Does anybody know any alternatives preferably a lot cheaper??
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Jeepwalker
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$2k! Holy buckets!! Go buy a Harbor Freight tubing bender, a Milwaukee 2889 M18 grinder, and a decent used Hobart or miller 140A wire-feed gas welder (and bottle of 75/25 gas). Or the HF welder. Make one similar (you might even come up with a better idea). Then you saved $ learned a skill ...and have the tools to make whatever else you want in the future.
Beware some of the aftermarket bumpers look semi-good in pictures but butt-ugly in real life. Case in point I saw a Ram today in a Menards parking lot with a darth-vadar-like trapezoidal aftermarket front bumper ...which drooped down in the front. Made the truck look like a freekin anteater sniffing it's way across the parking lot! LOL
Beware some of the aftermarket bumpers look semi-good in pictures but butt-ugly in real life. Case in point I saw a Ram today in a Menards parking lot with a darth-vadar-like trapezoidal aftermarket front bumper ...which drooped down in the front. Made the truck look like a freekin anteater sniffing it's way across the parking lot! LOL
Jeepwalker
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There are a good number of tube bending how-to videos on youtube. You might just do a search. This guy (below) does a good job and has a nice approach. I've made two grille guards and they were fun projects. My first one was a combo snowplow mount/grille guard. With an option to mount a small winch if I wanted to. That was a really fun project. You don't even need a tubing bender, if it's small tube like in your picture, you can just heat it up with a torch red-hot and carefully bend tube ...esp if you're not making 90's. Or user flat-stock ...if your design changes. Then you have/own an accetylene torch set too!! Torch/Welder/Air Compressor ...boom you are all tooled up!
Just one tip: as I said before, don't go buy the el-cheapest f-ing $200 welder on the market. Get something decent you can own and use for 20 years. Like Miller/Hobart/Lincoln (used or new), or even a Vulcan welder. Gas...of course. Lot of guys go 'cheap' on welders cause they don't want to spend any money ...they don't think they'll use it much. Then they can't get good welds and don't enjoy doing projects as much. A buddy of mine banged his head for 10 years on a welder and that inspired me to do the opposite and invest in a good welder. I bought a Miller. He eventually did too after he reached a certain point. He still says he waited 9 years too long to do it!! Prime-Weld is a Chinese company which has USA 7day per week support and pays (both ways) shipping on a 3yr warranty. They'd be one to consider for a less expensive machine. But I see used Hobart machines which don't sell as much as Millers, and they'd be good too. Hobart is owned by Miller. Basically a lower frills machine but also rather similar. I'm sure there are plenty of $300 import welders out there which will work, but quality controls (and results) are somewhat spotty from all the reviews I read. There's only about a half million 'best welder' videos out there.
Metalwork can be a blast. You'll always be most proud of the one you built from scratch!!
www.youtube.com
Just one tip: as I said before, don't go buy the el-cheapest f-ing $200 welder on the market. Get something decent you can own and use for 20 years. Like Miller/Hobart/Lincoln (used or new), or even a Vulcan welder. Gas...of course. Lot of guys go 'cheap' on welders cause they don't want to spend any money ...they don't think they'll use it much. Then they can't get good welds and don't enjoy doing projects as much. A buddy of mine banged his head for 10 years on a welder and that inspired me to do the opposite and invest in a good welder. I bought a Miller. He eventually did too after he reached a certain point. He still says he waited 9 years too long to do it!! Prime-Weld is a Chinese company which has USA 7day per week support and pays (both ways) shipping on a 3yr warranty. They'd be one to consider for a less expensive machine. But I see used Hobart machines which don't sell as much as Millers, and they'd be good too. Hobart is owned by Miller. Basically a lower frills machine but also rather similar. I'm sure there are plenty of $300 import welders out there which will work, but quality controls (and results) are somewhat spotty from all the reviews I read. There's only about a half million 'best welder' videos out there.
Metalwork can be a blast. You'll always be most proud of the one you built from scratch!!
TFS: Tube Bending Basics 2 - Bending the Tubes
Tube Bending Basics Part 2 covers the measuring and bending of 3 different types of common bending: Flat (2D) plane bending, Offset (3D) bending, and Bending...
www.youtube.com
Jeepwalker
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Thing is... I wasn't fully transparent in my original post. Making one probably won't be cheaper when you figure you TIME into it. But how much do you get paid to watch TV or walk through the art fair on Saturday? And what about the pride of making something?
$2000 for the one you listed... maybe that includes shipping ...it's powdercoated. I mean, the seller has to figure all their costs, rent, insurance, utilities, materials, staff wages ...and everything. Maybe even making a little profit. That all adds up! You could look on ebay for one. Lot of options there. But might not be one you like.
I'm looking to build another welding cart. For two machines. Yes, I can buy one at HF for $50. That's amazingly cheap. But they kind of look like a plain cart. Not much special about those. I kind of want to fab one up like I want it...and it's a creative outlet. It'll cost more than $50 just for wheels! (which I've already bought). So, if bottom dollar and 'get it done' is more important, yer probably better off to fork out the $2k and get it installed..start enjoying it soon. Consider asking the seller if they have any 'sales' coming up ..maybe they'll give you 10% or 15% off.
Fabricating and making things isn't for everyone. Some people would be better off building Homer Simpson spice racks, than maybe truck parts. But if you want to learn the skill and have the creativity/ambition...making one is something to think about. Do it for fun/challenge, not ultimately being cheaper (when your time is considered).
$2000 for the one you listed... maybe that includes shipping ...it's powdercoated. I mean, the seller has to figure all their costs, rent, insurance, utilities, materials, staff wages ...and everything. Maybe even making a little profit. That all adds up! You could look on ebay for one. Lot of options there. But might not be one you like.
I'm looking to build another welding cart. For two machines. Yes, I can buy one at HF for $50. That's amazingly cheap. But they kind of look like a plain cart. Not much special about those. I kind of want to fab one up like I want it...and it's a creative outlet. It'll cost more than $50 just for wheels! (which I've already bought). So, if bottom dollar and 'get it done' is more important, yer probably better off to fork out the $2k and get it installed..start enjoying it soon. Consider asking the seller if they have any 'sales' coming up ..maybe they'll give you 10% or 15% off.
Fabricating and making things isn't for everyone. Some people would be better off building Homer Simpson spice racks, than maybe truck parts. But if you want to learn the skill and have the creativity/ambition...making one is something to think about. Do it for fun/challenge, not ultimately being cheaper (when your time is considered).
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