need help with rockslider fab
 

since there are no vendors selling rocksliders and the local fab shop wants like 400 for a set of sliders i am just going to have to make my own .

THe problem is i know one guy with a bender and band saw , i know another guy who can weld it. how do i hold it all together to measure and fine tune etc .? If the welder was in the same spot I could weld the brackets to the frame then add one piece at a time .

this is the design i'm going for but the pieces going to the frame a little different.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...0_slider_4.jpg

I have also been thinking about putting a solid piece of diamond plate on the top side of the slider it go from the bottom rail to the top rail and all the way to each end and follow the curve, screw it on. So this way it will protect from brush and pointy rocks from coming up and hitting the vehicle in the area between the top and bottom rails ... I think it would look cool with black tubeing contrasted against the steel. the only thing it it will be hard to clean between the DP and the tube.

I'm not sure if i explained it well but who thinks the diamond plate would look good and who thinks it would look lame ?

leave it open the slider will look 10235093450340 times better

That would be cool. I would bolt to the frame not weld It is nice to be able to remove them for painting and repair. You could aways purchase a bender and bring it with you to the welder. This one should be enough for what you want you want to do and will sever for many more jobs down the road. Just my 2 cents.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=44094

thats a toughie. im guessin youre lookin for a way to hold things in place while you build connecting parts w/o havin a welder there to tack things together.....
furniture clamps and magnets are probly your best bets.


you could always jus build one piece at a time and drive back and forth :crazy:

I would just use the square tubing instead of having the round tubing. I think if you just let the square tubing stop right under the door you would have your rock slider and you wouldn't have to worry about the round tubing at all.

it was my understanding i would need a hydraulic bender not a manual one . are you totaly sure that bender will do 1.5" steel tube .i know it says up to 2 inches but u can't trust harbor freight tools...if i could pick up a mig welder used for cheap hell i'd rather just take a welding class and start fabing myself till i get it right and hell then do a bumper and swing away tire out back .. I know i could make some cool stuff with some practice.

definently going with bolting to frame so i can touch up the paint

i'm not sure the thickness that is usualy used for bumpers and sliders etc.Im thinking 1/8" ?

I think its going to be rediculous trying to use clamps ....

when i fab the pieces they should fit snug against eachother ? what is the maximum gap between two pieces that would be acceptable for a strong weld? i know if there is a tiny gap the bead will just fill it up but not sure how big.

you will need a TUBE bender to bend tube, not a PIPE bender. I just purchased my tube bender, but it cost me a pretty penny. 700 dollars.

that has a maximum bending size of 5/8" you need a true tube bender or tube will just kink in a pipe bender.

http://www.pro-tools.com/105.htm

I just bought that. I actually bought the 105HD version with the thicker arms.

You are correct about that perticular bender will kink the pipe. This is due to the type of dye it uses.

Wow the Pro Tool bender is nice. That bender is still a pipe bender it say that right there in the sales information. These guys offer a nice tube/pipe bender http://www.vansantent.com/tube_bending_machines.htm

^ yeah those work nice, the only crappy part is buying the dies that cost as much as the bender almost.

its the same thing as a JD bender. It says pipe because you have to buy special pipe dies to bend pipe. I have tube dies for it aka tube bender.

my 1.75" 240* die cost me 260

i might be thinking of getting yer setup Andrew, i'd want the full wrap 240 and i'm prolly gona be using 1.75 dom most of the time too.

when you get it and use it, let me know how you like it.

The 240* die is defidently a must. the 120* die only lets you make 105* or so bends. the 240 allows for 180 degree bends. I cant wait to get it all setup and start bending.

has anyone adapted a set of sliders to work with a 3" BL? Just curious as to how that would work. Would it make the slider less stable to move the slider farther up on the mounting bracket?

There really isnt any mounting brackets. Most sliders weld to the frame with legs. There are some that bolt on, but the weld on are much cleaner.

ok, so basically, I move the attachment legs from the slider, up on the mounting bracket, and then add a little more bracing for support, and weld it to the frame, right? I am kind of new to rock sliders, but as many weird places I take my truck, I need them more than I want them lol. But as long as they do there job, I dont much mind how they look

thats just tooo mcuh money for me . I need like a used one or somehting. I can't believe the die is sooo expensive .

They are CNC machined out of a solid chunk of metal.

i was thinking if i got a bender i would get a 1.5" die .... would 1.75 maybe be a better choice for bumpers , rocksliders, general body protection.

there is a used jd bender on ebay with 3 dies and a hole saw notcher it has the stand the stop ring etc etc . Its at 690$ but reserve not met .problem is its pickup only.

1.75 is pretty standard for cages and stuff. 1.5" would be the next most popular die.

just bought a JD squared model 3 with 1.5 die over 700 canadian pumped too start on my sliders and bumpers just need money for steel. i have a feeling it is a investment i wont regret

why did you bring up a 2 year old thread