Bumper fix

[Oldgrandad]

WE lease our route trucks and when they get returned any damage to them needs to be repaired. If we don't do it Penske will charge us out the wazu. So we have a truck going back and the bumper has a little bump in that needs to be flattened. A new chrome bumper is $900 So how do I fix it? Well make a jig and use a hydraulic. 2 hours total time and the bumper is good enough to return.

[Oldgrandad]

Grab some scrap 3/8 x 4 steel flat bar cut one piece in half with my slugger saw and tack them to the other piece making a 'C'. cut 2 pieces about 8 3/4" mark the C on them ,then cut it out with the plasma torch. Then notch the back of the C so they fit nice.

[Oldgrandad]

Radius the corners so as not to scratch myself when using this tool. Tack it all together. Then weld it all up. Used my trusty Millermatic 185 with .035 wire, set at 3 on voltage and wire speed at around 48.

[Oldgrandad]

Let the thing cool off then hold it up on the bumper using a small pancake ram rated at 5700# and my HF 10 ton pump and Presto the bend is gone. On to the next project.

[ryanjones2150]

Mint!

[Oldgrandad]

Thanks. It was an easy little jig that I'm sure I will use to straighten lots of other stuff. One more tool on the shelf.

[Metjunkie]

Nice job, OGD! That's thinkin outside the box. I'll have to remember that jig if I ever get in a similar situation. Aint it great to be be able to fab stuff?

[Oldgrandad]

Fabing is a kick and things like this are the fun stuff. You could make this jig any size to fit your needs. I have made a few others to fix a variety of of other things that my fellow employees have bent the daylights out of.

[Tinker Joe 2]

neat idea and it worked great, necessity is the mother of invention, Joe