It turns out that my Samurai was a victim of one of those run away shopping carts and was in need of a face lift.

My criteria were easy, I needed something strong, functional, that looked good (this is subject to one's personal preferences) and did not interfere with trail-worthiness. I also needed something discretely tucked out of the way of larger tires.

I will try to explain to you how I made a simple yet functionally thought out bumper that will withstand some of life’s unexpected turns. Here is what you will need to make something similar.

• Some steel of your choice
• Use of a MIG or TIG welder
• A welding table or large, flat surface
• A few C-clamps, or Kant twist clamps
• Small grinders: 90° grinder, straight grinder
• Use of a Bridgeport or a machine shop that will do some machining for you
• Some primer and paint
• Replacement bolts to mount your new bumper

I spent several hours looking around the net to get some ideas on what I wanted. I saw many designs that were very trick and well thought out. It was tough to decide which style to make. I decided to go with a simple double square tube design. My main reasoning for this was that it was easy to make and would meet all of my criteria for now. I chose to use the square tubes because there was no need to bend anything. In the future -- when that winch falls from the skies into my lap -- it will be easy to modify this design to mount it. Until then, this is what I have chosen.

I took off the stock bumper and began to take measurements. I started with the obvious length and width and moved on to how far it stuck out from the front of the vehicle. I would use these measurements as my rough guidelines to make the new bumper.

Having found all of the basic dimensions, the rest was fill-in-the-blanks. I wanted to mount the stock turn signals in the bumper. This was accomplished by measuring the turn signal assembly. I used this measurement to determine how far apart to make the two tubes. I drew up my plans on some graph paper and began to machine the parts.

I work in a prototype-type shop as a machinist so I have access to a Bridgeport and a welder. I won’t go into detail of how to use either one. If you have access to these, they are the tools for the job. I will give all of the measurements in millimeters.

Note: To convert from metric to English, divide the number by 25.4 and the answer is the English equivalent.

51.3mm / 25.4 = 2.020 in.

To convert from English to metric multiply by 25.4 and the answer is the metric equivalent.

2.020 in. X 25.4 = 51.31mm.

I started with the two long pieces (51.3 x 51.3). They were cut and squared off to a length of 1384.3 mm. If you set up and machine the two pieces together they will be identical, plus you will be done twice as fast! Next comes the risers (51.3 x 51.3) to place between the tubes. These were cut and squared off to the height of the turn signal assembly. My assembly measured 65.5mm. I chose to use five risers and machined those all together too. With all the pieces cut and deburred you can begin to weld them together.

Take one of the long pieces and clamp it to the table. Take a riser and place it into position, clamp it to the table also. Put on your welding gloves and sleeves. Take a scrap piece of material and practice weld on that piece. Once you have your welder set to make a good penetrating weld, begin welding the bumper. Again I won’t go into detail on how to weld because everyone has their own technique. Have at it!

Note:It really helps to be welding on a flat steel table.

Once all of the risers are welded into place, take the other long piece and place it on top of the already welded assembly. You will notice that the welded assembly is not flat anymore. No big deal. Make sure you clamp the two pieces together good and tight and flatten them out. You may have to move your clamps directly over the area you are welding.

Begin welding the two together. By the time you get to the end you should have a flat assembly again. Flip over the assembly and weld the other side. Now you should have something that resembles an unfinished bumper!! Congratulations, you are half-way there! Better take a b**r break, but not if you are at work…;-)

Now that you have this bumper welded together the question becomes, "How do I hang this thing?" My solution was simple, I talked with the guys in the 5-axis laser department and had them digitize my prototype bracket. With that done, I gave them some material and off went the laser to cut my brackets. Done with 4 brackets in about 2 minutes. Man, does it help to have the right tool for the job!

Honestly, the bracket was the hardest part of the whole bumper experience. I needed the bracket design to be burly enough to support the bumper and designed in a way so that the bumper hung where it was suppose to. Sounds easy enough! I needed the bumper to be close to the frame so as not to hamper approach angles. The placement of the bumper also needed to be in a position which looked like it was supposed to be there and not like some cheesy bolt on accessory.

So where do ya start? I started with the bolt-on tow loops. I took the basic design of the tow loop and expanded on it. I gave the tow loop to our inspection room and had them measure the hole diameters and spacing and also the radius of the curve to go around the tube that runs through the frame rails. Once I had all the dimensions I placed the bumper up to the front of the vehicle. I made some guesstimates and came up with a rough design. A bit of refining and whuaa-laah a bracket design that works! The bracket bolts into the holes that used to be occupied by the bolt-on tow loops.

I bolted the brackets to the frame and slid the bumper onto the brackets. Next, I centered the bumper and tacked (welded) a small section on each bracket. With the brackets attached to the bumper by tiny welds I removed the brackets from the vehicle and placed the bumper on the welding table. I welded the brackets to the bumper and was done.

Hold on…not so fast! I still had to paint the sucker. I thought about this for a while and decided to just use good old Rust-Oleum. The reasoning behind this was that it would allow for easy maintenance. If it got a scratch, so what? Paint it again. In the future I may cover it in Durabak along with the rocker panels and fender flares. But for now It’s fine.

I chose not to cap the end of the tubes for two reasons. First, with them closed off you can’t store anything in them. Tow straps, jumper cables, and rags fit nicely in there. Plastic end caps work fine for sealing out the elements. Second reason was that I am not done welding on the bumper. I still have to find some big shackles to weld attach for extracting Jeeps and other full-size trucks.

So there you have it, one man’s experience with a bumper solution. With some careful planning you could complete this in a day. If you don’t have access to a welder or Bridgeport, a shop can do it for you, for cheap! Beer, by the case, works wonders on the price you will have to pay.

The idea for this bumper can be customized to make just about anything. You could weld on a receiver for a hitch for pushing your boat and taxiing large airplanes around. That would also make a great winch mount. For something different try turning the long pieces on a 45 degree angle and cutting the risers with a 90 degree "V" in the top and bottom. Or you can leave out the top middle section to mount a winch. Or you can get fancy and weld on angle pieces to the end and have them wrap around the front. How fancy do you want to get? The list of possibilities is endless.

Questions? Comments?

--Jeff Umsted
(Zukzilla)