push bar
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2010
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From: Rushville, NE
push bar
we are having projects in our welding class and i want to put a push bar on it similar to this Google Image Result for http://cdn2.iofferphoto.com/img/item/124/469/345/J84W.jpg
can anyone post pictures of it and maybe some measurements thanks
can anyone post pictures of it and maybe some measurements thanks
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 16
From: Ideeho
Not all that hard to figure out...........Trace a profile of your bumper, cut out a cardboard pattern then go from there. As far as the width between the uprights..........It will bolt to the outside of your frame rails. Id get the uprights cut out then bolt them to the frame, then figure out the length of pipes you need. Tac the pipes in place while the uprights are on the truck. Take it all off and weld it up. Cool thing about learining fab and welding skills is you can build things the way YOU want them. Youre not limited to what is for retail sale. Have fun with it....................
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,678
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From: NorCal
I've got a push bar very similar to the one in the pic - visit my garage. Due to varying tolerances from rig to rig, the one I have has sleeved and bolted cross tubes. For your fab project, I suggest the tubes be welded to the end plates and the inside width (btwn the end plates) be one-half to one-inch wider than the published factory outside frame dimension. You can always add washers to fill in the gap.
I'll provide some basic measurements (width, total height, tube lengths, etc) later this PM cuz it's raining like a big dog right now.
Lastly, a big kudos to you for taking up welding and your school district actually providing that class. Here where I live, the school district has decimated shop-type classes. And believe me, once you get started on fabbing up your own stuff, you'll NEVER look at a piece of metal the same way again. Have you looked at how much parts houses want for simple tube step bars? Friggin' unbelievable!
I'll provide some basic measurements (width, total height, tube lengths, etc) later this PM cuz it's raining like a big dog right now.
Lastly, a big kudos to you for taking up welding and your school district actually providing that class. Here where I live, the school district has decimated shop-type classes. And believe me, once you get started on fabbing up your own stuff, you'll NEVER look at a piece of metal the same way again. Have you looked at how much parts houses want for simple tube step bars? Friggin' unbelievable!
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,678
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From: NorCal
Another Push Bar
Nice pics swordman. Yours look like it has deeper side plates
Below is my $20 swap meet find.
Specs:
Overall height: 19.5 inches
Overall width: 34.5 inches
Side plates: .25 inch thick
Tubes: 0.120 inch x 2-inch O.D.
Lights: 6x9 Eagle Eyes, 100w ($15 for the pair! - Yep, same swap meet.)
Note that my tubes mount on slugs (stubby tubes welded to the side plates) and the cross tubes slide over the slugs and are secured with through-bolts.
Below is my $20 swap meet find.
Specs:
Overall height: 19.5 inches
Overall width: 34.5 inches
Side plates: .25 inch thick
Tubes: 0.120 inch x 2-inch O.D.
Lights: 6x9 Eagle Eyes, 100w ($15 for the pair! - Yep, same swap meet.)
Note that my tubes mount on slugs (stubby tubes welded to the side plates) and the cross tubes slide over the slugs and are secured with through-bolts.
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From: West Virginia
I've never really understood what the point is of that type of bar, they are so weak that they just dent backwards into the bumper and grille shell. There is now way they can ever be strong, they are shaped like a giant J with the bolts on the end of the J and the leverage acting on the long end. I say build your own front bumper. More fun. better result.
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Senior User
Joined: Feb 2010
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From: Rushville, NE
yeah we had a 88 chevy with this style and hit a deer going about 80 and it just bent it clear back into the radiator i just want one for the looks and to keep me busy in welding, the hard thing about this is i want it the shape of the bumper but its alot harder than you would think
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,678
Likes: 83
From: NorCal
I've never really understood what the point is of that type of bar, they are so weak that they just dent backwards into the bumper and grille shell. There is now way they can ever be strong, they are shaped like a giant J with the bolts on the end of the J and the leverage acting on the long end. I say build your own front bumper. More fun. better result.
.. and hitting a deer at 80 mph will bend almost anything.... I'd rather have it first hit the push bar than the truck.
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 277
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From: Oshkosh, Ne
yeah we had a 88 chevy with this style and hit a deer going about 80 and it just bent it clear back into the radiator i just want one for the looks and to keep me busy in welding, the hard thing about this is i want it the shape of the bumper but its alot harder than you would think
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 2,674
Likes: 16
From: Ideeho
X2 on what he said.......... Also, If you use 3/8" plate to make the uprights with, It will be pretty darn strong too. Aftermarket ones you buy are not that heavy. I had one I built years ago on a nice little 74 Chev shortbed (yeah I used to drive a Chevy.....LOL) that I built using 3/8 plate. I rear ended an old LTD with it one day. LTD was a dead stop and I hit em at about 25-30 MPH. It did bend, but only enough that it touched the grille, didnt break the plastic grille but touched it. Definitely saved my bacon.............. cant say that for the LTD I hit though
one thing you can do that i did when i took welding and made a push bar for my cousins dodge was take a piece of card board and get it cut to the shape of your bumper, use a plasma cutter or torch (if you are good with one) and cut out the shape. you can always do a little fine tuning with a grinder if need be just make it so you have a bit of steel to work with. and i also grew up in NE, went to school in Oshkosh. Know where that is?
Senior User
Joined: Oct 2010
Posts: 277
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From: Oshkosh, Ne
just keep in mind that you can never really over build anything. if anyone asks you why you built it so heavy just tell them you did that so when you run their inferior POS over it will not ding your grill up. or you can use the term honky-tonked for it and people will understand.