My Thoughts on the Build or Buy Debate

So as we all have come to realize, armor is not cheap. Once you total it up (Front and Rear bumper, Sliders, Roof basket, etc...) You might plan on spending thousands to equip your rig with whatever you feel necessary for your desired purposes. But then, you think to yourself that it will be cheaper to build it all yourself. But is it really?
For my particular applications I have decided that I want sliders, a rear bumper, and a roof basket for my 1st gen Taco. I don't really do much off-roading so a winch bumper isn't really on my shortlist. So I started to total it up as if I planned to get what I wanted from CBI:

Bolt on Sliders (Unpainted, Shipped) = $783.90
Trail Rider Rear Bumper (Unpainted, Shipped) = $814.86
Paint + My time = $40.00

All that totals up to a whopping $1,638.76 and that's without the roof basket. So figure another $250 for that which gets us to $1,888.76
Then I got to thinking, like most do, what if I build it all myself? I decided that my harbor freight 100 amp flux core welder wouldn't be up to the task of truck armor, as I planned to use 3/16" steel plate for the rear bumper. I MIG weld all the time at work, and it has gotten quite boring for me. I have a 2G and 3G Structural plate certification for TIG welding so I figured I would purchase a new welder and put my skills to the test.
At school we used the little known method of Scratch-Start TIG; which is running a TIG torch off a DC capable Stick Welder to power the arc, so no foot pedal. I purchased a Hobart Stick-Mate 160i and the required TIG accessories from Cyberweld.com for a grand total of $630.93. An 80cf bottle of argon and a pound of filler metal ran me another $175, so all in all I was in $805.93. I also had to pull a new 240v circuit in my garage which ran another $91.00 since I did that myself.
Now here's where all these expenses contribute to the build vs. buy debate. Remember the cost of buying the bumper, sliders, roof basket was $1,888.76. The cost of my welder and circuit adds up to $896.43. For my DIY armor to be cheaper than buying it new, the cost of it has to be under $992.33. Because that number and the cost of my welder add up to the cost of buying the armor new.
As of today (11-14-18) I have completed the first phase of my plan, which was the sliders. I wanted a set of complete bolt-on, no drill, no weld sliders(which I found to be quite difficult to fabricate for the 1st gen boxed frame, or at least the drivers side). I planned to spend approximately $250.00 in materials. I spent $247.02 and not a penny more. That leaves me with $745.31 to use towards my rear bumper and roof basket. I figure $350-$400 in materials for both of those, which should leave me enough money to do a front bumper someday down the road.
So was it cheaper to DIY? For me, Yes. But I know how to weld and had the time to do it. If you don't have to buy a new welder like me, this should be a no brainer. It will be cheaper to DIY.
However, I spent every weekend for a solid month or so working on my sliders (most of that was for the mounts, once I had that down it was smooth sailing). If you don't want to hassle with fabrication it may be more worth it to you to buy it all from someplace else. It really all depends on how much you want to put in to it. Time or Money.

Anyways, I'll put some pics up of my sliders when its light outside(yeah I forgot to take them, and its night when I'm writing this). Oh, and I'll update this thread as I build my bumper and roof basket. But that may be awhile as the semester just started and its freaking cold here.