Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Having finally bent the standard bumper once too often and left the end caps hanging at rediculous angles after our last foray into the woods, I finally decided to do something with all the odd bits of steel lying round the workshop. Also gave me a chance to practice on the old welder. I wanted a bumper that didn't look too dissimilar from the original but it needed to be very strong. Starting point was to cut off the old brackets, weld a 6mm plate onto the inside edge of the braket (to add strength) and then weld a 8mm angle btween the 2 brackets. The angle was bent in the middle to follow the curve of the old bumper. To this I welded a 3mm 2x3 box, also cut on 3 sides and re-welded to give the curved shape. I then fored the corners by cutting and re-welding the box and then added extensions to mimic the form of the old bumper. I then added 6mm gussets below the bumper to brace it in the vertical plane and to give it more visual depth. These are angled back to help with the approach angle and are fixed to small pieces of box that form high-lift jacking points. The central bit between the jacking points was in-filled in a similar way. Finally I added some bracing to add stregth to the corners and to triangulate the side pieces. The whole lot was welded up and tidied up with the grinder. Here it is fitted to the truck prior to painting And another pic showing the high-lift in operation (using the standard bit not the defender tube fitting). I ran a few beads of weld inside the box where the jack locates to help stop it sliding off. Now all I have to do is paint it up. More pics will follow when its finished. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 BTW the whole thing was made using materials to hand hence some of the strange thicknesses!. Maybe not ideal but it does the job I think, looks OK (better than a bit of tube across the front IMHO) and should be strong enough (though time will tell here! - I am no engineer!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Doesn't look too bad, Apart for the gaping void between the bumper and the steering guard what about recovery points? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 That looks to have come out alright. As DD has said, it could probably do with some recovery points, but for a non-winch bumper it certainly looks the part - and buch better than a bit of tube! Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 12, 2006 Author Share Posted September 12, 2006 Cheers for +tive replies. I have 2 recovery eyes on the steering guard so didn't bother adding extra to the bumper. Thought about getting some of those nice swivel eyes at a later date. The gaping void looks worse than it is due to the angle of the pic. I am in 2 minds about filling it in any more. Part of me says it would look better and be stronger but another part says it will get filled with muck if you try to reverse out of a hole and act like a giant anchor! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Get some stronger steering bars, and ditch the steering guard. It'll only get in the way when your working on it anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 awwww pwetty things on the farm again. i bet rover did all the work really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 A quick update now that I have painted the bumper and refitted it. DD i have a sumo track control bar but the drag ling is standard. Ask andy about standard drag links and how they bend LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Looks good! Although, dare I say I would have contemplated putting a winch cradle in it having gone to all the effort to make a custom bumper..... Then again, you probably don't get stuck as much as me..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 looks neat. I agree the tubes on the discos don't look good. There was one recently in mags with a huge bright yellow tubular bumper, looked yuck Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 pikey farmer doesnt need a winch. he gets that damn disco places it should never go & gets sod all damage doing it. looks good painted btw mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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