The thread of The Frank

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Fitzgerald said:
Progress report needed!
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I received the Trail-Gear light mounting bar before the Chinaman Gulch run. Here is a shot:
IMAG2020.webp

Nice and beefy, 1-3/4" DOM, and good bend quality. This thing was just the right size to straddle the winch box on my bumper project. A bargain for only $35 at 4 Wheel Parts!

I am putting in a little time on the front bumper today, so I will update again in a while!
 
I made some progress on the front bumper build today:
  • hammered and ground on the frame rails to straighten a bit
  • trimmed the winch mounting plate to fit between the (still not quite straight) frame rails
  • Tacked up the winch mounting plate
  • got all of the parts tacked up to finish boxing in the frame rails
  • ground the bottle opener cutout to make it functional
  • tacked in nuts on my hi-lift mount holes
Here are a couple of shots of the results:
IMAG2026.webp


IMAG2023.webp
 
I made a bit more progress on the front bumper build tonight. I was not sure how well the top plate of my bumper would match the body lines, so I made a 1:1 scale drawing and printed it out for a test fit. I don't have a large format printer at home, so I had to piece multiple pages together:
IMAG2052.webp


After cutting out the drawing, I attached it to some carboard, so that I could test fit it to my winch box and body:
IMAG2056.webp


I'm glad I took the time to do this, since I did have to make some adjustment. I ended up making the outside edge thicker and changing some radii on the edge that is against the body. I thought I would share this technique since it can be used to: 1)verify the fit of a part that you will have cut on an NC (waterjet, laser, plasma, etc), and 2) make patterns to test fit and cut by hand at home (trace your printed stencil onto metal to make custom brackets and other parts). You can download free software that will allow this to be done by most home fabricators.

I also took some time to trim up my light mounting bar and slip it into the winch box. My design has the bar welded vertically, but I played with the position, and found a little forward tilt looked better. I'm going to wait to get the rest of the bumper tacked together before I weld the bar on.

IMAG2059.webp
 
Lookin' good man!

You going to paint / powder coat it black? Another color? I suggest getting her all welded up then just clearcoating the bare metal (leaving all the flap disc marks)...It'd look mean!!!! :mad:
 
karas said:
That looks pretty sweet. I think if you painted it black or color matched it with your trim it would look good.
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Thanks. The plan is to paint it in black bedliner like I did with the rear. I have kicked around the idea of brown bedliner on both bumpers in addition to covering the lower part of my 2-tone paint scheme in brown bedliner later on.

Fitzgerald said:
Lookin' good man!

You going to paint / powder coat it black? Another color? I suggest getting her all welded up then just clearcoating the bare metal (leaving all the flap disc marks)...It'd look mean!!!! :mad:
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I saw a picture of this truck (I think it was this truck, but can't find the picture I am looking for...) done like that, Travis.

8486985230_60c991201d_h.webp

Photo credit/original thread here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/i-need-help-finding-bumpers.735542/

This guys photography skills are killer. I saw the other picture of this rig a while back and thought it would be cool to do that. However, I think that most people would think that the grinder finished/unpainted bumper is kinda, well, unfinished.
 
Springs505 said:
I saw the other picture of this rig a while back and thought it would be cool to do that. However, I think that most people would think that the grinder finished/unpainted bumper is kinda, well, unfinished.
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AWESOME BADASSNESS!!!

I really dig that look. Seriously. I know it's not everyone's cup o' tea, but MAN!, that looks cool!
 
Fitzgerald said:
HF parking lot sale this weekend. Gonna pick up that Badlands winch?
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Yes, I think I will. Here is the "secret deal" as I understand it: The sale price is $299. HF updates their website the night before or at midnight (I can't remember which). You can't use the 20/25% off coupons during the parking lot sale, but it seems that you can buy the winch online AND use the coupon ($299-25%=$225:)) online during the time between the price change and the store opening in the morning.

I'm going to give it a shot Thursday night.
 
Springs505 said:
Yes, I think I will. Here is the "secret deal" as I understand it: The sale price is $299. HF updates their website the night before or at midnight (I can't remember which). You can't use the 20/25% off coupons during the parking lot sale, but it seems that you can buy the winch online AND use the coupon ($299-25%=$225:)) online during the time between the price change and the store opening in the morning.

I'm going to give it a shot Thursday night.
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:hillbilly: The deal I posted is working for now. I just bought the winch online for less than $250 shipped. :hillbilly:
 
Fitzgerald said:
Well....?
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I assume you are asking about the winch. No update yet. It will show up at my doorstep later this week. I made good progress on my bumper today, and may have it ready for paint as soon as tomorrow. I'll post up a picture or 2 of my work on the bumper tomorrow.
 
I figured the winch would be a few days out. That HF $6.99 shipping is a sweet deal, but they take their time getting it to you.

I was eluding to the bumper. Thought you might have had some time to play in the garage a bit.

Lookin' forward to the pics.
 
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