My best work yet: Sander Bumper Fabrication

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Bumper to protect a 4 yard sander chute... Not very much welding for this project but it was very fun. i purchased all of the metal at the local scrap yard and all the lights and wiring at autozone. 3" channel after cutting.Starting to weld them togetherWeldLock washers welded on to hold wiresComing togetherMounting bracket (i trimmed them up and made them look nice, this is just after i drilled the holes out on my press)Finished product (and my sorry *** face)everything was square in the end, and i wired it up to just plug right in to the trailer reciever.It was a fun project and i got paid good money to make it...Last edited by Silverado; 01-16-2010 at 09:16 PM.
Reply:Originally Posted by Silveradoand i got paid good money to make it...
Reply:Not bad, A few thoughts if you have to do another one or for someone who might be thinking of building one for someone else or themselves from someone who's done a fair amount of plowing and working on plow gear.#1 It's better than nothing, but if they back up in a turn, and catch the corner of that, it will probably fold pretty quick. Bigger corner braces would probably be the only answer to that issue however.  There's not really a good answer to this problem that I can think of fast.#2 Those white flood lights may not shine down far enough as mounted to do them much good. The may need to have been under mounted or moved farther back. The higher up the lights usually get mounted, the lower they need to point. I've had that issue with some lights mounted lower than you have. It's sort of a tough thing to figure unless you have the frame mounted to the truck and then mock up where the lights will shine in the dark. We usually figure 15 to 20 minutes with 2 guys after dark to get the lights reset if we have to replace one. #3 Unless the guy loads this with a real crane or overhead hoist, they have to install that frame after the sander is set. With a backhoe, usually we chain it, raise the sander so it clears the floor, and back the truck under it. That or you pull in behind the sander, lift and drive in from the rear, of the truck. Same goes for removal. If this guy doesn't use the sander FT like many guys do in areas that don't get a ton of winter snow, he'll be pulling that off and on all the time so he can use the empty bed while theres no snow. Bolts will be a PITA especially for one guy to do by himself. A better idea would have been to mount up 2 receiver hitches so it can easily slide in and out, sort of like the way "newer" plows mount.#4 I've seen protectors that are mounted to the sander rather than to the truck. The down side is that the sander can't take a lot of force if you hit something hard. The up side is that usually the idea is that you "bump" something solid that keeps you away from the sorter spreader attachment. With it mounted to the sander itself the sander can usually move a bit as a unit and absorb some of the force. I've seen heavy angle mounted to the sander frame that the protector mounts to. The angle points down and is mounted under the sander frame. The vertical part catches the floor of the body and keeps the frame from pushing in, if that makes sense. It also helps if they like to raise the body as the protector stays in the same relation as the sander.#5 In some cases it's advantageous to put the body up, often to loosen up frozen sand/salt if it's rainy/icy. Some small cheap spreaders, and those on heavy trucks rely on gravity to move the salt/sand to the back. As the body goes up, the sander shifts back around the frame pivot. With a fixed frame mounted protector, you have to be sure that you give enough extra room behind the spreader to accommodate that swing. It's one of the advantages of mounting the protector to the sander as opposed to the body, if thats how they use it. If you don't allow for that swing, they'll smash the spreader as soon as they put the body all the way up.Most of these are minor issues that can be resolved easily with a small bit of thought. These small issues however are the sorts of things that will get you more of these sorts of jobs, and a reputation for knowing what you are doing. Think about standing outside in the rain/snow trying to hold that mount of yours up by yourself while you get the 4 bolts in the holes in the dark. I can garantee that guy will be cursing your name left and right at that time, no matter how nice you welded it. On the other hand, the guy that walks over, slips it into the two recievers and drops in 2 pins and is ready to go, then comes home, pulls the pins, slips it out and pops off the sander will be much happier...No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:DSW, i greatly appreciate the thought and time you invested in your answer, however i have a few things i feel that i should add. #1: As far as mounting goes, i wanted to fabricate recievers but the owner didnt want to pay for the extra time and its not always so easy to find parts for stuff like that at a junk yard that wont require excessive fabrication time. Also the company i did this for (my father is a co-owner) has 65 accounts (20 commercial and 45 residentail) and 11 plow trucks, 3 with sanders. We wanted 4" c channel but couldnt find it so the 3" is what we made it out of. also they are plenty of guys at the yard when they plow up, and my girlfriend and i put that thing on the truck in about a minute for the test fit. (she is 5' 4" and like 125lbs and she held it up no problem while i slid the bolts in)#2: They ( i actually usually put everything on this truck)  load theyre sanders with either a Case 680L or a Kubota klx212-3#3 the body goes up with that thing on there no problem. #4: i really like your idea of mounting it to the sander frame but again i think that would take too much fabrication time for my cheap *** dad to want to pay me for...#5: as for the lights, maybe i will have to relocate them. that wont be too much work.Again thank you very much for your constructive criticism, and believe me when i say i wish i could have spent alot more time making this awesome but they really didnt want to spend too much money on parts or time, i actually bought the materials, built it, wired it and painted it in one 9 hour day.
Reply:Where abouts in CT are you?I'm in Seymour.
Reply:Originally Posted by brendonvWhere abouts in CT are you?I'm in Seymour.
Reply:The weld looks good  A great way to check if you filled at the right angle(split the corner) is to just run your finger down the finished weld, you'll feel it if you've done it right.I'd like to see what your results were on the inside corners of the channel.  It's always been a PITA for me, arc blow makes stuff go everywhere.  So I cheat and drag out the AC 7018Can't really see how you handled your short butts where the short ends of the channel met the other piece.  It looks like you may have ground back the short edge.Easiest way to do the grinding is to grind back the thick shoulder of the adjoining piece.  It gives you more meat to take the heat and allows you to fill back against the thinner edge. Attached Images"Any day above ground is a good day"http://www.farmersamm.com/
Reply:Silverado. I understand your points completely. The guy I used to work FT for and still plow with and do repairs for, frequently works on the "No Budget" system. If its in the scrap pile at the shop, we can build it, but don't expect to buy anything.  Cost is frequently an important factor, especially in tough financial times today.The observations were more for those who might not have the experience with plowing you seem to have.Good pict and tip for many Samm on a great way to do joint fit up...No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan