i was planning on building a custom steel winch bumper since mine got smashed recently. Than I thought about carving one out of a hard log. one big enough to carve out the middle section and mount a winch and some lights. The only issue i could think of is it blocking the headlights since it would have to be large enough in diameter to mount the winch. has anyone here done this before? and if so some pics would be great so i could come up with a practical design. Thanks

 

That sounds like a terrible idea.

 

i have seen a railroad tie used as a bumper. the biggest problem would be the weight.

 

There's a reason they stopped making car parts out of wood 100 years ago.

 

wood seems like a good bumper material

 

Oddly enough, they haven't

Wood can have a tensile strength that isn't too far off mild steel. Look at houses.....wood frames.


I say go for it. Use some dense oak. It'll be sweet

 

I too have seen a railroad tie used on a 87-91 F150. A tie shouldn't be too big to block your headlights but it's already gonna be nice and square so you can notch out a space in the middle for a winch. Then it's just a matter of drilling bolt holes through a foot of wood and you should be in business!

 

why a railroad tie and not just a 4x4? And what do you think would be the best mounting design for a round log? i was imagining two big pilot holes and wood screws that go through the log on each side through curved brackets to contour the log, an bolted to the frame.

 

Find a log mill....they would be able to help you out with the round stock. A 4x4 isn't going to do much in an accident but a nice 12in round log would. Like I said, a mill would be able to help you make the cuts you need.

 

i got plenty of trees to choose from, an ill do the woodwork. just need to know what kind of mounting design.

 

If you would go through the trouble of mounting a flimsy piece of 4"x4" lumber to the front of your truck, why wouldn't you put 4"x4" square tubing instead, or better yet just a tube bumper. A 4" x 4" wooden post isn't gonna do spit, especially with a winch on it.

I built this bumper for nothing and just a few hours of my time.

 

weight is no issue with this truck, im putting a new rebuilt 390 race engine in it. an its already about 8000lb. i think a log will hold up better than that tube bumper

 

I've seen wood used nicely as a bumper... but never with winch. Mounting the winch so it wouldn't "pull" its fasteners through or out would be a challenge. I guess lots of tough wood, thoughtful design and through bolts would do it. Just very heavy.

 

Building a laminate wood structure for your bumper would be stronger . You could still use your skills and have a functional purpose built bumper . More work than a log ... but heck , you could have fun !

 

laminate wood structure? how would that work?