alancamby

I am not the quoted poster. It does take a considerable amount of time to cut the steel if all you have access to is simple, and cheaper tools, such as hand grinders. All the steel on mine was cut with a 4 1/2" angle grinder with a cut-off wheel.

nikbass

Looks like you may be doing the work in a body shop. Looks really nice, I'm considering doing a rear bumper. Do you think primer and some wet sanding would help clean up the welds and give it a smoother finish?

I'll paint it with some type of bed liner but I think it'd still help. Just thinking my welds wouldn't be as clean to start with.

Yours looks really nice, I think it'd look a little sharper if the top angle on the end cap was 1-2inches longer to give the end caps some beef, but thats just thinking out loud. Really good job.

alancamby

I clean up my welds with a 80 grit flap wheel on my angle grinder. Then I smooth it even more with a 180 grit 6" stick on sanding disk on a D.A. sander. This leaves a very smooth finish. I don't see a need to wet sand. leaving a little roughness, almost microscopic per say, gives the paint more "tooth" to hold on to. Mine looks smooth to the naked eye.

Edit: Quality Flap wheels are really amazing if you have never tried them. Grinding wheels like to bounce and make large gouges in the steel that are hard to sand away later. I never use grinding wheels after I weld. Look for Zirconium grain when you shop for a flap wheel, the kind that fit a angle grinder are usually called type 27or 29. I can't find the quality ones sold at home improvement stores. Best bet is to look on the internet. A quality one will remove metal faster than a grinding wheel. 40 grit are just crazy fast at metal removal. I am lucky and get samples of all kinds of abrasives so I have used almost all kinds.
IMHO a angle grinder and a DA are must have tools for metal working. My DA is air and my angle grinder is electric.

Nick08JKUX

That's true...I didn't think of his post in that way. I'm fortunate to work for a manufacturing company so I've got plenty of tools at my disposal that make short work of cutting through just about any type and size of steel.

Well, as I said, I work for a manufacturing company. I'm really not a body shop expert, but I would suggest a good grinder to clean up your welds and then primer and paint/bed liner. I'm fortunate to work with guys that are extremely talented and certified welders.

EDIT: I would do what was suggested above in regards to sanding/grinding your welds. It was pretty amazing to watch mine as it went from raw and rough and large welds to being beautifully ground down and smooth!

I definitely considered different lines with the end caps and even taking the angle more extreme as you've mentioned. However, I wanted to stay as close to a stubby as possible so I didn't want to take the ends out too far.

nikbass

Thanks for both of your responces, and again real nice job on your bumper.

shotwell

nice!good job

Christine

I like it because it's different and not like everyone else's. Great job!

Stuka

Really nice job. Simple over all, but those end caps really make it look nice.

Nick08JKUX

Thank you. But, I want the record to show that I did not do the welding or most of the other labor myself. I had one of our certified welders to most of the fabrication work. I just cut the C-channel, drilled out the 8 mounting holes and designed the end caps. I just want to be sure I'm not taking credit for someone elses work. It was my vision and design so I guess that counts for something

Thanks...that is why I wanted to build it...and the fact that it's only going to cost me a bottle of Jack Daniels...probably saved me about $300-$350

Thank you...I'm very pleased with how the end caps turned out. I considered just putting vetical plates on the ends to close it up, but then decided to design what you see on there now. I went through a few different designs and mock-ups with cardboard and this is what I liked the best...I like how they follow the lines of the fenders and will maintain those lines if/when I choose to chop my flares.

Penbox18

Dig it! Great job!