so I can critique mine. I still need to develope better skills on what to look for.... Thanks for the input, too.

So, now that you know its welded front and back do you think its safe? (not being a smart ass either, totally serious.) It sits directly between the inner and outer pieces of plate on the frame mounts too.

 

[brian]

haha, Im still trying to learn what a perfect weld looks like so I can critique mine. I still need to develope better skills on what to look for.... Thanks for the input, too.

So, now that you know its welded front and back do you think its safe? (not being a smart ass either, totally serious.) It sits directly between the inner and outer pieces of plate on the frame mounts too.

even if it was just welded on the front it likely would have been fine.
you probably are using an er-70 class wire...so it could handle a 70k pound pull under perfect conditions.

 

[Pin_Head]

Im a 24 year old college student who is a self taught fabricator and has no schooling, so please educate me on what I'm doing wrong.

Brian is correct. They don't teach you to weld like that in welding class and looking pleasing isn't the same as being correct. Instead of a series of tack welds, you would want to do a single constant vertical up bead with a wider face or multiple pass welds.

You have some talent there and you could go far with a little study.

 

[DiscoveredLC]

even if it was just welded on the front it likely would have been fine.
you probably are using an er-70 class wire...so it could handle a 70k pound pull under perfect conditions.

Brian is correct. They don't teach you to weld like that in welding class and looking pleasing isn't the same as being correct. Instead of a series of tack welds, you would want to do a single constant vertical up bead with a wider face or multiple pass welds.

You have some talent there and you could go far with a little study.

Thanks guys. Next time I will definitely ask around about proper beveling a thicker piece of steel like that.

Brian, yeah, its er-70S6 .030 wire.

 

[brian]

what gas? 75/25?

 

[Adam R]

i disagree.
pretty? yes.
but it's not a solid bead, it's a series of tacks, on top of that it has the look of being run down hill. hard wire and down hill are not the strongest beads.
not saying it's bad, just what i see.

They look nice, but if I'm hanging off of a cliff, I don't want my recover points popping off. I've seem some "beautiful" welds fail spectacularly. Welding is both an art and science. Keep up the nice work. Bumper itself looks great. Also, burn the pieces in good on the backside where nobody is going to look.

Adam

 

[Rwhat]

Thanks fellas.

The plasma is a Hypertherm Powermax 45. REALLY nice machine! I went sideways on a sheet of ice a few months back and put the cruiser into a tree. I did all the repairs myself, and then the bodywork with a friend, so that saved me a TON of money. I used the rest of the insurance money to buy the plasma and all the materials for the bumper. Ill check my receipts and add up all the cost of materials.

I was trying to figure out a design to do a similar one. I was planning on using steel plate and then having a shop bend the 90* for the wings. I think it it might be a good excuse to buy a plasma and cut the pieces out instead.

I have several questions, is there a reason why the winch is mounted in the middle of the rails instead of the bottom with a universal winch mount or plate?

Did you integrate the wings/main bumper into the winch or is the winch mount separate?

Could you also post better pics of the mounting tot he frame horns?

 

[brian]

Also, burn the pieces in good on the backside where nobody is going to look.

Adam

getting it too hot creates it's own set of issues as well.

 

[DiscoveredLC]

what gas? 75/25?

yup, 75/25

 

[DiscoveredLC]

I was trying to figure out a design to do a similar one. I was planning on using steel plate and then having a shop bend the 90* for the wings. I think it it might be a good excuse to buy a plasma and cut the pieces out instead.

I have several questions, is there a reason why the winch is mounted in the middle of the rails instead of the bottom with a universal winch mount or plate?

Did you integrate the wings/main bumper into the winch or is the winch mount separate?

Could you also post better pics of the mounting tot he frame horns?

The mount and wings are all one unit. Ill post up some pics of the mount when im finished. I didnt want to mount it even with the bottom of the frame cause I wanted to keep the bumper roughly the same size all the way across. Its not a big deal clearance wise, i just wanted it to look that way cause I dont like the bumpers that have a fat middle section and skinny wings.

 

[DiscoveredLC]

Finished welding the plate seams together, and hit them with a flap disc... or 4.... Grinding 15' of weld smooth sucks!

 

[DiscoveredLC]

.....

 

[Adam R]

getting it too hot creates it's own set of issues as well.

With .030 wire? Good luck with that.

Stated another way: Put some nice strong welds on the backside and don't worry as much about looks.

Adam

 

[baxter650]

Nice design/work.