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DIY H3 bumpers

R

rts23msu

Active Member
Messages
26
Location
MS
Has anyone fabbed their own bumpers? I have been thinking about giving welding a try. Would like to see some if anyone has any pics to get some ideas.
 
Gunner_45

Gunner_45

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
1,932
Location
Texas
I've always thought sothing along these lines would look good on an H3.

Might not be too hard for a DYI.

00011f2505.jpg
 
Scarsman

Scarsman

Sponsor
Messages
1,561
Location
Monroe, WA
rts23msu said:
I had planned on doing that first for sure. I wouldnt want to get overly ambitious haha.

Can anyone recomend a decent inexpensive tube bender?
Click to expand...

About the best bang for the buck is the JD Squared or JD2 model 3. It's a manual bender, but you can easily upgrade it to hydraulic. It will bend up to 2" and do 180* bends. They are $295. The dies vary by size, but are also less than dies for other benders.

I just ordered my own yesterday!

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk
 
4speedfunk

4speedfunk

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,250
Location
Tardville
Tube work is something I have not yet tackled. I farm it out to a local chassis shop and they do a great job, although a bit pricey. They use some sort of computerized bender and it can make compound bends over and over again without any variance. This is something I need for production but, its probably not necessary for one-off stuff.
 
MaxPF

MaxPF

AGNTSA
Messages
1,394
Location
The dark side of the globe
Scarsman said:
About the best bang for the buck is the JD Squared or JD2 model 3. It's a manual bender, but you can easily upgrade it to hydraulic. It will bend up to 2" and do 180* bends. They are $295. The dies vary by size, but are also less than dies for other benders.

I just ordered my own yesterday!

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

This ^^^. Check Craigslist for used ones. Another good bender is the Hossfeld. They are much more expensive new, but again check Craigslist. One thing to keep in mind is that the JD Squared is ONLY a tube and pipe bender. It is optimized for this purpose, and so is easier and faster to use than the Hossfeld. The Hossfeld, OTOH, can be set up to bend just about anything within it's capacity - tube, pipe, rectangular, channel, angle, flatbar, etc. I haven't used a JD Squared much, but I've bent up a LOT of sprint car frames with a Hossfeld, and never had a single issue with the bender. Like i said, the JD2 is bit easier and faster to set up a bend (although the HF is easy and fast once you get used to it) and less expensive, while the HF is more versatile but more costly. HF die sets tend to cost more because the JD2 has only 2 cast dies and a retainer made out of bent flatbar, while the HF uses a 3 die cast set. For manual bending (no hydraulics) the JD2 has a ratchet mechanism that is easier to work. The HF has to be mounted to a pedestal base that is bolted to the concrete, and uses a long arm that you pull on.

Finally, there are knock-offs of both bender types out there. Some are decent, some not so much. Unless you have experience with the specific machine, you won't know 'till you try it. Thats why I like sticking with what's proven.
 
R

rts23msu

Active Member
Messages
26
Location
MS
Scarsman said:
About the best bang for the buck is the JD Squared or JD2 model 3. It's a manual bender, but you can easily upgrade it to hydraulic. It will bend up to 2" and do 180* bends. They are $295. The dies vary by size, but are also less than dies for other benders.

I just ordered my own yesterday!

Sent from my C771 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thats about the price range id like to stay in. Unless i find out im some kind of fabracation phenom. Watched a youtube video on the JD2 model 3 . Looks like a pretty clean bend.
 
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