Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 I have been a busy bunny ...................... The previous thread showed the construction of the unit, and how built etc, the entire unit is "Wider" than the normal 90 crossmember, as I have cut back the rear wings - when you do this the crossmember then shows itself as being too narrow......... next was the fitting and fettling to finish the job, as with all things this has taken far longer than I first thought and even when I had made the unit I thought fitting it would be "A couple of hours". ................................... Yeah Anyway, 1st thread of the "Unit" build here : http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=13122 Before I did fit it tho I needed some recovery points. I had thought of to large "Loops" horizontaly welded each side of the chassis rail for real strength, so I made up a bendy tool - this was some scrap steel and a lump of 90mm OD SOLID rod which I had "Hanging about" (makes very good 8mm thick wall tube ) And then drilled holes through the whole assembly thus : The only problem with this was having done it I thought it looked pants ............. ( As I said to Jon W "Looks as if me crossmember has grown T*ts " .............. so removed them - and puddled welded up the 8 22m holes then centalised the recovery point - redrilling yet more holes.... When a mate turned up the rear crossmember suddenly 'disappeared' when he picked up my plasma, .............. so we then, with the use of trolley jacks, axle stands and several tape measures moved the new "Unit" into place : Where the old unit has been cut away left large gaps, around 6 inches and then the "Tray" of the winch unit had to be reduced width wise to fit neatly, but with minimal tweaking it was on. and the overlap to the chassis is HUGE ! The 4x body mounts were bolted on......... then the "Unit" jacked up and made to fit level / square and flush, ................then the 'body tub mounts' were tacked in place. The trolley jack was removed much 'Oooing' and 'arrring' took place, few tweaks with a hammer, ...............then trolley jack returned ....(more there to support), ....and the welding began. He welded ....I plasma'd sections, ....then we swapped, ......after about 4 hours continous we had a crossmember that was well and truly on. The joys of having a 210amp welder with a decent duty cycle showed up here I cannot honestly remember the welding torch really being put down for more than a few seconds in 4 hours ! few pics of progress : The winch tray and main "Cross member" meant they were able to be welded into the chassis rail in several locations, once done the letter box was reloacted and welded up, .............nice to then find the towbar relocated prefectly. The letter box is also higher and wider than the SS Hawse unit, so in theory the rope can never touch the sides of the letter box under load, even so I linished it till smooth on all planes, and also polished the welds too. The letterbox was 5mm plate and links the tray to the crossmember adding massive strength. The welding and plate work continued. The "Sides" and "extensions" are 5 or 6mm plate welded in so many directions and planes to give huge strength, Oh how I love my plasma cutter A quick test fit of the mile marker (RHS .75mm clearance !) (but the winch drum is centre of the chassis) made me breath a sigh of relief as my measurements had said it would be "Close" In for the day, then back out and some paint : The bolty up bits ..............oh and make up a braket for the air line for the air freespool, , oh and make a bit of ali to cover the hole in the tub above the crossmember, oh and modify the freespool bracket and weld up, oh and then tweak other bits oh and Plait a hook for the winch cable with a "Hand Saver" on it, oh then make up hyd hoses etc shove hook on and spool on .......... and hey presto : Have worked out from start to finsih around 64 hours work ! So there you go, .............hope its of interest OoooooooooooooooooooooooH.....and its quite quick too 1500 rpm 2nd gear (5th equals over twice as Fast) MileMarker On Steriods CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE FOR AN ICCKLE VIDEO Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Proper job Nige. Glad to see you didn't succumbe to turning it into a cheese grater! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 Yeah fair comment ! After the original crossmember hit the floor and I could barely pick it up as it was full of mud I picked up the new one - it was lighter SO on that basis I just fitted it ! Ta for your design and stress calcs help Bish - much appreacited..... ...........................as a mate said to me today - ........................................ "Nige - if that lot comes off you'll already be on your way to hospital " Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull Bar Cowboy Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Oi ............the vid is password protected ................. Very nice job indeed ................... however just one small comment ................. pictures 5 & 22 both show your welding helmet laying FACE down on the concrete ........... say after me............. when not in use............... hang it on the gauges.............. then the face plate viewing area will not get scratched. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 very nice! but no way to treat an expensive welding helmet tut tut Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8RRC Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Top job there Nige very tidy! When's it out for it's official test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiall Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 very nice! but no way to treat an expensive welding helmet tut tut i got a right good lecture at work about that " NEVER never ever sit that on the ground" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 21, 2007 Author Share Posted April 21, 2007 Yep You are all correct. Like a kid with a 'new bike', at 1st you look after it, treasure it and treat it like your 1st love. Then at some later point yer just get off yer bike and let it drop to the ground But you all have a point I have redone the video linky , does it work now ? Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted April 21, 2007 Share Posted April 21, 2007 Video works crossmember looks very nice work as always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Propper job, Nige I was having a chat with someone the other day about rear x-members and we both reckoned that something like yours will be lighter than a standard one item as there's a suprising amount of steel in them and so many mud traps! Your right about the plasma. I've used one before and I'm seriously thinking about getting one as I believe I'm responsible for a shortage of 1mm cutting discs in the Oxfordshire area and I'm fed up with grindings everywhere!m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 26, 2007 Author Share Posted April 26, 2007 Your right about the plasma. I've used one before and I'm seriously thinking about getting one as I believe I'm responsible for a shortage of 1mm cutting discs in the Oxfordshire area and I'm fed up with grindings everywhere!m Ta for the kind comments Will...............yep it was lighter than what came off full of mud !......... Re the plasma ..............for those who wonder I've had the plasma for a while now, it has earnt its keep. When I bought it I was stunned at how small it was, around the size of a PC Tower unit only smaller, and weighed about the same I was sure I was being conned when told it would cut 12mm plate - it does. Since I bought this they have come down in price, but do buy a biggie, so that you run it a half power - then it will cut all day long without tripping out, and get a BIG compressor, they EAT air, I have a 50 litre 3 HP comp and it can struggle sometimes to keep up Mine is a SureWeld 40 (not made now in its form I have) Oh and buy the "Family Pack" of 13 amp fuses, as it can eat them too when you hit the trigger as the same time the compressor kicks in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOA 93 Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Ta for the kind comments Will...............yep it was lighter than what came off full of mud !.........Re the plasma ..............for those who wonder I've had the plasma for a while now, it has earnt its keep. When I bought it I was stunned at how small it was, around the size of a PC Tower unit only smaller, and weighed about the same I was sure I was being conned when told it would cut 12mm plate - it does. Since I bought this they have come down in price, but do buy a biggie, so that you run it a half power - then it will cut all day long without tripping out, and get a BIG compressor, they EAT air, I have a 50 litre 3 HP comp and it can struggle sometimes to keep up Mine is a SureWeld 40 (not made now in its form I have) Oh and buy the "Family Pack" of 13 amp fuses, as it can eat them too when you hit the trigger as the same time the compressor kicks in Just bought a plasma cutter a Sureweld 41 cuts upto 10mm, only practiced on 6mm and 2mm, first time I had used one...... oh how I laughed! It just seems so unnatural to draw the handset across a piece of steel that quickly, very strange. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MogLite Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 I've spent so much on bacon slicer disks for my grinder - I'd have been most of the way to paying for a decent plasma cutter !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 looking good nigel, You think you could measure the pitch of the holes of the fairlead for me? I am doing something similar at the moment and trying to fit in a standard fairlead. and maybe the overal height of the fairlead as well, that would be great. Regards, Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 I've spent so much on bacon slicer disks for my grinder - I'd have been most of the way to paying for a decent plasma cutter !! Tell me about it! At about a quid a time they're not cheap and they don't last long if you're cutting thick stuff. The worst part, though, is the grindings - all over the bench, across the floor, in your hair, up your nose (deeply unpleasent) and, more often than not, the cup of tea you put somewhere safe for when you finished cutting.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Very nice work Nige bet your glad it's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 Oh yes am I ...its taken a while ! (not counting the 2 prev efforts of a rear winch mount ) The fairlead dimensions are Overall length of round part 240mm overall height 70mm Rod is 20mm solid Stainless, internal dims are 30mm high 200 wide Bolts for mounting into the Milemarker are 254mm HTH Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Tell me about it! At about a quid a time they're not cheap and they don't last long if you're cutting thick stuff. The worst part, though, is the grindings - all over the bench, across the floor, in your hair, up your nose (deeply unpleasent) and, more often than not, the cup of tea you put somewhere safe for when you finished cutting.... If you buy ~50 at a time you can get them for ~60p/disc from H. Fisher, and they're good ones too - I found the Extol ones make more dust than they do any useful cutting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Ok thanks for the dims. Did you make the fairlead or did you buy it. Of who if I may ask? Daan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 Ok thanks for the dims.Did you make the fairlead or did you buy it. Of who if I may ask? Daan 'Twas made for me after I made a number of whining and begging noises to someone who had a bigger cutting OA Torch than me I could tell you, .................but then sadly I would have to shoot you nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 'Twas made for me after I made a number of whining and begging noises to someone who had a bigger cutting OA Torch than me I could tell you, .................but then sadly I would have to shoot you nige Or more M would shoot you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonk Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Or more M would shoot you i didn't make that fairlead Will, although i might have had summat to do with Mr Barkers back end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 i didn't make that fairlead Will, although i might have had summat to do with Mr Barkers back end That's a very bad mental image! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welling4x4 Posted March 12, 2010 Share Posted March 12, 2010 You could always do what I did & that was to buy a truck with this Mod all ready carried out. (what a Blessing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimmy62alan Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Hi Nige, lovely job that I had thoughts of doing mine full width and seeing yours confirms it, it does look really smart. I'll be doing a discovery chassis hybrid and want the front and back end to be as solid as possible, if I can get a solid job like yours done I'll be a happy chappie. I haven't the measurements as yet to even go out and buy the steel, could I ask you what the full width of the cross member was and could you tell the slopping sides measurements. I want to use chunky boxed section for mine, I know this will add weight but I wanting maximum strength from my front bumper and rear crossmember. Your Rear crossmember is what us Geordies call A CANNY BIT OF TACKLE lol. Good posting Nige keep them rolling in. ALAN Sheffield S25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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