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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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#4 ·
Thanks :thumbsup:
good catch, the front bolt holes for the winch feet ended up right at the back of the rectangular tube. i had to notch the tube just alittle bit to clear the bolt head so i could get a wrench on it. It was a tight fit, i couldnt move the winch back because of my stock sway bar and also wanted to keep from moving the bumper forward any
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the compliments guys! i had a lot of fun building it
I think i spent around $120 for everything. i feel like thats pretty good since i got a new bumper and winch plate all in one! you know the price of those if you buy them :laugh: Although, the steel could probably be found cheaper than the local place i got mine since they tend to charge a lot for small pieces
 
#18 ·
Very awesome.

Man I want a 220v welder:drool:
Man I wish i could build a jeep like your's :drool: haha. I admire the skills it takes to build something like that with a 140, imagine the things you'd get yourself into with a 220v :rofl:
The HH187 is a nice machine :thumbsup: This is my first welder so i'm alittle biased but i like it! and i'm certainly getting addicted to fabricating

wow thats pretty clever! Im not gonna lie every time I need to tack something like that I try to hold it there and then try to hold the gun in the other hand and tack it and I always have a hard time and get very annoyed with it :rolleyes: I am going to have to try that next time.

I always knew I was one of the smartest crayons in the box. :p

Your bumper looks very nice too, I wish I had a 220v as well and a plasma :drool:
Thanks, whenever i try and hold something in place and hit it with a tack it always ends up off center or crooked.
After building this with an angle grinder and cut off disks i really wish i had a plasma cutter as well :drool: i'v been looking at them but being a student and having no income right now hinders my decision. I'm hoping i can look into one over the summer when i'm making alittle money
 
#16 ·
Then tacked and welded the end caps in place
wow thats pretty clever! Im not gonna lie every time I need to tack something like that I try to hold it there and then try to hold the gun in the other hand and tack it and I always have a hard time and get very annoyed with it :rolleyes: I am going to have to try that next time.

I always knew I was one of the smartest crayons in the box. :p

Your bumper looks very nice too, I wish I had a 220v as well and a plasma :drool:
 
#19 ·
Looks good.

The only thing that I would have done differently is on the 45 degree angle on the ends. I would have only taken the 45 degree angle about half way up the width of the 4" tube and left about 2" of it straight up and down if you know what I mean.

It wouldn't leave such a sharp corner on the ends of the bumper and looks cleaner IMO.
 
#21 ·
Thanks :)
I thought about doing that but it just made it easier for me to make a clean cut and endcap for the tube doing it this way. Also, i think it's unique since most bumpers are built with the 2" left straight up like your talking about.

You did a great job! It looks to me like you have some background in fabbing and welding.

What's next on the list?

Rich
Thanks :thumbsup: However, this is the first thing i'v ever fabbed up. I actually just bought my first welder a few months ago and have been practicing with that on scraps till i decided i'd try this little project.

Next on the list will probably be a rear bumper and tire carrier to go with the front, also thinking of making some rocker guards to replace my frame mounted sliders. I was just messing with some leftovers from this build today to see if i could build a steering box skid and incorporate it into this front bumper. I'll add that here if i get around to building that :)
 
#20 ·
You did a great job! It looks to me like you have some background in fabbing and welding.

What's next on the list?

Rich
 
#22 ·
I started messing with building a steering box skid today. Here is what i have so far...

Began by finding the angle i wanted and then cut two pieces of left over 1/4" plate, welded them up and smoothed it out

Then i made some cardboard templates. This is from the drivers side

This is the passenger side

This is where i'm at now


on hold because i ran out of cutting disks :brickwall

I was looking at pics of steering box skids to kind of get an idea on mounting it. my plan it to have the bottom bolt of the bumper go through the front, and the lowest bolt from the steering box hold the one side. I see that some skids (like the warn) have a 3rd bracket that mounts the other side to the round frame crossmember. Is that neccesary?
I suppose i could add an additional tab to my bumper so that i would have 2 bolts on the front and one on the side.
Any suggestions are appreciated :)
 
#23 ·
Do you happen to have any pictures of the under side of the bumper, and the back where it mounts on the jeep
 
#26 ·
Here is a few pics of the lower mounts and the bottom of the bumper



Here is the underneath side with the bolts for the winch, I think i mentioned in a post above that to clear the factory sway bar the winch barely fits with the bumper tight against the frame. I had to grind the bumper slightly so i could get a wrench on the front bolts. you can kinda see it in this pic


Hopefully these were what you were looking for
Let me know if i can do anything else to help :)
 
#31 ·
Got some more work done today on my steering box skid. pretty much done except for prepping and painting

Cut out the pieces i traced onto steel


Then after tacking them in and checking to make sure everything fit, i burned it all in. Also ground the outside edges smooth



Here's the skid mounted up before paint




Let me know what you guys think :)
 
#32 ·
Nice job!:thumbsup:

Rich
 
#33 ·
couldnt have done no better myself:thumbsup:

you may as well start learning underwater welding lol,,it pays real good:teehee:

im gonna do the same gaurd myself when i get off my but and feel intergetic again..it comes in spurts for me,the sunshine state isnt so sunny at the moment...23 degrees last night whoooo hoooo:wave:
 
#35 ·
Thanks guys :) I'll try to get it painted and put back on for some finished pics in a couple days.

you may as well start learning underwater welding lol,,it pays real good:teehee:

im gonna do the same gaurd myself when i get off my but and feel intergetic again..it comes in spurts for me,the sunshine state isnt so sunny at the moment...23 degrees last night whoooo hoooo:wave:
Haha thanks! I don't know about a career in underwater welding but i definitely would love to keep doing fabrication projects like these. I'm just having way too much fun with this :2thumbsup: lol
I feel ya on the cold weather. It's been highs of 30 here all week
 
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