Jeep Tube fenders...

[bluesman2a]

Well it finally happened last night... I finally made a weld that just made me SMILE. It's not much compared to some folks capabilities here, but it's MINE!!!



Setup:
16ga diamond plate on .120 wall square tube
16.0V 165IPM .035 Hobart wire 75/25.

The rest of the pictures for this project are here:

http://www.printroom.com/ViewAlbum.asp?userid=bluesman2a&album_id=143878

It's not done yet, but these things are pretty labor intensive...

[RawkRash]

Your fenders look nice! What drivetrain is in your Jeep?

I have a '49 CJ-3A that's in the process of a rebuild. The fenders are about the only parts of it that aren't rusted out, so I'll be keeping them for a while. Mine still has the stock L-head and 3-speed.

[bluesman2a]

Originally posted by RawkRash
Your fenders look nice! What drivetrain is in your Jeep?

Fresh 258, mildly built/cam'd, NV4500 5speed, Atlas II 3.8:1 xfer case.

My stock fenders were good, but I wanted something sturdier. These, I can stand on. Not to mention I have a lot of FLAT real-estate to mount stuff for ignition, on-board-air, and dual battery isolator

[RawkRash]

I just realized that it's not a 2A! I guessed from your screen name that it would be a 2A and didn't look all that close. That looks really good!

A friend just did a set of tube fenders for his '83 CJ-7 and had me weld the plate to the tubing. I'm still getting used to my new mig welder but was relatively happy with how the welds turned out.
Sorry no pics. He made his fenders about the width of the original flares and then tied them into the rocker panels. Also reused the stock inner fenders. I like yours better.

[PigTurd]

Those are nice!! Looks like they should hold well! Looks like you could even jack off of em if you needed!



Chris

[metal tech]

Those fenders look great. That bender of your is earning it's keep by the looks of things. Awhile back you mentioned that you would probably get the Pro-Tools 105 bender instead of the JD2 you have, why is that?

Al

[bluesman2a]

Originally posted by metal tech
Awhile back you mentioned that you would probably get the Pro-Tools 105 bender instead of the JD2 you have, why is that?

Well, I don't have any personal experience with the ProTools, but I have heard from sources I trust in these matters that the finish on the parts is better. More importantly, the dies are supposed to be better. While I haven't had many problems (yet) with my JD-2 dies, there are many who suffer galling, and wear beyond what one would expect from the usage these things get.

It's little things really, don't get me wrong, the JD-2 is NOT a bad tool, and the folks are fine to deal with, but given the option again, I would probably spend just a bit more for the Pro-Tools.

[Cullen]

Very nice! I like the square tube. Wheelin here in the Pacific Northwest the trees like to grab sheet metal, once I finally knock mine off I'll try building a set.

Off the topic but I was looking at the pics in your albums of the battery tray on the YJ. Is that for a dual setup? What size batteries? I'm working on my dual battery setup and tiring to figure how to mount them.

Cullen

[bluesman2a]

Originally posted by Cullen
Off the topic but I was looking at the pics in your albums of the battery tray on the YJ. Is that for a dual setup? What size batteries? I'm working on my dual battery setup and tiring to figure how to mount them.

Yep that's a dual battery setup. It's for two optimas.

See here for a complete write-up on the project:

http://www.atlanta-off-road.org/6/ubb.x?a=tpc&s=995606763&f=122608034&m=8006094701

[bluesman2a]

Funny millerism...

Last night I was really laying out a lot of wire, those fenders are FULLY welded... Probably a LOT more than they need, but I look at this as a good learning project (non-critical/non-structural) so I want to get the most practice in that I can.

Well about 1/2 way throught the second top plate (about 6 ft worth of seams EACH), the cooling fan on the 251 kicks in... At first I'm thinking, "How did the wife turn on the A/C in the GARAGE?"

Then it was "We don't HAVE A/C in the garage!"

Then "Oh, you big dummy it's the WELDER...."

First time I'd ever got it warm enough to kick on the fan...

[PigTurd]

LOL!! Thats kinda funny!!

Same thing happened to me and my buddy at his place, when his fan kicked on (mm250x).. He had never heard it before! Took ALOT of welding to get it warm enough!


I kinda wish my MM210 had the fan on demand setup. I find myself turning it off after each weld just to give it a break. Seems if its not hot, its just blowing crap thru the case. Any opinions/ideas on that?



Keep the pics coming!


Chris

[deere_x475guy]

Re: Funny millerism...

Originally posted by bluesman2a
Last night I was really laying out a lot of wire, those fenders are FULLY welded... Probably a LOT more than they need, but I look at this as a good learning project (non-critical/non-structural) so I want to get the most practice in that I can.

Well about 1/2 way throught the second top plate (about 6 ft worth of seams EACH), the cooling fan on the 251 kicks in... At first I'm thinking, "How did the wife turn on the A/C in the GARAGE?"

Then it was "We don't HAVE A/C in the garage!"

Then "Oh, you big dummy it's the WELDER...."

First time I'd ever got it warm enough to kick on the fan...

You know I as kinda concerned about mine. I never heard it. Then one weekend Will was over and we teamed up to weld my bucket to gether. The welder ran continous for a long time because Will and I would switch off welding with no rest between us....then....suddenly there was this strange sound...and I realized we finally had kicked in the fan.....it didn't run very long. Sure is nice not to have that fan noise going all the time...and think of how much junk isn't being pulled through the machine. MY Miller Spectrum 625 has the same fan on demand and I really like that....


Bob