1993 Splash in SC

[Curious Hound]

Tomorrow.

My ratchet strap tiedown points are turning out nice. I had some 3/8" octagonal bar stock and found that I could bend it easily with my rebar bender/cutter thingy.

 

[Curious Hound]

I am too visible. I live alone g a heavily traveled road with a quiet side street along one side of my property. I'm trying to work in the driveway and have already been interrupted 3 times in the last hour and a half.

A neighbor stopped to compliment my build. That was nice. Then a landscaping contractor stopped to see if I could extend his equipment trailer. Hmmm. Now a man stopped and asked me about straightening his riding mower deck. "His daughter" hit something and it bend the deck around one of the spindles so the spindle is crooked and blade is jammed on the side of the deck. I showed him how to use a heavy hammer and a straight edge to fix it himself.

Can I get back to work now???

 

[Ranger850]

I am too visible. I live alone g a heavily traveled road with a quiet side street along one side of my property. I'm trying to work in the driveway and have already been interrupted 3 times in the last hour and a half.

A neighbor stopped to compliment my build. That was nice. Then a landscaping contractor stopped to see if I could extend his equipment trailer. Hmmm. Now a man stopped and asked me about straightening his riding mower deck. "His daughter" hit something and it bend the deck around one of the spindles so the spindle is crooked and blade is jammed on the side of the deck. I showed him how to use a heavy hammer and a straight edge to fix it himself.

Can I get back to work now???

"Excuse me sir, I see you are extremely busy with your own stuff, but would you mind stopping that and doing this for me so I can have a good day?"

 

[sgtsandman]

They see you have a welder and know what you are doing. They also see an opportunity to get cheap labor.

 

[Curious Hound]

They see you have a welder and know what you are doing. They also see an opportunity to get cheap labor.

I see opportunities to make a few bucks if I wasn't so dang busy on my stuff right now.

 

[Curious Hound]

Ok. I got primer on the upside-down parts and splashed some top coat in the areas that require brushing. I'm ready to quit for the day. So not going to fill the roller pan with black today. Bumper got primer and first topcoat.

Front and rear side tie-down points look like this.

Middle tie-down points

Bumper is finally black

Bottom side primed.

 

[Blmpkn]

Getting so close!

 

[Curious Hound]

I just looked back. I bought the steel on Jan. 6 and finished the last weld today, March 3. Just under 2 months to build a custom truck bed AND a rear bumper. Not bad for shade tree working.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Your garage looks more like mine all the time...

 

[Curious Hound]

Your garage looks more like mine all the time...

It will get some cleanup soon. It would take 2 hrs or less to get room to put the Ranger in one side. The other side is permanently occupied.

 

[Blmpkn]

How much did you spend on the square tubing?

 

[Curious Hound]

How much did you spend on the square tubing?

Not sure where my receipt is from the first trip to the steel yard. That bill was just over $500. The second trip, I needed another 10ft of 14gauge 2"x2" tubing. Price was $94.53 per 20ft. Most of my outer perimeter framing is heavier than that - 1/8" wall or 11gauge? In total, I have roughly $1100 in steel. The market has been high. It wasn't really the best time to do this, price-wise. In addition, I bought some small tie-down thingies. I already had the hinges for the fuel tank hatch. It required a new, longer fuel filler hose. About $75 for the Rustoleum paint. New bolts for mounting it to the truck - not necessary. But it seemed like a good time to freshen up that hardware. The project will almost entirely destroy a 11lb roll of MIG wire, though a better welder would probably use less. Most of a tank of gas (argon/CO2 mix). I've used up one good quality portaband blade, five or six 4 1/2" cutoff wheels, three or four 4 1/2" grinding wheels, a handful of 2" rol-loc wheels (like Scotch-brite pads) for cleanup. What else??

I could have skinned it with 18gauge instead of 16. But I have issues welding thin stuff. Plus, I want it to be tough. A 4ft X 8ft sheet of 16gauge was $173 when I bought. The expanded metal was $153 for a sheet. I don't have much sheet material left. I had to plan "cut sheets" to make the most of the metal and get it all out of 3 sheets. I stuck to those plans and it worked. But that is why the expanded metal side panels have a seam at the middle upright.

Overall, this is almost twice what I wanted it to cost.

 

[Roert42]

I really like how you did your tie downs.

I have been planning on adding some to my headache rack, but didn’t want them to stick out too far and be in the way. So I may end up liberating your design.

 

[Blmpkn]

Not sure where my receipt is from the first trip to the steel yard. That bill was just over $500. The second trip, I needed another 10ft of 14gauge 2"x2" tubing. Price was $94.53 per 20ft. Most of my outer perimeter framing is heavier than that - 1/8" wall or 11gauge? In total, I have roughly $1100 in steel. The market has been high. It wasn't really the best time to do this, price-wise. In addition, I bought some small tie-down thingies. I already had the hinges for the fuel tank hatch. It required a new, longer fuel filler hose. About $75 for the Rustoleum paint. New bolts for mounting it to the truck - not necessary. But it seemed like a good time to freshen up that hardware. The project will almost entirely destroy a 11lb roll of MIG wire, though a better welder would probably use less. Most of a tank of gas (argon/CO2 mix). I've used up one good quality portaband blade, five or six 4 1/2" cutoff wheels, three or four 4 1/2" grinding wheels, a handful of 2" rol-loc wheels (like Scotch-brite pads) for cleanup. What else??

I could have skinned it with 18gauge instead of 16. But I have issues welding thin stuff. Plus, I want it to be tough. A 4ft X 8ft sheet of 16gauge was $173 when I bought. The expanded metal was $153 for a sheet. I don't have much sheet material left. I had to plan "cut sheets" to make the most of the metal and get it all out of 3 sheets. I stuck to those plans and it worked. But that is why the expanded metal side panels have a seam at the middle upright.

Overall, this is almost twice what I wanted it to cost.

It's all the little things that add up. Price wise seems to be about what I spent on steel for mine a couple years ago, not too bad considering.

 

[bobbywalter]

I am too visible. I live alone g a heavily traveled road with a quiet side street along one side of my property. I'm trying to work in the driveway and have already been interrupted 3 times in the last hour and a half.

A neighbor stopped to compliment my build. That was nice. Then a landscaping contractor stopped to see if I could extend his equipment trailer. Hmmm. Now a man stopped and asked me about straightening his riding mower deck. "His daughter" hit something and it bend the deck around one of the spindles so the spindle is crooked and blade is jammed on the side of the deck. I showed him how to use a heavy hammer and a straight edge to fix it himself.

Can I get back to work now???

I sold my side rail tool boxes to a pipeline welder that drove by every day watching me build my bed.. ...I never even used them ..