tooling up-need to remove welds from Duff radius arm brackets

[bcmbcmbcm]

Hey folks,

Im 99% sure I'm going to remove the Duff adjustable drop radius arm brackets the PO installed. I am delifting back to stock.

I would like to do this in the comfort of my garage. I can then bolt up the new WH stock brackets and get the rig back on its feet. I may have a mobile welder come by to weld em' in.

What is the best tool for this? An chisel? Grinder? do they have electric powered ones now? I have a tenant in the guest house above my garage and I need to do this fast to keep the noise down. An air compressor would be over the top!

Thanks!

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

Here are some pics

Here are some pics so you can see what I am dealing with.

 

[Tonka7777]

Electric grinder with a cut off wheel. Make sure you where double eye protection.
Also, make sure you cut all the way through the welds instead of part of the way and bending to snap free.

 

[garberz]

A 4 1/2" grinder with a cut-off wheel, grinding disc and a flap sanding disc are what I used. Also a Sazall to get it started if you'd like. Careful using the cut-off wheel, they have a tendency to explode if they bind.

Mark

 

[Apogee]

Oxy/Acetylene torch...quietest option available IMO. Otherwise, a 4.5" angle grinder with a 1/4" grinder disc and sanding pad should do the job. While I'm usually a fan of the .045" cutoff wheels, in this case you'd still need to remove the booger welds after the fact, so I don't seen a big advantage to adding that into the mix.

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

https://www.amazon.com/Makita-GA453...063&sr=8-3&keywords=4.5"+angle+grinder+makita

https://www.amazon.com/Hitachi-G12S...1467154928&sr=8-3&keywords=4.5"+angle+grinder

Do any of these look ok? They say angle grinder but they look straight to me..

I want to stay on the lower end of pricing since I probably won't be doing this too often.

 

[crawler73]

I have the Makita grinder. I have put it through hell and it's been great to me.

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

I just ordered it. I also ordered a DeWalt cut off wheel. Should I use the cutoff wheel to cut the welds or is that too risky to go into the frame? I thought that I could at least use the cutoff wheel to cut extra length off the UBolts after its all together.

 

[Monster Mike]

Are you just going for a stock look or are you concerned with performance (castor)?

The adjustable bracket gives the flexibility to move your radius arms up so they are only affecting the castor by 1-2 degrees on a stock lift.

with the options you have with degreed C bushings you can regain any lost castor very easily.

Just a thought, not at all trying to discourage you from removing our products LOL!

 

[bcmbcmbcm]

Hi Mike,

I leaning towards the stock look. Your brackets look very well made though. I will be replacing my front coils with your stock height coils and using your dual front shock hoops too. The PO put on a 3.5 " lift and I just don't think I am going to need any more castor than I can get with C bushings when I put it all back together.

 

[savage]

I have the duff adjustible drop brackets, great product. I used a grinder, with a 4inch disk, to get my stock brackets off.

 

[5001craig]

I used an oxy/acet torch to get my stockers off to put the Duff long arm brackets on. Cut them off close to the frame then ground the rest off with a 4.5" offset grinder.

X2 on the double eye protection. I purchased this from amazon and use it whenever I'm grinding/cutting: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VXXUWK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Crawdad]

Eye protection and faces yield with hearing protection a must. A long sleeve and mechanics gloves will save your arm hairs and knuckles. This is a confined space so hot pieces of metal will fly down ur neck, but crack and through your shirt. To make your job a lil more enjoyable is a nice 20" fan blowing on you, trust me it keeps the stress down. Happy grinding!

 

[strider]

Plasma cutter is your best bet and if you have a mobile welding option he may have one..

 

[EricLar80]

Careful using the cut-off wheel, they have a tendency to explode if they bind.

Mark

This, plus my brother in law had one get jammed up in his shirt recently. He had to get stitches on his hand - he got lucky... It's the most dangerous tool in most people's garage.

Eric

 

[EricLar80]

I used an oxy/acet torch to get my stockers off to put the Duff long arm brackets on. Cut them off close to the frame then ground the rest off with a 4.5" offset grinder.

X2 on the double eye protection. I purchased this from amazon and use it whenever I'm grinding/cutting: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VXXUWK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-face-shield-46526.html