Metals/tubing information

[Brody]

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[5280Hawk]

Hey Brody,

Whats the typical tube thickness used for fabricating Bumpers/sliders ect?

What about plate steel style bumpers, are they usually 1/4" +

Im looking at a cheap 110v welder and it can weld up to 3/16" thickness......


Thanks man.

[Funrover]

You can do a lot with 3/16", Bumpers with winched need more at the mounts and at the plate the winch mounts to.. other than that 3/16 is plenty. Having seen that size hold up to hard hits on sliders on Rovers without damage I would say you are fine. I am going to use 3/16 for a skid plate for the trans/t-case on my Range Rover. I havn't used much tube yet thought my experiance is from box/plate only.

[Brody]

I would suggest that, if you could afford it, go up to a welder that can do 5/16", but you are probably looking at another $150-200 outlay. If you can get a good price on one that will weld 3/16", then go for it, knowing that you can push it to weld 1/4" and weld/grind/double weld for 5/16" and you can always resell it down the pike sometime.

Most bumpers and a heck of a lot of skid plates are made from 3/16", just like Aaron said. I am going to use 3/16" for a skid design I have going on for my rig. It is plenty strong, but a lot is in the design, too. I have built at least 4 bumpers out of 3/16 diamond plate (cheap and easy to find large chunks of cheap) and they have stood up to some savage abuse, including wrecks.

Tubing thickness for most stuff is around 1/8" or better, but they don't measure it that way. Most winch plates are 1/4 and mounted to 1/4 stock, but nothing says that you can't weld a 3/16 plate for reinforcement on top of the 3/16 bumper where you are mounting the winch. My back winch is temporarily mounted to an existing frame rail that is a weak POS and I haven't torn it off yet, just expect it to go any time I use it. It will be very securely mounted when I bob the bed, but it shows what even lighter than 3/16" stock will bear up under.

Jon and I were talking about doing a weld day and passing on what we know to anyone interested. You might keep your eyes peeled for that post.

[5280Hawk]

Nice, a weld day would be sweet!

Im thinking a Skid plate project is a great place to Start. I was also going to try to fab a new battery tray, as a good beginning project.

BTW where is the best place in Denver to get Steel? Will they do cuts?

Thanks Brody, and Thanks Aaron!

[Brody]

For all your steel in Denver go to Altitude Steel. They are listed in the vendors section, address and phone number. Talk to Doug and bring cash. Their scrap bin is great and they sell the steel from it by the pound. Tell Doug that Pete Brody sent you and that you are connected to Front range 4x4 and you will get a good deal.

Yes, they do cuts, but I don't know what the charge is.

Their address is on Colfax, but it is tricky. Here is the best way:
I25 and 6th/8th Avenue:
Take the frontage road on the west side of I25 from 8th Avenue north towards General Air Supply. Go to the first light and go right. Take the next left and they are at the end of the street on your right side.

[5280Hawk]

Nice,

Thanks again. I will keep a look out for your invite to the Weld day!