New Skid Plate

[MStudt]

Wow! Only 66$ in? Looks like I'll be building my own skidplates, thought that the price would be quite a bit higher.

It's not as expensive as you might think. As long as you have a welder and all the tools, the expensive part is taken care of. I've priced out slider too, and that's around $80 for both sides. I'm going to be building my bumpers as well. So far I have the front priced out around $180.

 

[Kanger328]

I'm using 3/16" hot rolled to built this. The first section cost me $36 for a 20"x34" piece. I then cut about 95% of the way through the sheet so I could bend it. After doing this, I realized it would have been better to have them cut it to the sizes I needed, and then weld it together. This time I have my local supplier cutting me three pieces for the second piece. The three pieces for the second section was $30.

So far I'm at $66 for all the metal. I already had cutting wheels, flap wheels, and my welding supplies.

Wow, what a huge difference. I need to learn how to weld...

 

[NateMob]

Good job adding the gussets, maybe Savage will see these and beef up his own.

 

[MStudt]

Good job adding the gussets, maybe Savage will see these and beef up his own.

I took your advise and added some.

 

[MStudt]

Second section is almost done. I'll get some pictures on when I get it done tonight.

 

[MStudt]

The second piece is almost finished. All the welding is done, and now I just need to paint it. Got it finished just in time since I leave in a day for the Lone Star Jamboree. Here's a teaser of it.

 

[MStudt]

And another.


Not sure if I'm going to have enough time to get this painted tonight. I'll probably just run it bare until I get back from Texas. I'll get some pictures of it mounted up tonight.

 

[NateMob]

That looks good man!

I will say this though, with how much you dropped the rear mounts away from the flat frame mounts you are going to get some warpage and bending between the long almost full length gusset and the rear circle mount. My Savage set is tweeked on both sides from use and it mounts flush to the bottom of the frame for maximum support and surface area to spread out hits. Did you space it down to accommodate a diff drop?

 

[MStudt]

That looks good man!

I will say this though, with how much you dropped the rear mounts away from the flat frame mounts you are going to get some warpage and bending between the long almost full length gusset and the rear circle mount. My Savage set is tweeked on both sides from use and it mounts flush to the bottom of the frame for maximum support and surface area to spread out hits. Did you space it down to accommodate a diff drop?

It is dropped down for the diff drop. I'm planning on welding another piece between those mounts. I was thinking about getting some 1" angle and welding it between. I'm also going to add some more supports in the middle section. I've got some welding to do tonight. That was the main area of concern that I noticed. If it gets all bent to crap, I'll just build a new one for $20. This is just going to get me by until I have some more time to find a better design.

 

[NateMob]

It is dropped down for the diff drop. I'm planning on welding another piece between those mounts. I was thinking about getting some 1" angle and welding it between. That was the main area of concern that I noticed. If it gets all bent to crap, I'll just build a new one for $20. This is just going to get me by until I have some more time to find a better design.

Man with a plan, I am certainly not hating on your skid! I just wanted to express a concern that i have noticed on my own set. Can't wait to see photos from the Jambo, this deployment has me missing it this year. Take photos!

 

[MStudt]

Man with a plan, I am certainly not hating on your skid! I just wanted to express a concern that i have noticed on my own set. Can't wait to see photos from the Jambo, this deployment has me missing it this year. Take photos!

I appreciated all the advise. I'm sure I'll get plenty of pictures.

 

[Kryptoroxx]

Looks really good man! I was going to say for the price of two of the items you are building you could buy all the tools you need. After that its knowing how to use them lol.

 

[MStudt]

Looks really good man! I was going to say for the price of two of the items you are building you could buy all the tools you need. After that its knowing how to use them lol.

Plenty of youtube videos that will show you the basics of welding. The rest is learning your machine. I have two different welders, and they are both completely different in the way they weld.

 

[Scirocco84]

Nice work! How do you cut your plate? I'm just starting with metal work. I've got a worm dive circular saw I could use and I could get a torch, but I don't have the funds for a plasma cutter.

 

[MStudt]

Nice work! How do you cut your plate? I'm just starting with metal work. I've got a worm dive circular saw I could use and I could get a torch, but I don't have the funds for a plasma cutter.

On the first piece I made I used a grinder. I cut about 90% of the way through, clamped it down, grabbed a couple crescent wrenches, and start bending. On the second piece I had my supplier cut them to the sizes I needed. I used some clamps to hold the pieces in the angles I needed, and then tacked them in place. A worm drive and a good metal blade will do the trick. It's just going to be slow going.