Anything welding

I’m sure you already know, but a few of these will make putting that back together a lot easier:

 

Of course you would! Lol!

For just hauling light material or a RTT i used 14ga 1.5x2" box. It's plenty solid and in a pinch i can get the rack and the RTT off the back myself. It's not going to be great in a roll-over, but i think i'll have bigger problems then a bent rack if that happens.

I'm making mine removable... If i make it at all. The only time i'd put the spare on the carrier is if i was actually wheeling. The rest of the time i'm in and out of the back a ton. I still need a truck from time to time.

I did get the bumper back today!

 

Those look pretty nifty. I was talking to a sheet metal buddy and he suggested taking an 1” wide strip of 18 gauge and conforming it to the seam, from the back. Basically use it as a backing plate so I don’t have to do a butt joint on the bed sides. The stuff is so damn thin.

 

retractable would be super dope!

 

That’s be a good idea. I’d drill holes along the 1” strip about 4” apart and spot weld it from the back to each side of the bed side to act as a support and help maintain the same plane along the joint. A butt weld there wouldn’t be bad though honestly. The weld itself is going to be a lot stronger than the surrounding metal. There isn’t going to be a lot of structure in the steemetal and you’d be better off reinforcing the composite bed to keep the strength out back. A lot of that really depends on what you find acceptable in the finished product. If you plan on doing body work (filler, prime, automotive paint, etc), then either one would work. If you plan on keeping it as a trail rig and are fine with exposed weld and rattle can then you can’t really go wrong.
I cut my teeth on sheet metal welding and body work long before I built anything even slightly structural so I know it takes some finesse to get it right.

 

Why 1/4" wall? You getting sponsorship money from Caterpillar?

 

I plan on doing all the filler and body work. It’ll be a learning process but I want to do the best job I can.

Because I want it overbuilt for recovery, or towing something. 1/4 mounting plates and main tube, 3/16 wings. It’s how my current high clearance is built.

 

In that case get those clamps. I’m sure your sheet metal buddy will agree they’re super handy. Get a strip of thin copper plate (just thin enough to bend to the shape) and clamp it to the face (Outside) of the joint. Then start spot welding from the back (inside the fender). The copper plate will act like a heat sink to prevent a lot of warping and since the weld won’t stick to it, it’ll leave a smooth finish to the joint that’ll require less filler/grinding to get smooth. Bounce around with your spot welds and cool with compressed air as often as you can stand it. The tin foil on out trucks will move around on you a lot. Feel free to reach out if you need any help along the way man, but you know what you’re doing.

 

Do use straight CO2 or a argon mix? Looking good.
Zim

 

75/25 mix

 

I seem to remember seeing a ton of these used in body shops - cleco clamps. requries that backing plate, drilling a hole, then filling after welding...

 

Yeah thinking about going back to CO2 for the structural stuff. I did that some years ago and just now getting back. It tends to not shield as well but for welds you're not worried about visually it's a savings.
Thanks sir.
Zim

 

On another note - what do you guys use for blending a butt weld? I really suck with the flap wheel, and the hard grinding wheel seems like the wrong tool...

 

I use flap discs to take down a lot of material and then a course surface conditioning disc or purple stripper disc on my die grinder to smooth it out.

 

Clecos are good for lap welds. perfect for paneling like floor pans and dash builds. A substitute for them is to use sheet metal screws to hold panels in place while you welded the come back and fill the holes left by the screws.

 

You can get 'em flat with a flap wheel? I always seem to end up with little concave scallops.

 

it depends on where it’s at. I generally knock the majority down with a grinder then file flat and hit it with a da sander. I also really like the Milwaukee angled die grinder. I use it a ton for this kind of stuff. A little slower but much easier to avoid over grinding or digging into your base material with.

 

Nothing wrong with that

 

Yes, I do. And as @glorifiedwelder uses, I also use that same die grinder with the other 2" discs I mentioned earlier to blend it all in.

 

Finally got my cage fully welded, put it on and put the rear under its own weight for the first time.

Shock mounts on the front axle