OP
Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build
- Thread starter jjvw
- Start date
Visuals of our discussion. For the next ones, I would just plug weld the back of both edges since it worked out to be more than plenty to attach the rub rail.
Yep, more than a bit considering we started with a set of GR mini boatsides for a TJ Unlimited, cut the stupid step off and went from there. These are high abuse, high clearance sliders with a rub rail to keep rocks out of the door opening. I like the aluminum, I just don't like the look. These will look much better when they are all painted in. We almost always cap the fronts to keep shit from getting kicked in on top of the bottom of the rail by the front tires. Plus it adds some strength to an unsupported area.
I've seen a few snapshots of this and have been planning to go this way with mine. Other than aesthetics, what are the reasons to prefer steel or aluminum for this application?
Something else I need to do to my JCR sliders to "fix" them. They collect a ton of shit on the bottom of the rails.
Education is fuckin expensive
Not sure there is a valid reason other than aesthetics. I don't mind the aluminum, I just wanted something that looked like it belonged there.
I forgot the best part. We split a piece of 2 x 2 x 3/16" wall square tube with the Milwaukee metal cutting circular saw using the short side of the base plate as the guide against a piece clamped to the side of the tubing.
The test cut on a random piece showed the blade cut 1" exactly on one side and 15/16" on the other. We removed the blade, the blade mount and then removed the shim washer that keeps crap out of the motor shaft, replaced that with a thicker washer we drilled out of a stainless steel fender washer and the next cut was both sides exactly 15 and 1/2 sixteenths.
EDIT- if you look closely at the cut against the slider, that is as cut with no sanding, grinding or touch up. That saw cuts very well.
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OP
We need to discuss my design again. Capping off the ends of the sliders seems like a very good idea
We have a repair plate drill guide we use to move nutserts over that are partially in an existing hole. We drill the holes with the rotabroach through the holes in the corner armor or slider. Then we lay the plate that has a 17/32 hole in it over the hole and then use a loose 3/8" rotabroach bit stuck in the drilled hole to locate the drill guide repair plate. We clamp that in place or screw it in place with self tappers and then run in with the 17/32 rotabroach.
Comes out like this-
Comes out like this-
So... The rub rail. The screws go through that into the tub? When I first looked at it, I though it would be removable, similar to Savvy, but then I noticed the welds.
You also said its tube correct? What is backing up those screws?
The circled screws go through the rail, through the original holes in the boat side and into nutserts set in the body sheet metal. The others are through bolts.
Your attention to detail is truly stunning. Those are the cleanest looking boatsides I have seen.
One question - what is that overhang going past the rear wheelwell opening?
It looks like he is doing a stretch on this rig (notice the YJ fuel filler) - so it's probably also getting his under-seat gas tank too. It just is missing the armor blanks cut to cover up the original wheel well opening.
At least that's my semi-educated guess
