theksmith 3,667 Posted January 8, 2010 went over to george's house again today and he was nice enough to weld up my latest contraption! again i cut and bent 95% of everything before i went over so he just had to help me with reality checks, some gusset ideas and his master welding skills! everything here was done with a single grinder, a hammer, a vice, a sharpie, a ruler, and a friend with a welder! i mocked everything up with coathangers before bending/cutting the real metal, very helpfull: the start of it all: middle braces in and top reinforcements. the top reinforcements were a great idea by george: "pockets" for the axe and shovel getting welded on: better view of how the "pockets" sit: me bendin' and cuttin' the outside axe/shovel clamps: testing the clamps with the axe/shovel on one side and the hi-lift on the other: the final product will have all stainless steel bolts with one bolt on each side drilled to accept padlock, like my former factory roof-rack hi-lift holder. tomorrow should have some time to clean up all the spatter, sand, prep and paint the new metal. yay! starting to look more like an expedition vehicle soon! thanks again for the help george! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GRUNT 87 Posted January 9, 2010 Nice work guys, looking good! Question/comment Kdude, is the axe cover only open to one side? The reason for my question is, if it is only open to one side(as in the pic) and the otherside is closed could you turn it around and keep the axehead a little more out of the elements? I was thinking if it wasn't directly open to the weather/sun/rain it would do better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,667 Posted January 9, 2010 Nice work guys, looking good! Question/comment Kdude, is the axe cover only open to one side? The reason for my question is, if it is only open to one side(as in the pic) and the otherside is closed could you turn it around and keep the axehead a little more out of the elements? I was thinking if it wasn't directly open to the weather/sun/rain it would do better. the axe will be pointed down and the tip lands just behind the shovel handle so you won't worry about it cutting you when loading the rack. it will not have the cover on it... the axe is a gerber and features a forged stainless steel head with a non-stick coating so i don't really worry about it rusting. at first i thought it was a ceramic composite axe due to the look of the coating, but stainless steel is ok too i guess! the handle is fiberglass/nylon composite, so it won't rot. it's actually made by fiskars, but the fiskars version had orange on the handle, so i got the all black gerber version of course! now the shovel, it's just what lowes had in black, $10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,667 Posted January 14, 2010 paint has dried and so the roof rack went back on today. also put on all the stainless steel mounting bolts after drilling them for the locks (PITA drilling thru bolts it is). only issues: - i need a leather sheath for the axe so no one gets hurt when taking it down - the head of the hi-lift rattles a bit against the body of it when i hit a bump. quick fix was a bungy to pull it tight against itself. long term fix would be to weld yet another riser off the main rack, with a rubber bumper on it, positioned so that as you tighten down the jack, the head of the jack would come to rest on the rubber bumper, thereby pushing firmly against the jack body. - haven't hit high speed with it yet, hopefully no whistles first real test will be this week for the Kofa run! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dzJeepChic 2,379 Posted January 14, 2010 Friggin Awesome! the photos look totally cool. That Jeep is just getting more and more cool looking. d Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
adamwj 0 Posted January 27, 2010 looking good man. haven't checked up in a few weeks. i framed out my jeep this past weekend, ordered a 4" iro for now, should be here soon. 6" clayton la's in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,667 Posted February 4, 2010 mud springs trail again.... cost me a valve stem (which is part of the TPMS) AGAIN, and this time cost me some body damage... that trail is my nemesis! more pics and such from the trip here: http://www.offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=399 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CampnFever 0 Posted February 5, 2010 Oh, that'll buff right out yaknow.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,667 Posted February 13, 2010 on-board-air with dual compressors and the dual battery system is finally 99% done! check it out here: http://www.offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=427 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theksmith 3,667 Posted April 6, 2010 best pic of me articulating it so far! more from the last trip: rest of pics/story: http://www.offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=501 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
