You using an engine hoist now,,,,,!

??   This directed at me?  If so I'm confused.

Don requested that there be some adjust ability in the tire carrier in case back spacing or something should change in the future.  He suggested something like he had done on C-max with a few set screws basically clamping down on the interior tube.  I wanted to do something that would be a little cleaner in my mind. 

I started out by welding a nut to a plate and then welding that plate to the inside of the 2" tube.



I then drilled a hole into a plate and welded that to the back side of the 2-1/2" tube.  To clamp the tubes together the bolt will be inserted into the hole in the rear of the 2-1/2" tube and threaded into the nut welded to the 2" tube.  The tubes will then be drawn together.  Should he need to adjust it for a larger tire in the future spacers could be added between the tubes to push the tire further away from the bumper.  It will not be a super quick and easy adjustment to make on the fly, but as this should only need to be done should there be a major change to the tires or wheels I was ok with that.

In my mind there are a few unique reasons for wanting a bumper. 

Protection from collisions.  It could be with animals, other vehicles, or the surrounding terrain and vegetation.  There are three main areas to protect.  The first and most important in my mind is the radiator and on diesel trucks the intercooler.  Keep those intact and you can drive home.  Secondary to the coolers in my mind are the lights. Again, you probably hot that deer at night, and you need to be able to see to get home.  Third is the protection of the body panels and the grille.  Those items are just cosmetic, although possibly expensive to repair.

Most often times people that I talk to are most concerned with animal impacts, specificly deer. Sometimes these people contact me after they have hit a deer and need a replacement and are looking for something heavier.  Most vehicles I work with have a tall enough stance that a deer will bounce off the bumper and go under the vehicle.  It seems reasonable to me that while the body goes under the bumper, the animal's head may whip up and strike a headlight or grille.  In this case it seems reasonable to me that the head may do damage to the grille, but would unlikely cause damage to the coolers.  The brush guard tubing or grille bar may help prevent this.  It also seems reasonable to me that the head could do damage to the lights.  In this case I do not think just a grille guard would help much.  A full brush guard where there is a bar separating the high and low beams might help here.  These are really the only scenarios where I see the tubing to be helpful.  Due to my location I occasionally have some people ask me about collisions with a moose.  I guess in this case maybe a full brush guard would be more helpful.  Then again, if you hit a moose you've probably have more extensive damage and it might not matter much.
In the case of another vehicle I really don't see how the extra tube guards will help much.  Similar thoughts with driving through brush.  A guard might push sticks around your lights, but after clearing the front end it is still likely to drag down the side of the vehicle.  In some cases it might prevent a stick from puncturing the radiator. 

The next use case is somebody just looking for a bumper to mount a winch in.  This is rare for me.  I would estimate less then 10% of the bumpers I build are equipped with winch mounting features.  I would guess only half of those will ever see a winch.  In today's market there are also options for hidden winches in the stock bumpers for many vehicles.

The next group of people are those that just want to change the look of the front end.  For them the tubing makes sense if it's the look they are going for.

Similar to marking out he hole in the bumper, I printed some templates and marked where the tubing should meet the uprights.  This removes the guess work and trying to eye things up and match one side to the other.



I had to do a little trimming on the guard pieces to get the fit just right.  Over all everything came together and fit as planned.  I can generally get the bumper leveled up on the table and then if I have vertical and horizontal pieces on the tubing use those to help set the tubing in position.



First I tacked the sides and top center in place.  Checked for the overall fit and look and welded those in solid.  Where the tubing pierces through the bumper I weld on both the front and the rear a much as I can access.



Then set the lower center piece in place and welded it solid also.







And that was it for tonight.  Off on a mini trip with the wife this weekend so will be planning on finishing up the last few details on the front early next week.  Then finishing up the rear and swing arm.

Decided to switch gears and started working on the front bumper guard.  The original plan was to have new tubing formed up from one of the suppliers I typically go to for bent tubing.  I don't have a ton of shop space for a tube bender, and typically I want tighter bends then the reasonably priced tube benders can form so I just purchase these from somebody else.  After sending out prints,  they either couldn't make the parts as requested or had extremely long lead times.  I looked into the inventory of tubing I had and came up with a plan to re-work some of those pieces into what I needed.

The center sections got a couple slices on the back side and bent a few more degrees to make them sit a little more proud of the bumper.  The side pieces needed to get completely cut up, rotated, shortened, lengthened and welded back together.   These are all 2" 11 gauge welded tube.

Today was a tough day. Had my 15 year old behind the wheel for only the second time.




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There is your problem.  How did she get to 15 and this is only the second time behind the wheel?

Witnessed something that I thought was pretty cool this weekend.  My cousin and his 13 yr old son were in the area for wrestling tournament Saturday.  They are in Idaho and we generally only get to see them every couple of years.  My dad, uncle and I meet up and drive over to watch him wrestle and visit.  We were standing mat side when they start playing the National Anthem.  As is usual for the majority of the youth sporting events the PA system is garbage.  It took a bit for us to realize what was being played through the speakers.  The volume was so low it was barely audible, and that was only when there wasn't feedback screeching through the system.  I think it was the worst attempt at The Start Spangled Banner I have ever heard, and I've attended my share of events and heard some pretty bad ones.  At about the second line in, some guy in the crown in front of me must have got fed up and just started belting it out.  I'm certain this man must have had some sort of vocal training or experience.  His voice easily carried through the venue of probably 2,000+ people in a space that was large enough to lay 18 full size wrestling mats down.  For reference it is a tight fit to squeeze 3 mats into a standard high school gymnasium.  By the fourth line they had shut off the PA system and just let this man in the crowd finish.

Brian, is there a 10 degree tilt in the spare tire carrier?
Looks to be level...

The thing looks brutal strong.
Hope it doesn't need to be...Yikes!

There will be a 2" tube inserted into that receiver for adjustability.  The angle will be cut into that piece.

Box of gun parts waiting for me on the porch when I got home.  So the question that begs to be asked is will there be a range report or an update on Don's bumpers tonight?

Based off of this,  the majority of the "casseroles" I ate growing up and still make today should have actually been called "hot dishes". 

Finished up the changes needed for the winch mounting last night.  I still need to make some modifications to the back of the bumper to mount the winch.  Originally the plan was to mount the winch feet down.  Because of the space concerns I needed to change that plan up and mount the winch feet forward. 

The frame mounting points are the same, but there is basically a body lift on the HD and the grille is deeper.  If you look at the front of your truck, the grille comes down into the bumper.   The non-HD 2500 is straight across to the lights.

Mine is a 2001 2500HD LB7


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That's right.  For some reason I thought it was a 2003.  No matter, still different than Don's 2500 non-HD.

so let me ask this question.

would it make things easier if you made some sort of a moveable jig?

for example:  start with your frame mounts and move upwards and outwards from there.....to help keep the straightness and to prevent shrinkage?

With the inherent strength in the shape of the front bumper I get very little movement.  I go get a little bit of movement in the rear bumpers, but it is predictable and doesn't cause and issues with fit and isn't noticeable unless you are really looking hard and comparing truck lines to that of the bumper.  I was a little concerned that thinning up the front would cause an issue.  For that reason I modified the front mounting brackets to that they bolt on to the bumper and onto the truck.  Usually I weld the frame mounting bracket directly to the bumper on most models and there is virtually no adjustability.  I am going to ask Don to weld the mounting brackets in place after he gets the bumper on and adjusted to his liking.

I've explored some fixturing previously. A couple reasons I never went done that path:
- the way I have everything in CAD and laser cut makes for a near perfect fit.  Using my methods gives me very predicable results when I tack the bumper together.  I use to measure the span form left to right fender edge to make sure everything was tracking well.  After tacking I would be +/- 1/8" over about 78" of width.  That is incredibly good.  That measurement barely changes after welding.  I don't measure any more, unless I feel something is off or for some reason I am fighting to tack one together.
- I would need a unique fixture for each model.  I don't have the space to store that much tooling, nor do I want to carry that much overhead.
- When I am tacking and welding them up I can easily flip, turn and position the bumper to make it easier to work on.
- I like the ability to be extremely flexible in what I can do.  A fixture would be another thing I need to worry about when I start talking to a "Don" and they want me to change everything for them.

Brian don’t throw that design away. May have to get that design for my LB7


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There is actually a quite a bit different from the 03.  There was a substantial frame change and obviously some styling changes.  But I could definitely transfer some ideas to an 03 bumper.

Got the front all welded up and the rough grind down done.



Then started cutting out the center section for the winch.  Got a little figuring to do in CAD to determine what exactly I need to put back in where.

Only thing I don't like about the palmetto uppers is almost all are 1/7 twist. That's better for heavier rounds, 55gr may tumble some, but that is not set in stone.

My latest is 1/8, but most are 1/9 that favor the 55gr more.

Good luck on your build, pretty easy compared to what we do around here all the time.

This is a 1/7 twist.  I don't mind the faster barrel.  If this gun is accurate enough it gives me an option to load up a heavier pill around 90gr should I want to and try to reach out further with it before the wind blows it completely off the map.

Beaver Dam area.  The club I'm a member at is in Columbus.

Ordered a rifle kit from Palmetto yesterday.  $400 for everything but the stripped lower.  I can pick up an Anderson stripped lower locally for $50 so I figure I will do that.  The upper comes with Magpul flip up sights.  After assembly and a little break in I will drop one of my good optics on it just to better understand the gun's capability then pull that off and just run the flip up sights until I figure out what I want for an optic.

TRN asked about what welder I was using so I thought I would do a post on my tools.

First tool I use is the computer and CAD programs.  I run CREO, which use to be Pro-E.  It is similar to some more of the more commonly known CAD programs like Solid Works.  It isn't as user friendly but a bit more powerful in my opinion.  It is what I first started using and learned and I also use CREO at work.

I run a Lincoln Power Mig 255 welder.  I go through enough gas that I lease a bigger tank from the local Air Gas.  I also have a smaller tank that I own.  I keep that one full so I can swap it out should I run out.  Most welding shops usually aren't open on the weekends and I get most of my work done on the weekends so I like to keep a spare around.  I swapped the factory whip out for a Tregaskiss Tough Gun whip a couple years back.  I also run .045" wire for most jobs.  I keep a 44lb spool of wire at all times also.



I also have a Hypotherm Powermax 30 plasma torch.  If I have a standard job I don't need this at all.  On one off stuff like Don's I try and design everything in CAD but something can be missed and then the torch comes. This unit is rated for 3/8" steel but I have successfully cut 1/2" taking it slow.  This unit can run on 110 or 220.  When in the shop I run it on 220.



I've got 3 main grinders.

The big 7"/9" that I do the majority of the cleanup work with and (2) smaller 4-1/2" grinders.  I keep the abrasive disk on the one grinder for lighter clean up work etc.  I swap between a cut-off wheel and hard grinding disk on the other depending on what I am doing.  Someday I will pick up a 3rd one so I can have a dedicated grinder with a cut-off wheel and one with a hard grinding disk.  The big grinder in this pic has a 9" hard disk.  That is what I use to get the rough grinding done.  The bigger the wheel is the faster it will grind down.  I usually run that disk until it is about 4"-5".  Then I swap for a new one and use the used up one on the 4-1/2" grinder for smaller jobs.  I can get about 2 rear and 2 front bumpers grinded down per 9" hard disk.



After the rough grind through this fiberglass backing pad set up on with a 9" abrasive disk.  This will clean the bumper up nice and blend all the corners in.  You can pull some material off real quick when these disks are fresh, but once they start to where out they are much less effective.  I usually use 1 or sometimes 2 per bumper.  You have to be a little careful when running these.  If you catch an edge you can start to tear one up and then it kind of blows up on you.



Those are my main tools.  I would like a few others but I am limited on floor space.  I basically work out of the third stall of my garage.  I have the last stall walled off from the other 2 to keep the mess I create just in my area.

Hmm.  When we make a sour Old Fashioned here in Wisconsin we use 50/50 soda.

Lol Bear. I was just thinking I was the youngest at 32...


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I've got you by a couple years.

Just got back from the range this morning.  Pulled the plow of this morning and loaded the ATV up so I could get out and check and paint steel on the 600 yard range.  Then flung some lead for a bit.  It was a nice sunny 20 degree day.  A little windy but not to bad.

Thanks, after you build a couple hundred you learn a few tricks.  I was thinking last night I should do a post with what tools I use.

Started off by welding the rear bumper solid.  Not a whole lot to show there.  You may have noticed when I tacked it together there are a few seams that are pretty much straight up butt welds darn near.  I like to open those up with a grinder before filling them back in with weld to make sure I get good penetration. 







After welding the outside shell up I move to the inside to weld all the frame pieces.  I normally don't weld the inside seams but I do like to put a plug weld in all the corners and at the end of a seam.





Then I tacked up the receiver mounting bracket.  On the stock bumper there is an internal support that the receiver bolts up into.  This is an important piece to support the tongue weight for the factory receiver.  A lot of the heavier aftermarket units don't need this but the stock unit definitely does.  You can ask one of my customers who forgot to intall those bolts what happens if you forget.  Hint: you don't make it out of the drive way with your loaded car trailer before the receiver is dragging on the ground.  This piece gets welded up to the underside of the bumper step after welding the hidden nuts in place.





This is all the progress for the rear bumper tonight. Hopefully should be able to do some grinding on it tomorrow.

Almost all brand name ARs with good/decent ammo will do that all day.

Do what?  1 or 2 MOA, or a .1" group at 100 yards?