Yet another attempt at an IFS 3rd gen skidplate

[Seanz0rz]

my skidplate has cost me so far (if i didnt mess it up) about 100 dollars.

[4x4mike]

how much is this costing you in materials? id love a good skid plate but they al charge alot for them and there all kinda over built. very interesting to see your progress!

Almost 2 years ago I bought a 4X8 sheet for some projects and still have a bunch of it. I need to pull out the remaining piece to see if it's big enough. If it is the metal is already paid for, already have a box of black spray paint, stack of cutoff and grinding wheels, cutting blades, welding wire and beer. The only thing I'll most likely have to buy is pizza. If it takes me a while, like multiple days or over the course of a week or 2, it might take a lot of pizza. For the most part my time isn't that expensive although valuable, in fact I'm a bargin.

[paddlenbike]

^^^ Hilarious! Lower the cost of your skidplate; drink Trader Jose.

[slosurfer]

Maybe you can make Ken a hood protector that doesn't suck, err I mean whistle, out of the left over scraps.

[4x4mike]

I think I could quiet that thing quick. A bottle of Gorilla glue, some tape, maybe some cardboard and I'll throw some steel in there for you Chris . It might start rusting with the metal though, but I don't think Ken would mind.

[paddlenbike]

Maybe you can make Ken a hood protector that doesn't suck, err I mean whistle, out of the left over scraps.

Don't give him any ideas Chris, he knows where it's parked. I think you should make me one out of tile. Might make a beefy skidplate too!

[4x4mike]

So tonight after dinner I decided to go out in the garage. It's been colder than a witch's teat around hear but tonight is warm, compared to yesterday, because it's raining.

I pulled out the sheet of metal and started to size it up. I found out it's to narrow and maybe an inch too short. What the hell at least I can practice. Worse case senerio I'll have a big door stop I'll cut myself on every time I pass. Best case senerio I'll have a skid plate. It's a win win in my book.

I crack a beer, put on my ear muffs and hook up my cutoff wheel.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06508.jpg[/img]

First step is to score the metal with a punch at the desired bending points. I used measurements off my cardboard model and the 4runner. The factory skid plate deems itself useless and in the way.
Scored metal
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06509.jpg[/img]


Then you cut a groove in the metal. This crack is full of crap, metal shavings, but aren't they all (crap, not shavings).
[img width=600 height=800]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06514.jpg[/img]

How far? Well just deep enough so that you don't grind through or lose some strength in the piece. If you don't go deep enough you won't be able to bend it very easily.
BTW I do my own stunt work as well as one hand grinding and one handed, offhanded picture taking.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06516.jpg[/img]

Here are 2 grooves on one side. The other side has a groove as well.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06518.jpg[/img]

My next step was to prep the bend area for welding. It's easier to do at this point rather than do it after the metal is bent. For some reason the mill scale or surface finish didn't want to come off.
[img width=600 height=800]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06522.jpg[/img]

[4x4mike]

I had a little more time to kill so I thought I'd start to bend. I wanted to see how hard or how easy it was going to be.

I grabbed a piece of wood, took a swig and went at it.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06523.jpg[/img]

Once a again, one handed.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06524.jpg[/img]
With 2 hands you could reef on it and it started to move

Once I got that bend as far as I wanted, for the moment, I decided to take my good fortune and put it towards the next bend. This bend in the end will be close to 90* so I knew it would take a little more. My first thought was to try to bend it on the work bench.


This way did not come close to working
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06526.jpg[/img]

Next I tried it on the ground. I just laid the piece down and stepped on it while pulling up. There are no pictures of this because it did require 2 hands. Those 2 hands we pinched when I let up on the pulling up and my weight snapped the metal back to the ground

After that I started to think and started looking around. As you can see I don't have tools or equipment for bending metal (the correct way at least).

Maybe this will work.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06527.jpg[/img]
It's heavy or at least hard to move. It will also give me a chance to move that crap my wife stacked in front of it.

After another finger pinching incident and a scraped wall I was ready to give it another chance.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06528.jpg[/img]
No dice. The only thing that happened was the lifting on that cabinet.

I had to pee so I went inside to check on the wife.

[4x4mike]

While taking care of business I had an idea.

I went to the garage to check it out.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06529.jpg[/img]
Yep it might work.

Then I went to make sure the coast was clear.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06532.jpg[/img]
Yep, wife busy knitting and watching a movie. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, II. II, you're telling me they had enough to make a second one? I've never seen it but I'm pretty sure it's not very good and messing around in the garage is better.

Anyways, I go back in the garage and start.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06531.jpg[/img]
Perfect, almost ready to go. Have to make sure I don't find myself in a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot situation with the wife.

Coast is clear. Stupid movie, girls crying.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06532.jpg[/img]

I start pulling and nothing.
[img width=600 height=800]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06530.jpg[/img]

I'm thinking: 1) I'm weaksauce 2) I didn't cut the groove deep enough 3) My setup isn't right.
Perhaps 2 and 3. I didn't want to make anymore noise with grinding so I decided to realign my work. It worked, well a little. In the process of giving myself what I think is a hernia I got it to move but not a bunch.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06533.jpg[/img]

It moved in the right direction but I think I'll take the cuttoff wheel to it when I have some more time and it isn't as late.

It's starting to look like a bent piece of metal.
[img width=800 height=600]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e13/mezamichael82/DSC06535.jpg[/img]
Not as bent as I'd like but until another day. As you can tell the metal is wide enough for the skid plate but there isn't enough for the little "wings". I'm thinking I can use my mad welding skills to put some on though.

[20005spd]

lol, That Skid Row plate looks like the side of a tour bus, very blunt. Can't someone make a strong one, that allows you to slide over, instead of bashing into a rock.

i use budbuilts to slide over rocks, but it does bend the front crossmember like sean said. aside from the occasional sledgehammering them back to shape a lil they work well for sliding and dragging on. thats y i cant see anyone making these out of thinner material.