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Front Bumper/Winch Plate Build! (pic heavy)

48K views 110 replies 32 participants last post by  2002TJX65 
#1 · (Edited)
Started building this bumper a few weeks ago and now its almost finished (need paint). This is the first thing i'v fabricated for the jeep since i bought my welder a few months ago so sorry for all the pics. i'm happy with the way it came out :2thumbsup: All done with Hobart 187 and an angle grinder (man do i want a plasma cutter, chop saw, and drill press now! :rofl:)
Let me know what you all think. i'll run you through the build...

First, this is the steel i started with, 2x4" 3/16 thick rectangle for the bumper and 1/4" plate for the top and winch/fairlead mount

Cut the ends at the angle i wanted and also cut the holes for my shackle mounts that are welded on both sides of the bumper.

Shackles welded in place

Then tacked and welded the end caps in place

Finished end after grinding and smoothing with a flap disc

Tacked the top plate to the bumper while fitting everything to the frame

Thats how the bumper sat for the last few weeks while i waited for this :2thumbsup:

Now i could continue working on the winch and fairlead mount. Started fitting this together

Tacked into place

placed the winch and roller on to make sure everything fit before burning it all in

Stitch welded the fairlead mount to the bumper and winch plate. This is the front

Back

This is just to show how i offset the welds on the front and back


Okay so that finished up the fabricating part. Here it is mounted up unpainted. Whatcha think?


 
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#34 ·
Thank you for the pictures the set up is awesome.. Great work
 
#39 ·
Bumper looks great! The only thing I'll add is next time you cap something make the cap a little smaller than the tube, this will give you some room for the bead and makes grinding easier...:thumbsup:

 
#44 ·
do some spikes or bolt heads on the next project, add some character to it!!

Besides that you did an awsome job!! are you sure you never welded before you got the welder cuz you should get your licence to weld cuz you would make the money like crazy!!!
 
#45 ·
Haha thanks! i'll be sure to keep that in mind on the next project :laugh:

I think what helped me with welding was doing a lot of research before i got into it. I believe buying the right machine really makes a difference in your ability to learn and progress so the HH187 was one of the best tools i'v ever purchased. I wanted to get a welder that could handle anything i plan on doing to my jeep and that I could grow into as I learn. The 187 almost makes it easy for me to lay down good looking beads even as a novice welder :thumbsup: The second best thing i did was going straight to gas MIG welding. After i finished wiring my garage for 220v i went straight to my LWS and picked up a cylinder of C25 and some solid .035 wire and I think that makes it a whole lot easier for a beginner like me to see the weld pool resulting in a much cleaner looking weld.
 
#51 ·
ok so i got the plating for the winch mount and i came up with something more useful for myself... ill get the plating on and mount a 1'7/8 ball in the middle that way i can put the winch on the front or back of the jeep and I can also have the winch stored in the back... And with the ball on the front i could also tow trailers around on the front for manuverability!!
 
#52 ·
Your going to put a ball hitch in the middle of the plate? i don't see how thats going to work. There is no way to mount a winch to a ball hitch that i know of?
They make receiver hitch mounted winch plates that slide into a 2" receiver, so you could put a receiver hitch in both the front and rear bumpers and then have the ability to move your winch to the front or back that way.
Maybe i misunderstood what your saying?
 
#53 ·
#60 ·
Nah wasn't me, I was stuck in PA and DE all day. I won't be on these 30's for much long either! New 33's coming next Friday or the following Monday! :thumbsup: I love your bumper, I keep looking at all these pre-fabbed ones too and I'm having a hard time making a decision, I might just go balls deep and buy a welder with my tax money
 
#61 ·
Hey man thats what i did :thumbsup: I kept looking at all those pre-fabbed bumpers and just couldn't find one i really liked. Not to mention the fact that most of them are in the $500 range. So i just decided if i was gonna spend over $500 i might as well get myself into fabrication and just build my own bumpers, cage, and other parts i have planned. I can tell you that it feels great to finish a project like this and the best part is having the ability to build it however you want to get the look you want.

Next project is a rear swing away tire carrier and bumper. I'm hoping to get all the steel and stuff for that soon and get started! I really wanna get my 33" MTR off the stock carrier
 
#62 ·
For my spare I'm gonna use OBA and carry some tire plugs! I don't drive my jeep all that much so a spare is a waste for me. Dude could you email me the specs for that steering skidplate? I figure that should be easy enough to try first!
 
#63 ·
I carry tire plugs and i have onboard ait to install too. But the spare is there if i cut a sidewall or loose a bead on the trail where the plugs and air may not be able to fix the problem :thumbsup: I picked up a brand new 33x12.50 Goodyear MTR on a steel wheel for $75 on craigslist. To me the spare is worth that much. I believe the guy i bought it from didnt know what he had because the new MTR alone costs 3x that lol

I can try to get a few measurements on the steering box skid for you. I don't have any on hand because when i was building it it was sorta off the top of my head with a lot of holding it up to my jeep to check and then cut. It was fairly simple though
 
#67 ·
this is a GREAT build. respect!

how did you weld the clevis points on both sides with box tubbing?

are you cutting a hole the same size as the mount and cutting a really large hole on the back of the box tube to get the welder to it?

getting ready to do the same build(copy yours) and can't figure out any way other then a surface weld for the clevis mounts.

also where did you buy yours? i found them at A to Z for $25 each
 
#68 ·
Thanks :thumbsup:

The clevis mounts you posted are flush mounts. I wouldn't recommend using them. They make clevis mounts that are 4.5" long and you cut an appropriate sized hole in the front and back of the tube and slip them all the way through leaving about 1/4-1/2" on the back.
What everyone means by "weld the shackle mounts on the front and back" is just that. You weld on outside surface of the face of the tube and the outside surface of the back of the tube :)

Also I got my clevis mounts from a fab shop on ebay for 12.99 a pair. I think it was like $20 shipped. I'll see if i can dig up a link or the sellers name

Here's a few pics that may explain better

Back of bumper

Front of bumper


Hope that helps :cheers2:
 
#69 ·
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