Getting ready to build a front bumper

[yosh18981898]

Hey guys,

I've got my bumper all planned out. I am going to make it out of 2" round steel tubing (or conduit). The main part will look like the one Xplorerkid had. Heres a link to a thread containing a picture of his:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111034

What I'm going to do differantly is take my current grill guard and weld it onto my new tube bumper, Jason94sport has the exact same grille guard, heres a picture:

http://community.webshots.com/photo...190720657dbWAEx

Finally, I'm gonna get the cheapest junkyard 2" receiver hitch I can find and canabalize it for the receiver part and weld that onto the bottom of the tube bumper.

I've done alot of research and here's what I've come up with for materials:

A) 2" OD 0.120" wall DOM tubing would be about $115.00. Advantage: strongest

B) 2" OD 0.134" wall HREW would be about $55.00. Advantage: cheapest

C) 2.375" OD (2" ID) 0.146" wall rigid galvanized steel conduit would be about $75.00 Advantage: being galvinized, it wont rust.

As far as strength, from the research I did, I found that rigid conduit is stronger than HREW tubing, and that 0.120 wall DOM is just a little stronger than the heavier 2" 0.146 wall RGC.

Now for the best part:
My dad works as an engineer for an electrical contractor and said that he could find me a couple pieces of scrap galvanized riged conduit off a jobsite for FREE!!!!

I definately think that I'm gonna go with the rigid galvanized conduit. I mean it's FREE!! it's almost as strong as the lighter DOM tubing, it's FREE!! it wont rust, it's FREE!! and did I mention that it's FREE!!

Now I just have to wait for Christmas break to come so I can go home and make this thing!

Tell me what you all think of the design and materials.

 

[bmxking5]

Sounds cool, good luck.

 

[Brian1]

I dont know if I would say conduit is almost as strong as DOM tube. They both have their intended purpose. Also for the trailer hitch what I do when I build bumpers is go down to to the industrial places in town and buy just the 2" receiver tube brand new ready to go for $20. It is alot easier to work with than hacking up an old one and trying to use it. Otherwise it sounds like a cool bumper!

 

[yosh18981898]

Yeah I thought about doing that for a receiver hitch. I guess I'll just do what ever is cheaper!

What I said was that the 0.146 wall conduit was almost as strong as the much lighter 0.120 wall DOM tubing. I'm going to have more weight but it wont be quite as strong. I know that DOM tubing is the best stuff but I just can't see spending 115 on some steel. I think that the conduit will be plenty strong. I might even go with 2.5" ID which has an even thicker wall. I'm pretty sure this stuff would be even stronger than 2" .120 wall DOM.....

 

[XplorerKid]

Sounds Good, yea DOM is expensive, all together i prolly had 100$ worth of tubing, and another 60 -80$ in Grade 8 Bolts, and Plate for brackets, and Welding Wire, and All kinds of crap... Definately wasnt cheap, but worth it, even though nwo it jsut sits in my garage, waiting for a buyer

Make sure to post pics when done!

 

[mrboyle]

You need to be extreemly careful when welding galvanized metal. The galvanization is made from zinc and when welded will produce toxic gases. If inhaled the gases can lead to zinc/cadminum(sp?) posioning (which is deadly)! If you decide to use the galvanized material, make sure you do all your welding in a VERY well ventalated area and it is best to use some kind of exhaust fan to remove the fumes.

 

[yosh18981898]

You need to be extreemly careful when welding galvanized metal. The galvanization is made from zinc and when welded will produce toxic gases. If inhaled the gases can lead to zinc/cadminum(sp?) posioning (which is deadly)! If you decide to use the galvanized material, make sure you do all your welding in a VERY well ventalated area and it is best to use some kind of exhaust fan to remove the fumes.

I'm aware of that. I plan to weld outside with a fan blowing on the object and possibly even wearing a gas mask under the welding sheild.

 

[XplorerKid]

I'm aware of that. I plan to weld outside with a fan blowing on the object and possibly even wearing a gas mask under the welding sheild.

a fan blowing on the object as you weld??? i know when welding steel all that does is mess uo your welds, amd makes them come out crappy

 

[Robb]

I have never heard of "strong" conduit. All the conduit that I have seen on jobsites (up to 4") can easily be bent by hand via a conduit bender.

Is it electrical conduit that you are speaking of?

 

[yosh18981898]

Really? I've never welded before but my little brother got a welder about month ago and has been going crazy with it. He's getting pretty good, the two of us are going to build the thing when I get home for Christmas break.

 

[yosh18981898]

I have never heard of "strong" conduit. All the conduit that I have seen on jobsites (up to 4") can easily be bent by hand via a conduit bender.

Is it electrical conduit that you are speaking of?

Have you seen rigid conduit? I've worked with this stuff before (for electrical purposes) and this is VERY strong stuff. I once tried to bend a a piece of 3/4" rigid conduit with a hand bender designed for 1" emt (emt is the thin wall stuff that you're probably used to seeing, 1" EMT and 3/4" rigid have the same OD, so the 3/4" fits in the 1" EMT bender) and I couldn't get it to bend at all. The company my dad works for uses big hydrualic benders to bend this stuff.

 

[XplorerKid]

Really? I've never welded before but my little brother got a welder about month ago and has been going crazy with it. He's getting pretty good, the two of us are going to build the thing when I get home for Christmas break.

What kinda Welder?

If its a mig, it wont work.....

 

[yosh18981898]

What kinda Welder?

If its a mig, it wont work.....

I'm pretty sure its an arc welder. Or whatever kind takes the welding sticks. I haven't even seen the thing yet, as he got it the week after I arrived at college.

 

[Broccoli1]

Tell your little bro to stay away from the galvanized- it does produce toxic gases when welding. With stick welding you can use the fan technique but with Mig (the arc welder with the gas attachment) the fan will blow the gas away from the welding area. Tehe gas, usually CO2 or an Argon/CO2 mix acts as a Flux for the welding area. With Stick, the Flux is in the Rod/Stick so it works in windy situations better.
For reference Stick and Mig are both ARC welders; they use electricity to create the ARC.
This is a great forum for welding:
http://www.hobartwelders.com/mboard/index.php?

 

[97Mounty97]

Did you ever end up making it?? I'd like to see it if you did and did you use the rigid conduit?