#FabSpace

[lilscorpion]

Back when I started fabricating, it wasn’t called “making”. My dad has a workbench made out of 2x4’s, the old school craftsman tools, a radial arm saw, and a tool box



Which is much different than what we’ve grown accustom to now-a-days



I cut my teeth fabricating with my dad (though he didn’t call it fabrication) building a dog house, fixing fences, setting pavers, fixing the sprinkler system, and doing other odds and ends fixes around the house mostly to avoid needing to call a repairman. My dad even used to give the old Ford a tune himself with me watching intently in over the fender. At that time, there wasn’t an internet to lean on, that came much later.

In my 20’s I started to build my tools up mostly following my dads approach to shop time. I didn’t make much money so anything I wanted to do to my cars or trucks I’d have to do myself which required at least basic tools. At this time there wasn’t Amazon and the internet hadn’t yet made specialty tools accessible to just anyone (read Tool Trucks still rulled that space), I frequently borrowed
from friends who were professional wrenches.

First big purchase came when I got tired of “throwing a few bucks” at my friends for using their welder so I broke down and bought my own 110v unit from HomeDepot. Adding that capability to my shop enabled me to go faster because it was at my fingertips when I needed it...an eye opening moment. What other tools would enable my creativity? This theme would continue to drive my fabrication obsession over the following 20-some years of my life. Along the way, there were many additional sources which fuel my obsession -
(a) Internet sources providing how-to’s and the ability to share creative thoughts (b) internet vendors making tools and machines more easily available increasing my capabilities (c) me needing to do work myself due to the lack of competent and marginally talented contractors and (d) a never ending thirst to learn a new capability I cound incorporate into my bag-o-tricks.

Though it might be interesting to some of you for me to go back in time and rehash all of my projects that got me to today, I’ll refrain and start documenting going forward. This will be where I share how I use my shop, my tools, and new tips and tricks that come to me along the way.

I’m not a Maker, I’m an OG Maker...a Fabricator. And this is my FabSpace.

 

[Duker]

In.... Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for projects!

 

[zmotorsports]

Count me in.....

Matt, your story sounds very familiar. Grew up without internet and learned how to do things myself and "leaning over my dad's shoulder" trying to learn.

I was telling my son the other day that when I did research it was picking up the telephone and calling a company to get information on their product then in about a week or so via snail mail the brochure/literature would arrive and you could officially start your research. Between Google and YouTube much of that is so instantaneous nowadays.

Looking forward to your Fab Space Matt.

 

[lilscorpion]

First project is kinda a doozie. My 15 year old son is turning 16 at the end of July. About 8 months ago we purchased a 2006 Jeep LJ with the goal of building something cool and safer for him to drive.



As far as the traditional Jeep body style goes,
The LJ was the longest wheelbase and is still relatively simple to build into something cool. It also happens to be one of the few models that actually has a backseat with legroom. Every since we purchased it we’ve bent planning the build and using this Poison Spyder project Jeep, nicknamed Daddy Long Legs, as the model.



Attributes of this build I liked, especially for a new driver, is it has an improved wheelbase. The rear axle was moved back 4” and the front was moved forward about 2”-ish netting an approximate 110” wheelbase. It also sported full(er) width axles at 75” wide. Between the three customizations, the Jeep is significantly more stable than any stock Jeep.

Even armed with a plan we didn’t start the build right away though, I encouraged my son to learn to walk before he attempts to crawl (get it?) by getting comfortable behind the wheel of a normally lifted vehicle on pavement in all weather conditions. Fortunately for us, we got more than just a few snows which enabled him to get some solid seat time in 4wd.



That created more than enough opportunities for him to clean up after the big kid fun too.



He had it through Christmas where the family helped out with some of the needed build parts and other accessories during Christmas.



This gave him an early opportunity to get some basic wiring skills under his belt. He successfully installed, by himself, led brake lights, HID headlights, and other off-road accessories with some help from grandpa.



He found great enjoyment in learning to use solderless connectors. It was fun watching him work through the process of determining the right length for the wire, cutting it, stripping it, crimping it, and then using the heat gun to shrink the insulation. It was a good temporary solution to get us by until we do the final connections later in the build with Deutsch connectors.



Then approximately 100 hours of seat time later we fast forward to today — With only a month or so of time left before his birthday, and after collecting the necessary parts for phase 1, we rolled it into the garage and put it under the knife. Always a good practice to document what it looked like “before”.





We have a lot to do in what is really a very short time. Here we go.

 

[zmotorsports]

Definitely watching the LJ build Matt. I still get sick whenever I think about my son selling his beautiful LJ for his now WJ. That LJ was bad *** and a clean driver.

Looking forward to seeing you and your son transform this one.

 

[Bears Fan]

Your story rings very familiar to mine! spent countless hours watching my dad repairing and building everything, never saw a repairman at our house growing up now I have the skills to make stuff in my barn and I enjoy the challenge of fixing everything myself and staying true to the tradition of never having to call a repairman.

I'm subscribing to see how the Jeep turns out!

 

[lilscorpion]

Before you start in on a project like this with a timeline like we have, you can’t help but think of shows like Overhaulin. There should be some kind of intro as the lights come on and we pull the first tool to of the toolbox - (in a deep voice) “This week on Overhaulin…”.

Teardown doesn’t require a plan, it just requires you peel back the layers and just carefully enough that you don’t damage what’s left behind. No, we’re not throwing everything we remove into a pile, we need to be careful as I’d like to be able to sell what we can once the dust settles. Even if we can only get $500 for the leftovers, that’s better than getting poked in the eye.

First layer to remove were the fender flares in the rear. They’re held on by some chincy black plastic nut like things. At first I tried grabbing them with a pair of pliers but found almost immediately that it was just easier to use my fingers.



We they moved to the front fenders which are much more complicate (in contrast, still easy on a Jeep). To take them off you must remove all of the internal accessories, wire loom clips, washer fluid tank, and disconnect the headlights we’d temporarily wired back during Christmas break. Gotta tell you, the HID Projector headlights are sweet but the wiring situation is a mess. All of the garbage you need to tuck somewhere under your hood is silly. What they need to do is make a plastic tray that all of the little ballasts clip into and then make a single wiring harness that consolidates this mess…preview of what I’m going to come back and do later anyway.



Passengers side has the intake box, fuse box, and battery tray. Note that the air box takes up a considerable amount of space for minimal value. The intake tube, though functional, has a fit and finish of “meh”. I’ll have to address that. Fuse box has a few mounting options on the bottom and side. Ignore the teenage wire management. Andrew and I will be spending some time later learning about wire looms, organization, and we’ll probably time ourselves so he can see that it doesn’t take much longer to make it look much nicer. His friends will ooh and ahh.



With the accessories cleared, we loosen the body mounts, slide out the sliders, pull the fenders, sway-bar, and bumper. Noticed that there’s an under hood light attached to the hood. Never seen that before…probably because it doesn’t work. That’s kinda cool so we’re gonna have to fix it so it works. Spoiler though - it’ll probably not throw much light so we’ll end up replacing it with LED’s.



Andrew is 15 so patience is a little on the short side. We’ve been working now for a few hours and there’s no evidence if progress so we need a quick win. Mounting the front bumper worked nicely.



The new fenders go on quickly. These are “highline fenders” which raise the opening by a few inches to give you more wheel well. We’ll be moving the front axle forward 3” as well to help better accommodate the planned 40” tires. These fenders don’t have provisions for turn signals which, to us, was desirable since Andrew previously installed the HID Projector Switchback headlights that have turn signals integrated in the LED rings.



Engine bay looks a mess and stresses me out a little every time I walk past it. Gone are the days of my first vehicles (late 60’s vintage) which had maybe 12 wires total. One 3/8” wore loom and you could have a perfectly organized engine compartment 2 beers later. Better prep with a 12-pack for this one.



In general, these Poison Spyder fenders are nice. As noted previously, they are a little twisted from welding and assembly but noting I wasn’t able to pull into alignment. The finish, on the other hand, is amazing. Welds are beautiful (for production welds), and the way they’ve sanded weld seams down in the transitions are king.

Moving to the inner fenders. They require a little adjustment to fit correctly but, still impressive, only really one panel needed to be trimmed before they came together.



Speaking of which...ever use a 90-degree grinder before? Yeah you can get flap discs for it in both 2 and 3-inch versions in various grits. They’ve all but eliminated needing to use a 4 1/2-inch grinder on the smaller stuff. They’re way more maneuverable and light.



Poison Spyder did a nice job given how simple the inner fenders are. The shock/coil tower cutout is a nice touch too. I may choose to add rubber splash guards to the bottom later, we’ll see.



Now to the accessories. Stock 2006 battery tray didn’t fit even though I read on the internet that it should. Interference with the new fender was inches with no obvious tweak to solve (yeah, I tried the oldest fab trick in the book - turning it 180 - no joy). We whipped up a new tray out of some 1/4” 6061 I had lying around. We made the mounting holes allow for shifting the tray front to back (options). I’ll need to machine a hold down at some point too.



We wanted the tray and battery to sit a little higher so Andrew machines some stantions on the lathe.



This was his first time spinning parts himself and he did a great job. All 4 parts were within .005 in all dimensions. Each was faced on two sides, turned to 2.5” in length and then spot drilled, drilled, chamfered and tapped on both ends.

 

[lilscorpion]

Of course the air box doesn’t fit in the new tighter engine compartment. A little noodling and I realize I could cut the welds on one of the edges and de-bend the break near the opening to make the box narrower.



Then a little shop glue to restore the strength of the box.



After test fitting and measuring I find we’ll now need the intake to bend at a 60 degree bend to fit in the modified box/location. Amazon 1-day to the rescue - 1 polished 3.5” intake tube with 69 degree bend ready to go, just needs a length adjustment.



This comes out of the box with 6”legs on either side of a. 60-degree mandrel bend. For our purposes, I cut 4” off one side and it’s perfect. Cone sits perfectly parallel to the engine block and with room on either side in the now narrower air box.



Thanks for following along

 

[Dusty.Tools]

Ok on this one, I’m just going to sit back enjoy the ride!

Hopefully I’ll learn a bunch because we plan to buy a Unimog in 3 years and convert it into an overland truck!


——————————
dusty.tools

 

[lilscorpion]

Ok on this one, I’m just going to sit back enjoy the ride!

Hopefully I’ll learn a bunch because we plan to buy a Unimog in 3 years and convert it into an overland truck!


——————————
dusty.tools

That'll be sweet. My interest in Mogs started during a rock crawling rage around portal axles years ago and the Mogs come standard with them. After doing a little research I realized the Mogs themselves were cool vehicles really utilitarian in nature. Nearly ideal for overlanding. Probably the only thing I don't like about them is the drivetrain. There's one I see driving around locally from time to time and it's going ~30-something in a 45 every time I see it. Think they need an LS swap.

 

[mike93lx]

Looks good. I hope he appreciates how lucky he is!

 

[gearhead1960]

Reminds me of working on cars growing up with my dad. I've gone way past what he ever did, but nowhere as far as some on GJ. Keep up the good mentoring with your son. He will really appreciate it years from now. I have 2 sons. One tries to do some work on his car, while the other wants me to take care of his.

 

[lilscorpion]

Looks good. I hope he appreciates how lucky he is!

I think he does. To sell it to mom the jeep could only be his while he's in school. After that, it becomes mine in exchange for something more college ready, like a Honda Accord. I'm probably going a little overboard on the build but I figure it's a once a lifetime thing that may prove to be a deep and meaningful memory for my son. We're hoping anyway.

Reminds me of working on cars growing up with my dad. I've gone way past what he ever did, but nowhere as far as some on GJ. Keep up the good mentoring with your son. He will really appreciate it years from now. I have 2 sons. One tries to do some work on his car, while the other wants me to take care of his.

We're hoping so. The motivation for us to even do it was for Andrew and I to do it together and experience the different tools and processes involved to pull off a build like this, so he can have a cool car in school, and so he's made a personal investment in what he drives (wrecking it should hurt deeply so hopefully he'll take more care driving). Also, the kids nowadays don't get to experience "shop class" like we did as kids. No building bird houses, learning to use a drill press, etc. That stuff was cut out so that teachers can struggle using fancy whiteboards while talking into a PA system so a class of 20 can all hear them even though the classrooms are 30% smaller than the ones we had. Anywho...hoping this gives him some basic skills he finds useful later in life.

 

[gearhead1960]

To sell it to mom the jeep could only be his while he's in school. After that, it becomes mine in exchange for something more college ready, like a Honda Accord.

Good luck prying the keys from the boy when he goes off to college.

All kidding aside, college is not for everyone. I'm a college graduate, but when I see so many kids going because that's what the parents want and then floudering because they never really found their passion, makes me sad. My older son has a college degree, but ended up working for an Engineering firm training to be a Surveyor. There are so many trades and good programs out there that provide training/apprenticeships that as parents, we need to educate our kids at to what is available. In my area, you can train as an electrician or plumber and be paid a reasonable salary doing so. When you reach the journeyman stage, you will likely make far more than many college graduates! Sorry to hijack your thread....

 

[lilscorpion]

Good luck prying the keys from the boy when he goes off to college.

All kidding aside, college is not for everyone. I'm a college graduate, but when I see so many kids going because that's what the parents want and then floudering because they never really found their passion, makes me sad. My older son has a college degree, but ended up working for an Engineering firm training to be a Surveyor. There are so many trades and good programs out there that provide training/apprenticeships that as parents, we need to educate our kids at to what is available. In my area, you can train as an electrician or plumber and be paid a reasonable salary doing so. When you reach the journeyman stage, you will likely make far more than many college graduates! Sorry to hijack your thread....

I couldn't agree more. Those things I call capabilities in the shop are actually the culmination of experiences gained while trying to figure out how I was going to make a living between the ages of 18 and ~29. Many of those years were spent working in landscape and construction environments where I spent many hours working with tradespeople. At the time I wasn't aware how much learning I was doing but looking back, I was constantly learning. My experience says there's many ways to make money and college is a gateway to some of them. All we can do is expose our kids to stuff and let them root for something that energizes them. Kinda why I wanted my son to build this Jeep. Not because he'll do it for a living, but because the various stages of the process will introduce him to skills he may tap into in his future...maybe one or more will end up being used in a career some day.

 

[gearhead1960]

I couldn't agree more. Those things I call capabilities in the shop are actually the culmination of experiences gained while trying to figure out how I was going to make a living between the ages of 18 and ~29. Many of those years were spent working in landscape and construction environments where I spent many hours working with tradespeople. At the time I wasn't aware how much learning I was doing but looking back, I was constantly learning. My experience says there's many ways to make money and college is a gateway to some of them. All we can do is expose our kids to stuff and let them root for something that energizes them. Kinda why I wanted my son to build this Jeep. Not because he'll do it for a living, but because the various stages of the process will introduce him to skills he may tap into in his future...maybe one or more will end up being used in a career some day.

 

[gearhead1960]

I couldn't agree more. Those things I call capabilities in the shop are actually the culmination of experiences gained while trying to figure out how I was going to make a living between the ages of 18 and ~29. Many of those years were spent working in landscape and construction environments where I spent many hours working with tradespeople. At the time I wasn't aware how much learning I was doing but looking back, I was constantly learning. My experience says there's many ways to make money and college is a gateway to some of them. All we can do is expose our kids to stuff and let them root for something that energizes them. Kinda why I wanted my son to build this Jeep. Not because he'll do it for a living, but because the various stages of the process will introduce him to skills he may tap into in his future...maybe one or more will end up being used in a career some day.

Thinking about experiences, my son worked summers for the Civil Engineer I work for. We did survey along with other field collection procedures. After he got out of college, he bounced around different jobs until he finally listened to me about trying the survey field and found a small surveyor that would take him on and provide him with training. He spent a year with that company and eventually moved on to do survey work for one of the largest Civil Engineers in the world.....

 

[Phreak480]

Always good to see an LJ build. I myself have an 06 LJ Rubicon in the driveway. 1.75" budget boost, LOD tire carrier rear bumper, front winch bumper with warn 8k winch, wilderness safari roof rack, dual tops, CB, ham radio, 31" mud tires, HID conversion.

 

[lilscorpion]

Always good to see an LJ build. I myself have an 06 LJ Rubicon in the driveway. 1.75" budget boost, LOD tire carrier rear bumper, front winch bumper with warn 8k winch, wilderness safari roof rack, dual tops, CB, ham radio, 31" mud tires, HID conversion.

Sounds like a good all around jeep. I'm sure you know, as we've learned, that the HID conversion was a really really good upgrade.

What did you mean by "Dual Tops"? You have a soft and a hard top or does that mean something else?

I think it's unfortunate that Jeep didn't get the LJ to market sooner. The difference in length is a big deal in both the back seat and the wheelbase. I suspect they really only brought them out to get people used to "Unlimited" before rolling out the first year of JK's. Who knows...

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

The LJ is my favorite Jeep. If I was going to build a Jeep, the LJ with a hard top would be my choice.

 

[lilscorpion]

Trying to keep the weight down as much as possible so all of the brackets I’m adding will be aluminum. I don’t get the spool gun out often but it’s quite a fun break from welding steel (#PuddleRacing).



The bracket located into where the abs bracket was on the drivers side behind the front inner fender and doubles as an inner fender brace.



It sits just inside of the fender and leaves enough space for the larger master cylinder we’ll install later.



Now to install the sliders. Typically, when installing sliders, they get mounted/pinched between the body and the upper body mount. Have a body lift (we have to have one because we need the room above the t-case) and the body lift and the body mounts would both be below the sliders with the sliders still being up against the bottom of the tub. Thinking this was the case, I made these super slick aluminum body lift blocks to match the profile of the body and stock puck



And machined then in such a way that they’d get full calming force on the slot in the slider.



So proud of the part, I took extra pictures.



Think we’d just slide everything together we stood back and the slider was all kinds of jacked up on the body. We tried multiple times thinking we had something slightly off and interfering. No matter what we tried, we could not get the slider to sit flat against the tub. Pucks fit great though since you’re wondering. There is NO way I could mount them they way the instructions say. I ended up trimming the body lift pucks to 1” tall and then installed them above the sliders. Look to the left of the puck - maybe 1/4” between the slider and the body.



On the left you can see that the body may not even be 1/4” between the slider and run but the puck is 1” tall. We’re going to go with it, the slider sits perfectly on the tube with the correct reveal on all edges. Still weird.



With the sliders on I now have a reference for the rear corners. Resting the fronts on the rear of the slider, they easily and quickly clamp into place. Now we get a first-time view of where we’re headed. Wheel well is shifting rear by 4” and opening up to accommodate a 40” tire - which will require just a little trimming we see.



Now for some drilling. Tried the first 3 using a center punch, small drill bit, and then my trusty unibit to step up in size to 3/8”. Didn’t take me until hole 3 to figure out this was a stupid process with too many opportunities for error. By the second hole I had realized that this unibit, having only a single cutting flute, wanders a bit as it cuts the hole likely due to the fact that the single bit pulls the bit around as it steps. Never noticed this before as I’ve used step drill bits for years without noticing. By the end of the 3rd hole I had one that was centered and two that were slightly off. Initially I didn’t really care but I as I mounted the flat-head bolts I realized that when the hole is slightly off-center, the bolt doesn’t sit flush…so no good. Now why on earth don’t they make a self-centering drill bit for metalworking? They make one for wood…wait.

I have these little spring loaded bits for drilling shelf pins in cabinets. Fairly simple design, the step in the tip locates the bit in the jig (made out of lexan or thin hardboard). The holes in the side allow chips to evacuate the bit.



When pressed into the fixture, the spring collapses and the brad point drill bit cuts to the depth that the drill protrudes out of the bit (say 3/8”) perfectly (or damn near enough) centered.



Since the bit is removable and a standard 1/4” bit, All I need to do is make a new shoulder that’s the taper of the counter sunk hole and bore the ID to match the step on this bit. Using some scrap 6061 I cut a 45” taper in the material and face the backside.



Center gets thru-drilled to match the step in the bit and then bore to the OD as to retain it on the shelf pin centering housing. This little step in the tip will cause this new tapered end to push back into the bit when it’s depressed into a countersunk hole.



Before trying it out, I needed to swap out the cheapie brad point bit for a higher quality stubby.



Then slipped the new head on the bit.



With the stubby bit in the fixture, and the new head in place, I dial in the depth by adjusting the drill bit inside the housing to about 5/16”.



Ok, test cut #1. I do this first one just by pressing into the drill with the bit auto-locating in the hole.



Though it isn’t totally apparent in the pictures, due to the painters tape around the hole, the hole is nearly perfectly centered.



I had also picked up some 2-flute uni-bits for the final part of the process. This 2-flute design prevents the bits from wandering in the hole as much as the single flute bit. This new. Bit cut so damn good that I actually went 1 step too deep. To avoid this in the future, I used a sharpie to color the ring one size bigger to tell me when to stop.



A much much faster process with this new bit locator allowed me to crush the remainder of the drilling. It took me ~20 minutes of fussing to drill the first 3 holes with barely acceptable results. This bit took me about 20 minutes to make and then I drilled the remaining 10 holes in less than 5 minutes. I’ll realize the same time savings on the drivers-side corner and the pair of sliders. Time spent building fixtures and jigs is rarely wasted time.

 

[neilc]

Fantastic writeup, Gregor. And real quality time with your son!

Nothing better.

neil

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Cool stuff so far, I look forward to more updates.

 

[lilscorpion]

A before picture on the wheel well opening. Rear axle will be moved back 4” on the chassis which means that there’s a bunch of extra quarter panel that needs to be removed.



Historically I’d just us a body saw and cut it out. I’d been watching “The Fab Forum” a while back on his “You need this tool” Friday where he recommended getting an air nibbler. Based on my research, they may be the cleanest and fastest way to cut out sheet metal. By the magic of Amazon Prime, I had it in one day.



Ok, so a little fun fact about air nibblers. Though I’m sure you’re going to say “well no duh”, I’m still gonna tell you that they only work for really a single thickness piece of sheet metal. Though I already knew that, what I hadn’t taken into account was that this portion of the body on the jeep was, nearly half the way, double thick for a variety of reasons like bracing, brackets, and whatnot. So, cool tool aside and out comes the old trusty body saw…zip, zip.



I really wanted to cut the whole thing off in one pass but there was bracing 2/3rds back which required I pause and deal with it before continuing. To gain access to the bracing, I had to cut the scrap away and work at the bracing until I could continue again. In this case I had to be careful because behind this spot is the infamous vacuums canister which I’ll need to relocate as a part of this process.



Now here’s an example of why it takes so damn long to do stuff like this. It seems like you should just be able to pull out the sensor plug in like 2 seconds but no, you can’t see the damn thing to even tell how it releases no matter how you rotate the canister or stick your head in the hole. Back in the day I’d just break the damn thing and figure out how to fix or replace it later. With the advent of high-definition cameras embedded in the cell phones in everyone’s pocket, I’m now able to take a pic of it with my phone and work through it.



Post Op with the canister pushed back in the hole. Oddly enough, it fits beautifully like it was intended to be shifted back. I’ll need to fab some retention brackets but it should work where it is. If I can get it tucked back in there another 1” I’ll be super happy. Big enough for 40’s?



Drivers side was much easier. I was able to do one continuous cut with the body saw and only a little cleanup.



There’s a splash plate that protects the fill neck from debris coming off of the tire. I removed it semi-carefully hoping I can put it back in some capacity once I relocate the neck itself.



With the wheel well shifting back 4”, so does the filler neck.



I chose to leave the meat in the little ears so I could install riv-nuts for the filler instead of using sheet metal screws.



Mocking the filler housing. I’ll mount the filler neck when we relocate the gas tank.



Getting closer. Two sides done. Need to wrap up all the little stuff so we can tear it all down and get the parts to powder coat.

 

[JonBoehman]

Awesome thread and a great build. Looking forward to seeing this continue

 

[zmotorsports]

WOW. I take a week off Matt and you're already well on your way making great progress on the LJ.

 

[kazlx]

Awesome, this is the kind of stuff I hope to do with my boys as they get older. They are going to learn to build and fix thing and use their hands and their brains, even if they choose not to later in life.

 

[lilscorpion]

WOW. I take a week off Matt and you're already well on your way making great progress on the LJ.

My wife and I made the mistake of making an offer on a different house about 3 weeks ago, one that would have the shop space I'd really like to have. When we put in the offer we knew that it would likely put the LJ build on hold. I talked to my son and he was okay with it. As luck would have it, the inspection came back with evidence that the house, only 12 years old, had likely never been maintained since it was built (yet 2 owners). In the end, we chose to back out bringing the LJ back up to the plate but with even less time now until his birthday. I've got a week and a half now which is likely not enough time for a full build but we're going to try to at least get it drivable. Gotta go go go!!

Awesome, this is the kind of stuff I hope to do with my boys as they get older. They are going to learn to build and fix thing and use their hands and their brains, even if they choose not to later in life.

That was my thought as well and additionally that we'd head to the mountains more than a few times in the next couple of years. I wanted my son to have one significant series of related events in his teen age years which he'll be able to take with him into adulthood and hopefully do something similar with his kids. There are also so many sub-reasons why I think this project will be a really good learning moments too.

There's a depth to this project that I've not shared yet. I will as soon as we start installing the suspension components. Stay tuned.

 

[zmotorsports]

Wow Matt. Sorry to hear about the house deal going sour but happy to see the LJ build.

Our moving and shop/yard put off my son's Jeep build as well but in the end it was worth it to finally be in our forever home and can now move forward with his Jeep.

Hope you're able to find the house you and your wife are looking for.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

You are a hero-dad.
Money is nothing compared to the memories and longterm lessons of getting all these skills and confidence.
Thanks for sharing!!

 

[lilscorpion]

Wow Matt. Sorry to hear about the house deal going sour but happy to see the LJ build.



Our moving and shop/yard put off my son's Jeep build as well but in the end it was worth it to finally be in our forever home and can now move forward with his Jeep.



Hope you're able to find the house you and your wife are looking for.

I think we’ve agreed to stop looking and stay where we are. We don’t need a big house payment nor do we really need the disruption of a move. If we stay we’ll have more discretionary income which will enable us to have more fun (read: LS swap). If we buy that bigger garage, that same money gets swallowed by the bigger payment. I’ve made good use of my space and can do a lot with it. I think I might just be happier with smaller space.

Totally happy on the LJ build and the time spent together. I can’t wait to run a trail together. Might just end up a highlight in my life.

 

[lilscorpion]

These Crusher Corners are designed to have recessed tail lights which are…plain, boring, and feature lacking. Typically you cut out the inside of the light hole, you install a rubber grommet, and then press in the lights.



We probably would have just bought a set of recessed lights but, given my son will be a new driver, I want to make sure everyone can see him as much as possible in all situations (especially backing up). Since I’ve not been able to find a set that comes with reverse lights and side/market turn lights visible from the side (like the Maxbilt lights we had gotten Andrew for Christmas) it’s time to get into fab mode again. The lights themselves are 5” in diameter. The holes are 4 1/2-inches and the ears on the holes extend the cutout to be 5 1/4 inches. Thinking I’d just machine a beauty ring/cup. Started with some 6-inch x 1/2” 6062 pucks.



plenty of material to work with.



Started by boring the center out. I needed rondo this so I could grip the part by the ID when machining the OD to size.



First I machined a ring so the bezel would locate in the hole in the Jeep/corner.



Then I flipped it around and machined the pocket for the light.



Then grabbed it by the ID and touched up the edge.



I could rely on the lights to retain the rings but decided I might as well allow the rings to mount to the body independently from the lights to prevent them from turning into a rattle. Over to the mill and drilled a 4-bolt patter and counter sunk the holes.



With an auto-locating lip on the back the bezels fall into place. A center punch tells me where to drill.



And then drill each of the holes and then step up with the uni-bit. I’ve started using #29 screw-length drill bits for drilling all pilot holes. I find that the bit is small enough that the tip self-locates beautifully in the center punched dimple, rigid enough to lean into the cut on thicker pieces like 3/16 and 1/4, and yet still cheap enough that I can toss them when they show signs of being dull vs sharpening. Truly consumable.



A 1” hole saw is just big enough to create new hole for the wiring harness to enter.



Brake lights themselves are only retained by two 1/4-20 socket cap screws. While finishing them up, Andrew and I discussed finishing finish color of the rings. Though they’d look cool either in a contrasting or matching color, we ultimately agreed that if they’re darker or black, they’ll make the brake lights look much larger from a distance which may look funny so we’ll stick with subtle and body match. Kinda a shame we don’t have any natural aluminum on the Jeep, they look sweet the way they are but I’ve always been somewhat keen on the just machined look of aluminum.

 

[zmotorsports]

Awesome job Matt.

Like you I prefer to have actual brake lights that can be seen and safe, regardless whether a new driver or not. I hate these little lights that people run in order to look "cool" but are barely visible. I absolutely despise those dark tinted tail lights that people run as I don't feel they are safe in the least.

The aluminum ring turned out awesome and also think you should either paint or powder coat to match the body color. Fantastic work as usual.

 

[lilscorpion]

Awesome job Matt.

Like you I prefer to have actual brake lights that can be seen and safe, regardless whether a new driver or not. I hate these little lights that people run in order to look "cool" but are barely visible. I absolutely despise those dark tinted tail lights that people run as I don't feel they are safe in the least.

The aluminum ring turned out awesome and also think you should either paint or powder coat to match the body color. Fantastic work as usual.

Thank you. We just decided tonight, yellow it is! I had a "someday" plan to put an oven in the garage so I could powder coat my own (small) parts. Kinda wish someday was now in the past. I would have been done with 90% of the parts we needed coated if I had. Now I get to wait on "my guy" who will turn them quickly but isn't quick per-se.

 

[zmotorsports]

Thank you. We just decided tonight, yellow it is! I had a "someday" plan to put an oven in the garage so I could powder coat my own (small) parts. Kinda wish someday was now in the past. I would have been done with 90% of the parts we needed coated if I had. Now I get to wait on "my guy" who will turn them quickly but isn't quick per-se.

I hear ya. I have waffled back and forth for several years about experimenting and trying to do my own powder coating on small parts but haven't taken action. Mainly because I am leery to start taking up real estate in my shop because it seems once I start down that path I'm afraid I'll end up out of room like my last place. I don't do painted or powder coated parts nearly as much as back when I was racing at the dunes or sledding and had all of the toys tricked out so I think I'll just continue to use my guy as well and save the space in the shop for more important things.

 

[Jo Diesel]

Mine did not turn out a slick as yours but the 20 watt LED's are brighter than my head lamps. With motorcycle tail lamps

 

[lilscorpion]

Mine did not turn out a slick as yours but the 20 watt LED's are brighter than my head lamps. With motorcycle tail lamps

Can you share a few more pictures? I can’t quite visualize it finished/on the vehicle. Is that a rear light box?

 

[lilscorpion]

I hear ya. I have waffled back and forth for several years about experimenting and trying to do my own powder coating on small parts but haven't taken action. Mainly because I am leery to start taking up real estate in my shop because it seems once I start down that path I'm afraid I'll end up out of room like my last place. I don't do painted or powder coated parts nearly as much as back when I was racing at the dunes or sledding and had all of the toys tricked out so I think I'll just continue to use my guy as well and save the space in the shop for more important things.

Agreed. It does seem silly to take up space with something as silly as an oven which is use maybe a dozen times a year. I haven’t because I know the game - no matter how big of an oven I have, the next part won’t fit anyway and I’ll just be irritated I didn’t make it bigger.

And

Have a guy who does it is like skipping the learning curve. While I was talking to my guy, he walked me through his process and I was reminded why it’s good to take things to someone who knows what they’re doing. He first sand blasts everything always, then uses a material appropriate etching primer, then the coating, then (in some cases) a clear (even when it’s not required). All of these steps require knowledge, space, tools and consumables, and practice. I’m willing to pay to skip this additional cost, materials I’d have to store, and time.

 

[lilscorpion]

Every time I inbox a new cutoff tool I’m reminded of the injuries my friends and co-workers have sustained over the years from cheap wheels even when wearing the appropriate safety gear. This is not an add (I was not paid for this post or products contained within this post), it’s just me sharing what comes to mind with all who may benefit from a Pro-tip:

if you’re new to cutoff wheels either air (3-4”) or grinder (4 1/2 - 7”), the consumables (known as discs, wheels, abrasives) are known to be the cause of a significant number of shop injuries in metal working to the face, eyes, arms, hands, legs, etc.

Consumables that come with new tools, or cheap consumables sold at local box stores or online are more prone to come apart do to poor designs using weaker adhesives, lack of reinforcements in high-stress areas, and lower quality bonding agents.



Quality consumables don’t cost much given the significant improvements in durability which translates to significantly increased safety to the operator. Side by side comparison highlights the obvious feature differences.



Pack of 50 can be had at Amazon (Prime) for less than $50. They last longer, are safer, and at less than $1 each it’s a no brainer.



So when you pull that new tool out of the box it’s going to be tempting to use the wheel that came in the box (or on the tool). Do yourself a favor, remove it, and pitch it unused.



Swap in a new one from a reputable company who designs them with the operator in mind.

 

[Bob Heine]

Excellent advice. I recall Robert (MP&C) recommending the slightly more expensive cutting wheels meant for stainless steel. They last a lot longer than the "metal" versions. I believe Robert is using a different brand now but the first one he mentioned was Metabo.