thats pretty bitchin. i have a cherokee, and have been looking for one like that, cant find one, dont feel like making one, and dont want to fork out the dough for a custom one. tushe

Looks great bro, love the bender, i'm picking one up this week (just a reg pro tools) and will be building some bumpers.. my design is similar as well (but different nonetheless).. man i love that bender..

UPDATE

I am going to take apart my bender and bring it to campus for a display and demonstration later this week. I wanted to get all my bending done today so I can tack the bumper together and put it on display next to the bender.

Below: I started with my first multi-plane part: the upper hoop. This has four bends to bring it up and around, following the front profile of the hood.


Note: In the above picture it looks like I collapsed the tubing with the clamp for the plane of bend bracket. That dent is actually from before I got the tubing and it was shipped that way.

Below: Here it is with the third bend completed. These are very small (3 degree) bends, however the springback was still the same as with the other bends I've made.



Below: I also bent two smaller pieces which will form the uprights in front of the radiator.



Below: Although I still have some cutting to do, I used some bailing wire on the lower half and had my roomate hold the hoop up so I could snap a few pictures. This is the money shot as far as I'm concerned - the design is turning out exactly the way I pictured it in my head.



Below: Here it is from the side. He had it tilted down a little bit; the hoop will actually be slightly higher than the front of the hood. It may not be tall enough to protect the radiator in the event of a complete rollover, but that was a compromise I decided I could live with. I have some other ideas for protecting the radiator, but I'm not quite there yet.



Below: Here it is a little further back. I can't wait to get the other pieces fitted to see what the whole shabang is going to look like.

I wouldn't think that you would want the bar TOO high, or else it could impede your vision on the trail. It already seems like all I see is hood out of my truck when I am climbing rocky canyons, I could not imagine it being any worse.

Keep up the good work and thanks for the updates! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thanks! Bend Tech is definitely really cool. It prints out bending instructions that even a bending amatuer like myself can understand.



Thanks! I'm not sure why it was moved the first time, but it's no big deal.



Even now they are not 90 degrees. I could have increased the bend angles of the inside bends then decreased the angles of the outside bends to make it fit a little better. But after looking over my design and where i plan to add straight tube by the marker light, I am happy with how it turne dout.



Thanks! I definitely plan to add straight tubes in key areas once the main assembly is welded to the truck, but there is limited space with the steering components and core support in the way. We'll see. I don't think I will be plating in between the tubing. I am not a big fan of that look even though I agree it looks kinda open the way it is.



Haha... Thanks!



Thanks! I understand why fabricators charge as much as they do. It's very time consuming work.



Thanks Greg! Congrats on getting a bender! Have you considered getting software to help out? I can't tell you how much Bend Tech has helped me with this.



I will definitely keep the updates coming! I agree it's nice to see over the hood as much as possible, although it would be nice to have some sort of marker (like a stinger) to see how far out my bumper protrudes. Every design has compromises and this is no exception. But for my needs and personal taste, I am very happy with how it's coming out so far. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Someone contacted me today and wants to trade a complete solid axle for me to bend all the parts to make a duplicate of this bumper. I am going to cut the pieces to length and mark them for notching. The rest is up to him. I think that's a pretty cool trade! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Cue announcer....

"That's a $350 value, Bob...."

You'll be SAS'n before you know it...

UPDATE

I fitted a few more pieces and started welding things out. I am not sure if I like the height of the upper hoop. I think it would look better if it were slighly below or at the front hoodline. But at this height it will offer some radiator protection.







There's a lot more to do on this. It seems like I work really really slow compared to the others.

definitely a tougher job that it first seems. My bumper was simple compared to yours and it took me 2 weeks going at it on weekends and after work.

dang, bumper looks real good man
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />