First I measured and cut the tubing to the lengh I wanted. The Jeep came with those little fat "nerf bars" that you see on grandpa truck, but I wanted something longer. This would provide me with protection the entire lengh of the body when I come upon that trail thats REALLY narrow! I also wanted something that had a low profile to leave as much clearance as posible. I cut the tubes at 51", this left about 3" on either end to allows for unforseen tire angles. I then used the 1 1/4" wide strips of steel to make coin shaped end caps that I welded on to the ends of each tube. This probably isn't important to function, but with our winters and road salt, I didn't want them to rust from the inside.
I then cut 6 pieces of tubing to approx. 6" lenghs. I then put these small
pieces of tube in a jig and cut them in the middle at an angle. I did actually
measure the angle, I just took a shot at it with some scraps until I found what
worked the best. I then took the two halves and rotated one end 180 degrees
and welded them back together. This formed an "L" shaped peice that I used
to join the top tube and bottom tube together. These welds, like all of them I
guess, had to be strong. Any force on the top bar is transmited through
the "L" shapes connecting pieces to the lower bar, which inturn, transmits it
to the square tubing that connects to the frame.
I used a sawzall and a grinder to cut saddle shapes into the ends of the connecting pieces. This is time consuming, but makes for a nice fit and great function. To hold this mess together, so I couls weld it, I made a jig out of two 8" square pieces of plywood by cuting holes in them to hold the top and bottom tubes the correct distance apart. This kept them from twisting or shifting while I was welding. (You can't see a damn thing with that helmet on!) I placed all of the connecting pieces inbetween the tubes, placed them where I wanted, and welded it all together.
Now I had two sets of bars together. I messed around with the angle in respect
to the body. I found what I liked most and used jack stands to hold them in
place. Then I measure the distance between the frame and the bars, and cut the
1 1/4" square tube to those distances, leaving a little extra for fine tuning.
The frame on the body is not square with the out side of the Jeep at the front,
so the front square piece would have to be cut at an angle. Since I was using
1/4" thick steel as a flange, I would have to be real close with the angle.
Like the "L" shaped connectors, I cut saddle shapes in these too.
I decided to double up on the square tubing at the point where it connects to the frame. This would greatly improve the strength of the joint where all the upward force is handled. See arrow on the left photo.
I then tapped the frame and used (4) 5/16" grade 5 bolts to connect each
plate to the frame. I checked the strengh, first by just jacking up the truck
by the new guard, and later, out in the feild. They hold up well to everything
I can throw at them.
