he's got the JCR tie ins allready

 

i kno but i wouldnt try to pull a guy out that has the same amount of bolts as a stock bumper

 

the tie ins give you more then 3 bolts as you need to pull the bolts holding the tie in and the 3 bumper bolts with it. That's how my JCR is and works just fine

 

i think im gonna redo my grille like this

 

Thank you for addressing this already, Irongrave. JonJon - the tie-in brackets distribute the pulling force thoughout 7 bolts per side due to the tie-in brackets. All the hardware is grade-8 (stronger than factory) so I can honestly say I'm not worried.


It's a great design! Very aerodynamic!

 

Bumper looks great coming along nicely.

 

I need to build a new bumper. The one I have now is kind of crap. Like how yours is coming along. How did you cut the longer pieces of metal? I've got a rotary saw, but that's about it other then an angle grinder.

 

Used a chop saw for all the 8" and less, but for the longer (gussets) and angled cuts, drew the cut lines with a straight edge, then used a piece of 2"x3/16's clamped to the piece being cut as a guide for the angle grinder. Works really well!

 

Got more done today. It doesn't look like much, but it was pretty time consuming because of the angles.

Started by making templates for the front pieces of the side plates.



Cut the metal plates and tack welded them in place


Clamped the TJ flares that are getting installed this spring in place to make sure everything lined up nicely.


All the front pieces are angled to match the front piece of the winch plate. They're also tapered from 6" (at the winch plate) to 2" (at the fender). The nice thing about angling them in against themselves is that it adds even more strength to the bumper.


Finished the welds and then ground them done. Took a soft wheel to it all and then a finishing pad to really smooth it out.


Passenger side is done and the driver's side is about 2/3's finished. Hope to finish making the driver side tomorrow and weld them in place, but tomorrow's a busy day so who knows.

 

Looks awesome!! I suggest a headlight upgrade. I have had yellowing headlights, but brown?

 

LOL, they're pretty sucky at night I've got the XtraVisions, but I think I'm gonna go with the Silverstars to get a little more. A winch is more important than H4's so they can stay a little lower on the list.

 

I'm ready to see this thing DONE! lol Cause it's so nice already..haha But, what kind of welder are you using (I saw the wire welder I was wondering if it was like electric or gas) and what wire did you use if you were using that welder? Sorry if I missed it where you said it earlier.

 

Miller mig - shielded gas, electric power - solid core, .035 diameter wire. Flux core wire sucks! Doesn't keep the atmosphere out of the welds at all.

 

With proper cleaning and prework a flux core can do amazing things. All metals will develop what's called Mill Scale. This is what causes "pop" and bird "poop" looking welds. You can't truely penetrate either side of the metal being combined. A "cookie"(sanding disc) on a die grinder will clean the metal enough for clean welds. It doesn't take a $1500 welder to make clean welds, just prep time and knowledge of metal working/fabrication.

 

Looking great. Got a really clean looking bumper so far, and I'm sure the rest will look just as good. Can't wait to see it all finished up with a winch and maybe even being put to use.

Thanks for the idea on the long cuts. I'll have to give it a shot next summer.

I'll be using a flux 110v on mine. If I'm not happy with the welds, I'll only do enough to hold it together and take it somewhere and have it finished off. Don't want it falling a part on the trail.