Finally! - Finished my front bumper - Build pics added

[Ohio Bronco 21]

Thanks for the compliments guys.



I have an OLD Hobart Mig-Man 220v w/gas, and an OLD Lincoln 220v stick welder. I mostly used the Mig on the bumper, it does pretty good on 1/4" steel. I used the stick welder for some of the welds on the shackle mounts. The mounts are made from 1" x 2" steel bar, and run about 5" back into the bumper.

It was cutting and fitting the pieces that took the most time. I used a 14" chop saw for most of it. A plasma cutter would have made things much easier and faster.

Thats some beautiful work. I also would like a Plasma cutter but they are way to $$$$$$$$$$ for my purposes. I have been using a Lincoln Mig 120v
w Gas for this past year.

 

[Orange Crush]

Very clean and impressive. Good job!

 

[cbearly]

You could never tell that bumper was home built. Good fab. Now lets see the rear one.

Bax

Here is the rear bumber - some assembly required (LOL). I'll let you know when I get some more done on it.

 

[malonejy]

Great job. Thats got to be one of the best looking front bumpers.

 

[Pa PITT]

Ya I'm not sure weather I LIKE YOUR BUMPER or your Bronco best .. Nice ride and great job on the welding I dont like the wenches in front of the raditor..And that might keep the little hoodlems from stealing it..Great job...

 

[76rustomatic]

That is supper clean. Any build pics for us copy cats. How much body lift do you have? Thanks

 

[Mtn Gote]

Good lookin' bumper and Bronco!!!
Cory,

 

[Dakota]

All of that on a community college welding workshop? Nice work! It is a really simple look--clean! The truck is impressive as well.

If you could spare some fab pics, I think there are several of us out here that would like to make something similar. You have not patented it yet right?

Way to go.

 

[thegreatjustino]

To quote part of a Bill Engvall comedy bit "Nice, that's niiiice"

 

[NorCalBronco]

One of the nicest bumpers Ive ever seen. Good job

 

[Dusty]

Very Nice!

 

[cbearly]

That is supper clean. Any build pics for us copy cats. How much body lift do you have? Thanks

I have a 3" body lift.

All of that on a community college welding workshop? Nice work! It is a really simple look--clean! The truck is impressive as well.

If you could spare some fab pics, I think there are several of us out here that would like to make something similar. You have not patented it yet right?

Way to go.

Actually I took the welding class at the community college about 12 years ago. I wish I still had access to just half the equipment they had. It was an awesome shop.

No - I built this bumper in my garage with the mig and stick welders, a 14" chop saw, a saws-all, a couple of angle grinders, and a couple of drills. There are a couple of things that I had a local metal shop do, and I had a friend with a mill that cut the slot for the winch cable, and bored the holes in the shakle mounts. I could have done that myself, but it was a lot easier on his mill.

No patent on it. Some of the inspiration for it came from other bumper builds that members had posted on this site, so it is only right that I share the build info with my fellow Bronco brothers (and sisters) here. I've got some build pics, but I'll have to resize them before I can post them. I've got to work today, and I have a Bronco club meeting tonight, so it might be a couple of days before I get them posted, but I promise to post them along with a description of the build. So stay tuned...

- Chris -

 

[Mtn Gote]

looks great, mass buy? ;D

I am with Tasker!!! But sadly wouldn't have enough money.
Cory,

 

[Devin]

That is one of the nicest looking bumpers that I have seen on an EB. Nice work.

 

[wheelin66bronco]

Turned out VERY nice Chris, it's amazing what a pile of metal can turn into.;D ;D

 

[saxman]

nice work!

 

[cbearly]

Build Description & Pics

I started with a piece of 8”x2” – ¼” thick channel that had been left over from an expansion project we had done at my church. It turned out to be the exact length that I needed. I turned it upside-down against the bottom of the frame (see pic) and centered the winch on it so that I could measure how far it needed to stick out in front of the frame and how much I needed to trim off to clear the lower radiator brackets. I also determined where the slot would need to be for the winch cable.

After cutting the channel to fit to the frame, I added a 2” wide piece above where the slot would be cut for the cable. I did this because the upper edge of the slot was going to line up with the upper edge of the channel and I wanted more steel around it. A friend of mine has a mill, and I had him cut the slot for the cable and also bore a 1-1/16” hole in each 1”x2” bar for the shackle mounts.

There was a BIG UGLY bumper welded to the frame when I first got the Bronco, and I had cut it off when I first brought the Bronco home. This left 2”X4” tubing still welded into the frame rails. I made inserts by cutting two pieces of angle iron to fit together (like a smaller tube) and slide into the 2”X4” tubing. I tack welded the inserts together, and then drilled all the holes to bolt it to the frame. I have two bolts running horizontally, one bolt from top to bottom, and one more just on the bottom on each insert (so 4 bolts on each frame rail). For the bolts that are just on the bottom, and one horizontal bolt on the driver’s side I had to weld nuts inside the inserts. So after fitting the inserts and drilling the holes, I took them apart and welded the nuts and the shackle mounts inside before welding the two halves of the inserts back together. I then cut sleeves from 2”x4” tubing to add to the ends so that they would match up to the tubing welded in the frame. I had to add a little more to the sleeves top and bottom to match the thickness of the frame.

The 8”x2” channel for the base plate to mount the winch on, and the frame rail inserts make up the “foundation” to build the rest of the bumper on. (continued…)

 

[cbearly]

Build Description & Pics

After building the base plate and frame inserts, I started working on the end pieces and front plate. Some of the cutting required creative use of a chop saw. By taking the saw apart from the base, turning it around 180 degrees and putting it back together, I could then clamp the base and work piece to some 6”x2” tubing and have more freedom to move the work piece where I needed it. DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying you should do this. Chop saws are NOT meant to be used this way and there are dangers involved, so if you do this do it at your own risk. A plasma cutter would have been much easier, but I didn’t have one, so I instead used the tools that I had.

 

[cbearly]

Build Description & Pics

To build the front plate, first I placed a full length piece of 6”x2” (that I would use for the ends) across the top of the frame. The front plate would extend down from the front edge of the end pieces, so with the tubing across the top I could measure and determine how to cut the front plate to fit. First I cut the height of the sides and center section, then I cut the notches to fit around the shackle mounts, and cut the opening for the fairlead. Last, after I had the tubing for the ends pieces cut, I tapered the ends of the front plate, and bent then to match the taper of the end pieces.

 

[cbearly]

Build Description & Pics

I used 6”x2” tubing for the end pieces. I wanted them to have a 45 degree cut at the winch opening, and have the front edge tapered toward the ends starting just outside the frame on each side. I didn’t think I could do the 45 degree cuts with my chop saw, and the taper would have taken a lot of time, so I marked the tubing where I wanted it cut and took it to a local metal fab shop to have them do it. I think it only cost me their minimum 1 hour fee, and they did a good job. When I got them back, I cut them to length with a slight angle on the ends, and made end caps from some of the extra tubing that extends the ends around the fender a little. Next I clamped them in place on top of the frame, marked and drilled the holes for the vertical bolts, used 2” pipe cut at a 45 and opened up to make insets for the bolts, and then cut and welded plate in to close off the opening.