What tool do you use to cut thick metal?

Chris

Chris

Administrator
Staff Member
Ride of the Month Winner
Joined
Sep 28, 2015
Messages
71,091
Location
Gillette, WY
I'm curious... I want to remove a large portion of my Mopar Rock Crawler front bumper so that I can run the Currie Antirock. This is thick steel though, and my little Harbor Freight grinder would probably take an hour per side to do it.

So this got me thinking... what kind of tool do I need to cut through this metal in short order?
 
ohiopatriot said:
With a good grinder you can use ferrous metal cutting blades, not grinding wheels. Get from Home Depot etc.

Sawzall with around 10 TPI blade.

Torch :eek:. Nothing cooler than cutting metal with fire!
Click to expand...

So then maybe it's just that my cutting tool isn't powerful enough, huh?

This is the one I have:
https://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-heavy-duty-electric-cut-off-tool-68523.html

I used it to cut a portion off my Exogate. With a metal cutting disc it did the job, but it took forever, and I went through several cutting discs.
 
If you have a fabricator friend you could use his plasma or cutting torch.
Might need to remove the bumper to keep from damaging the Jeep.
 
TJ Ben said:
If you have a fabricator friend you could use his plasma or cutting torch.
Might need to remove the bumper to keep from damaging the Jeep.
Click to expand...

I thought about that as well. The bumper has to come off anyways to do this.
 
Chris said:
So then maybe it's just that my cutting tool isn't powerful enough, huh?
Click to expand...

Lol, yeah.

More like this.....
0_15388800976557982028868664382721.jpg
0_15388803941631115018057649651406.jpg


They also have 7 inch versions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steven_Olson and Chris
As said above, use cutoff wheels on your grinder. They aren't all made the same. Cheap wheels don't cut fast or last long. They should cut the bumper quickly .
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
Pay attention to the thickness of the cut off wheel you’re using.

A thicker wheel may not wear as fast but with the thinner wheel you’re removing less metal so your grinder doesn’t need as much power
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steven_Olson and Chris
Hey @Chris I am wondering why you never went through with this? I just finished installing my Antirock this weekend so I guess I need to decide if I am cutting or going back to the original sway bar.
 
LJGreg said:
Hey @Chris I am wondering why you never went through with this? I just finished installing my Antirock this weekend so I guess I need to decide if I am cutting or going back to the original sway bar.
Click to expand...

Nope, I just didn't want to cut it. Not to say I couldn't, but I'd have to go out and buy a better grinder, as mine is way too small for the job.

Dave down here at Jeeps West has done plenty of these and it's not hard to do.

This is what it ends up looking like when you're done:

Screen Shot 2018-01-26 at 8.11.42 PM.png


Keep in mind though, the guy in that photo just did an "okay" job with his cuts. I would have rounded the corners to make it look much cleaner personally.
 
Cutting out what appears to be a 4x4 section of the bumper mount doesn't look like a good idear.

If the currie arm would stand proud of the bumper mount a good man with a torch could blow a round hole. Soap stone the outline of the white pieces and take it to someone who knows how to burn. Possibly cut an even smaller size hole so the white piece acts as an insert to preserve more of bumpers strength with the flange behind the bumper mount.
 
Chris said:
Nope, I just didn't want to cut it. Not to say I couldn't, but I'd have to go out and buy a better grinder, as mine is way too small for the job.

Dave down here at Jeeps West has done plenty of these and it's not hard to do.

This is what it ends up looking like when you're done:

View attachment 58073

Keep in mind though, the guy in that photo just did an "okay" job with his cuts. I would have rounded the corners to make it look much cleaner personally.
Click to expand...

that 90 degree corner should have been drilled and have a nice round corner. 90's like that are exactly where stress cracks will form. However that area of the bumper will not be under a lot of stress, but in this case it would have simply given it a more finished look.

Even a small grinder with a good wheel should not have much problem cutting the gauge steel. I have 2 grinders and for the most part I use the small one 9 times out of 10. Vital to keep the wheel straight when cutting, it will cut much better and reduce the chance of the wheel exploding (I've had this happen and it ain't no fun).

I have an oxy/acetylene cutting torch and while they work great there is a lot more clean up, I'd never even contemplate using it on anything under 3/8's or using it to remove rusted nuts and bolts.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Steven_Olson
I wonder if I could have some sort of spline extension machined to allow just a circle to be cut. That would allow the tow hook to still have the strength to be usable. I am going to look into this.

Something like this.

ee434759eadb94a41f82bb0b22b65cd5.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris
LJGreg said:
I wonder if I could have some sort of spline extension machined to allow just a circle to be cut. That would allow the tow hook to still have the strength to be usable. I am going to look into this.

Something like this.

View attachment 58197


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I had considered this as well. You could also relocate the hooks to a different location such as the middle lower portion of the bumper.
 
If you just wanted a round hole I'd go with a hole saw. The bushing for the antirock will probably push the arms out far enough to clear.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
Top Bottom
Back