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980 hits | 74.72 KB | Posted: 11/28/05
I got a good deal on unused 24"x32" 1/4" plates at scrap price, so they'll be used for a number of t...

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454 hits | 42.03 KB | Posted: 11/28/05
Even with only about 50% weld penetration (a single 1/8" MIG bead), the plate still has no trouble h...

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409 hits | 71.71 KB | Posted: 11/28/05
New bumper endplates cooling after being cut out of 1/2" plate with the torch. Lots of cleanup stil...

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395 hits | 43.88 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Putting a square peg through a round hole ...

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389 hits | 47.52 KB | Posted: 12/12/05

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375 hits | 60.39 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
JB drilling the end plates.

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444 hits | 45.23 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Gussets tacked in place, one test bead run.

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449 hits | 51.68 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Lots of spatter and not the best penetration, but the remainder of this piece is overengineered. I'...

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424 hits | 50.15 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Pretty good heat affected zones on the backside, but the tack in the foreground is ugly as hell.

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420 hits | 53.75 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Backside cooling down after finish welding.

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463 hits | 61.41 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Business end of the bumper. Welds around the receiver tube are three pass fillet, chain plate is fi...

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541 hits | 46.1 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
I'd been fighting my welder the whole time, and like an idiot couldn't figure out why I was having t...

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589 hits | 62.52 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Time to make the final cut to length so we can mount the bumper between the endplates. Daddy's got ...

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1907 hits | 64.21 KB | Posted: 12/12/05
Tacked in place and ready to be unbolted for final welding. Right now it's secured by half the endp...

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775 hits | 54.05 KB | Posted: 1/3/06
Finish welds on the end plates.

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666 hits | 57.38 KB | Posted: 1/3/06
All done except the top plate and the reinforcement around the shackle points. Oh, and still need f...

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507 hits | 32.24 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
With a little cleanup, these two rough ovals will become the reinforcement for the rear shackle poin...

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509 hits | 61.69 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
A "little" cleanup. New toy makes short work of rough edges on a pair of plates that total 1" when ...

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491 hits | 39.6 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
Plates are drilled, then beveled at the ends and tacked in place ...

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565 hits | 42.03 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
Followed by finish welds. Single pass 5/32" or so fillets are more than sufficient for the required...

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578 hits | 42.7 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
... which is good, since that's the maximum capacity of this welder in a single pass. More strength...

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596 hits | 45.21 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
The infill at the end. I did screw up doing the bevel on the opposite end, and had to grind out abo...

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747 hits | 64.83 KB | Posted: 3/6/06
Two endplates, plus four tabs to help support the skidplate. Then we quit on the truck for the day ...

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763 hits | 73.5 KB | Posted: 3/7/06
I was asked for calcs and an illustration explaining why I said the factory mounting holes in the fr...

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811 hits | 24.28 KB | Posted: 3/7/06
Illustration of the block shear failure area, and necessary dimensions.

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702 hits | 24.14 KB | Posted: 3/7/06
Illustration of the rotation failure dimensions.

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587 hits | 27.41 KB | Posted: 3/13/06
Design for a simple removable winch mount, much stronger than receiver mount and without the clearan...

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534 hits | 51.18 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
We had a discussion on T4W about doing big jobs with a little welder. Here's an illustrative series...

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556 hits | 55.31 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Get the pieces lined up straight and clamped in place. Remember the typical MIG guidance about not...

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532 hits | 45.95 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Then strip back the paint at the weld area, and clean. That filth on the paper towel was from one s...

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538 hits | 52.04 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Tack it up ...

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534 hits | 37.42 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Then connect the dots. In this shot, I've just finished the middle section, as you can see. I had ...

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442 hits | 43.09 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
If you want decent penetration, don't ask the welder to do more than it can. Going slow just piles ...

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487 hits | 43.95 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Run the second bead on the right side. My garage was a high traffic area at this point, so even wit...

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502 hits | 45.69 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Run the lefthand bead. Fewer stops this time, too, which is good since it's easy to trap small pock...

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533 hits | 51.96 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Now, flip it over and get a look at the backside (I've already given the plate time to cool and clea...

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525 hits | 37.03 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Tilt your 4-1/2" angle grinder up 45* and V out the backside. Start with the worst spot, and open i...

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494 hits | 49.24 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
A single fast pass will finish the backside. I probably could've skipped these last steps if I were...

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552 hits | 44.7 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
But I'm grinding this plate smooth on both sides, because it's highly visible.

Where's the weld...

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472 hits | 44.98 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
I need a 2-1/2" flange at the backside of this plate, so we decided to see if we could clamp itt, he...

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411 hits | 47.28 KB | Posted: 3/17/06
Not a chance! Of course, if I'd known last weekend how Dave was doing his bends I could've done tha...

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416 hits | 39.23 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Alright, here's the forward side of our new reinforcing flange, a 2x2x1/8 angle. These PL2x2x3/16 p...

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396 hits | 43.57 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
First pass down the root of the fillet complete. Honestly, I could probably have left it like this....

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554 hits | 38.21 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Three more passes complete the fillet. Trying to keep it hot and fast as I can.

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548 hits | 48.84 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Another two passes to finish the weld of the endplate to the winch plate. Note the little bit of po...

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485 hits | 35.39 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Opposite endplate, likewise three passes below and one on the top.

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621 hits | 63.47 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
The whole stiffened winch plate assembly, flipped upside down end for end so I can clean the bottom....

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1229 hits | 64.07 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Back where it should be, with areas to be welded now cleaned of paint and grime. Just needs to be c...

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448 hits | 63.39 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
After screwing around with the little MIG welder all morning, I decided I should really use the weld...

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475 hits | 62.76 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Still haven't chipped the slag from the last rod. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but I could...

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457 hits | 65.69 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
I really need to spend a lot more time practicing with the big arc welder. I think I'd end up getti...

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375 hits | 61.2 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
One of the areas I ended up having to grind porosity and run a second pass on. I ended up deciding ...

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477 hits | 73.59 KB | Posted: 4/2/06
Another section of the area where I did two passes. Still need to work on my rod control and get a ...