XJ?2010

Alright guys im new to custom metal fab. So i thought you all could help me out on this one. Im in a high school auto tech. class but they also have a welding class which does projects for us sometimes such as battery boxes and things. So I thought I would go down there when school starts up and see if they would fab me up a bumper. I figure if I can make the plans they could cut the material and weld it up for me.

So as I start throwing around ideas in my mind I came across what i beleve would be the hardest part. and that would be the mounting system. But then i remembered I saw something on JCR's website. They are there unibody tie in brackets. I figure if i got a couple of these I could have the welding program build off them.

http://www.jcroffroad.com/Merchant2/...egory_Code=XJB

What do you guys think? Also sense im new to this what thickness material would you sugest? Any help would be great.

Thanks guys,
Al

Tankerblade

Welding shop is good. i took that and auto last year. very helpfull. word of caution though...with something like this i would get with someone you know and TRUST thats capable of building things like this. if the biggest thing someone has made was a little bolt man then you'll get a piece of ****. Plus a bumper is bigger then the intention span of SOME kids in welding at least in my school, so i wouldnt trust them completley.
But hey if you know someone that can do something of this caliber then go for it.

As for as those mounting tabs, they look ok, not the greatest tho. In my opinion, dont know if its a good idea or practical, but have a longer bracket with more tie ins with a smaller guage bracket on the other side to samwhich the frame rails and help from twisting. But overall they would be suitable i guess.

and the guage of metal, i think 3/16 would be suitable for overall use and 1/4 for the parts that get stressed the most like the mounts

BLKXJ 96

Build the mock up bumper out of cardboard, then you can check the fit on your vehicle. Then just cut it all apart and trace the shapes out on steel and cut them all out and weld it togather. Heres a link I found to give you an idea.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=804387


The JCR brackets are a good idea, their parts are top notch.

4.3L XJ

Those plates would be a good start. However one thing I don't like about them is that they don't extend past the unibody. When I mad my bumper, I used some that extended out farther. Then I mounted the winch plate to them. Very easy.

You can make your own mounting plates. It will take more cardboard however. Cut to the shape yo want and then take the smallest ball pean hammer you can find and tap around the edge of all the holes with the pean end. This will cut the cardboard along the edge. When you are done, you will have a perfect template to use for cutting and drilling.

XJ?2010

Alright guys thanks for the imput and I will keep all of this in mind.

And thanks for that link blkxj 96 I would make something a bit simpler than that but its nice to see others taking the same approach.

claygrassmann

mine is basically just those tie in brackets with 2x4 tube going across and the ends come in a lil bit and taper from the bottom up, its got a light hoop and winch mount, as far as strength ive pulled some guys that were burried to the body and it held up and i dont do that much hard pulling and never yank, thats why i got a winch so i think itll hold up just fine if you use those tie in brackets.

Rob92XJ

From what I see on the JCR site is the plates are inner frame reinforcements not the actual bumper mounts. They are easy enough to fab out of 1/4 plate I wouldn't use anything thinner if your going to mount a winch to it for the inner plate 3/16 would be fine as you don't want to move the steering box far from it's original position. I would build the bumper out of cardboard as it is easier to work with then steel to get everything the way you want it.

cjj98xj

I'm in the process of building my version of a combined Hanson Offroad / Iron Scorpion bumper for my XJ. It would need a slight bit of modifying if you were to put a winch on it (needs to stick out a bit further than I have), but easily done. I didn't do any dimensions on the drawing, but I can send it to you if you want. I had the plates cut out here at work, including the frame tie-in plates. It's all 3/16" plate, but 1/4" would be the same. I stitch cut all the joints and bent them at home like the Iron Scorpion kit, then welded them up. I'm in the middle of welding it all up right now. Just started last night. It's taking forever because of teh *&%&*^^ 20% duty cycle on my small welder. But it's getting there. LOL

aircrewallan

nice, ive been looking for some way to get it into the frame too but im not worried about the strength for the winch though.... gl and keep us informed

jusper88

Unless your school has a tubing bender...I'd stay away from tubing...It's hard to design a bumper outta tubing without it...If you plan on using plate steel, use a lot of cardboard for a mock up...Tape your mock pieces to your Kee so you can get and idea of what it looks like...Plate is a breeze to work with...