Diy4x, wfo, or ruffstuff don't have anything that will work?
CK5
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'72 K5 - Greg's @MightAsWellK5 Build
- Thread starter Greg72
- Start date
This is the build description. I will improve this later. (GB)
They might be able to do it for me, just not sure at what cost....
I'm trying to avoid plasma-cut parts because the through-holes tend to be poorly rendered and the edges aren't perfectly vertical...that's why I was leaning toward a waterjet or laser-cut part.
I checked out eMachineShop.com just for fun and downloaded their CAD software:
Pretty impressive pricing (per part) and quick turnaround time. I've never heard of anyone using them for parts, or what sort of quality the work really is.
-G
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
I've got steel laser cut before and just made the holes a little undersized and I then drilled them out to get nicer holes. The laser cut holes make for easy pilot holes for a regular drill bit. The outside edges aren't helped by that but it's an option for you.They might be able to do it for me, just not sure at what cost....
I'm trying to avoid plasma-cut parts because the through-holes tend to be poorly rendered and the edges aren't perfectly vertical...that's why I was leaning toward a waterjet or laser-cut part.
I checked out eMachineShop.com just for fun and downloaded their CAD software:
Pretty impressive pricing (per part) and quick turnaround time. I've never heard of anyone using them for parts, or what sort of quality the work really is.
-G
Last edited:
wetoolowdingbangow
1/2 ton status
The water jet will get you what you need. The holes may require a drill to be sent through them. It's common for a water jet to start hole cuts just inside the hole and taper out to the desired diamter. It might be fine but possibly have a tie ridge in there.
Water jet time is usually $100 an hour as a loose frame of reference.
Ruffstuff and wfo don't have waterjets. I wouldn't think diy would either as they're very expensive and require a shit load of maintenance. Having worked on a top notch one it's roughly 4 hours of maintenance every 30 to 40 hours of run time if you're lucky.
Anyways you'll be happy with the outcome of the jet. Far superior finish than plasma. You can count on +/- .005".
Water jet time is usually $100 an hour as a loose frame of reference.
Ruffstuff and wfo don't have waterjets. I wouldn't think diy would either as they're very expensive and require a shit load of maintenance. Having worked on a top notch one it's roughly 4 hours of maintenance every 30 to 40 hours of run time if you're lucky.
Anyways you'll be happy with the outcome of the jet. Far superior finish than plasma. You can count on +/- .005".
If that free cad program can export to dxf that's what any shop will need
Did someone say laser. Oh she's so pretty 
Call up A&A manufacturing. They sponsor Dunefest. They have the best pricing on tabs etc than most any other online shop and will cut anything custom. Pretty positive they can laser cut too.
Call up A&A manufacturing. They sponsor Dunefest. They have the best pricing on tabs etc than most any other online shop and will cut anything custom. Pretty positive they can laser cut too.
4" X 4.25"
I should have something to show you in about 1 week. Finalizing the idea with a local CNC machinist...
-G
bp71k5
3/4 ton status
Greg,
Found this guy on you tube and thought you might be interested.
Found this guy on you tube and thought you might be interested.
@charity case is this something you could cut?
2016.04.13 - UPDATE!!! - WHILE WE ARE WAITING...DOOR BARS!!!!
"The waiting is the hardest part..." - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
So true.
I'm waiting on some material from a local steel supply house for the convoluted floor cage plates, and I've got a couple of leads on places that can do laser cutting for my standard cage plates (Qty 36)... but many of those places have lead-times of between 1 to 2 weeks. So, there's time to noodle around with other stuff while I'm waiting. Guess I'll make some door bars for the rollcage!
The ultimate strategy is to reuse the stock seats that came with the Blazer, but to completely rebuild them internally as a suspension seat using either MasterCraft or PRP's help to get that done. Not sure if they are willing to build their webbing into an OEM seat, or if I'll need to just buy a set of their seats and cut them all apart to get the stuff I need?
Either way, I want the external appearance to be "stock". I'd been thinking about adding some door bars for a while as a way to stiffen up the area between the A-pillar and B-pillars, and to give me a simpler way to create tubular seat mounts underneath. Putting the original seats back in let me see the exact fit, seatback angle, etc and would allow me to plan for a door bar that would follow some of those "lines" visually so that they whole design seemed intentional.
Quick templating of the idea with framing square and 3M Green Tape:
Remember this thing? It's been a while since it's seen the light of day... been hiding under a tarp for most of the winter:
Transferred the measurements into BendTech PRO (which almost feels like cheating!) and cut a perfect cut sheet and bend schedule for the part....
The Before (mock-up) VS. After (64" DOM Tube with two 63* offset bends):
Notching was a little tricky, because I wanted to get the upper fishmouth right at the end of the bend. There was no simple way to clamp the part into my notcher but I eventually prevailed. The lower A-pillar notch was simpler since I had a long, straight section of tubing to work with and clamp for notching:
The final result is pretty sweet!! I set the tube up off the floor by 1" so that I could still get a cage plate (and small tubing stub) underneath it as well as carpeting when the time comes. It's a good height for catching debris (water bottles, etc) that might fall onto the floor during wheeling.... so it doesn't just roll right out the door opening when I'm running doorless. :waygoto:
That's all for now. I'm really looking forward to the next 5 - 7 days. The weather is supposed to be awesome and sunny which means I might be able to roll the truck outside, and cut the rollcage out of the truck (6 tubes need to be re-worked) and maybe even lift the entire cage out to give me better access for the upcoming floor replacement.
-G
"The waiting is the hardest part..." - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
So true.
I'm waiting on some material from a local steel supply house for the convoluted floor cage plates, and I've got a couple of leads on places that can do laser cutting for my standard cage plates (Qty 36)... but many of those places have lead-times of between 1 to 2 weeks. So, there's time to noodle around with other stuff while I'm waiting. Guess I'll make some door bars for the rollcage!
The ultimate strategy is to reuse the stock seats that came with the Blazer, but to completely rebuild them internally as a suspension seat using either MasterCraft or PRP's help to get that done. Not sure if they are willing to build their webbing into an OEM seat, or if I'll need to just buy a set of their seats and cut them all apart to get the stuff I need?
Either way, I want the external appearance to be "stock". I'd been thinking about adding some door bars for a while as a way to stiffen up the area between the A-pillar and B-pillars, and to give me a simpler way to create tubular seat mounts underneath. Putting the original seats back in let me see the exact fit, seatback angle, etc and would allow me to plan for a door bar that would follow some of those "lines" visually so that they whole design seemed intentional. Quick templating of the idea with framing square and 3M Green Tape:
Remember this thing? It's been a while since it's seen the light of day... been hiding under a tarp for most of the winter:
Transferred the measurements into BendTech PRO (which almost feels like cheating!) and cut a perfect cut sheet and bend schedule for the part....
The Before (mock-up) VS. After (64" DOM Tube with two 63* offset bends):
Notching was a little tricky, because I wanted to get the upper fishmouth right at the end of the bend. There was no simple way to clamp the part into my notcher but I eventually prevailed. The lower A-pillar notch was simpler since I had a long, straight section of tubing to work with and clamp for notching:
The final result is pretty sweet!! I set the tube up off the floor by 1" so that I could still get a cage plate (and small tubing stub) underneath it as well as carpeting when the time comes. It's a good height for catching debris (water bottles, etc) that might fall onto the floor during wheeling.... so it doesn't just roll right out the door opening when I'm running doorless. :waygoto:
That's all for now. I'm really looking forward to the next 5 - 7 days. The weather is supposed to be awesome and sunny which means I might be able to roll the truck outside, and cut the rollcage out of the truck (6 tubes need to be re-worked) and maybe even lift the entire cage out to give me better access for the upcoming floor replacement.
-G
I was trying to remember who built the hydraulic bender so I could find the thread but now that I know its you it'll be easier to find! Going to do the same thing with my JD2 hopefully.
The details and part numbers of the bender conversion are in this thread somewhere.... you'll need to dig, but it should help you a lot. There was quite a bit of trial-and-error that I documented as well....
-G
It's been long enough I couldn't remember if it was its own thread or not. Thanks Greg!
