[vman]

Hi guys,

I have been thinking about something lately... Given a set of tools and CAD knowledge, engineering-inclined people will be able to make their own tools. Has anybody done that?

There are several colleges that offer machine shop / welding classes that are much cheaper than a set of sliders from Shrock or Calmini. And even if I spend more money in a long run, the pride of making the sliders myself will definitely count. Has anybody else thought of doing it as well?

Cheers!

 

[dpatton]

Do a search - there are at least two people on here who have made their own sliders.

 

[Mark]

Cincinnatixterra made his own sliders. And i bet he is the smartest dude on the forum. He is a college kid, studying something really smart. Dont remember what the hell it was, not sure i can pronounce it. His worked great on our last trip. But even he is now buying shrock sliders.

 

[KillJoy]

Did he mention why if they worked so well?

 

[Mark]

Well his did work great. But they always seemed to be a work in progress. He was always thinking of somethig else he wanted to add or change with his sliders. That and he just got a sweet deal getting a full set of shrock skids and sliders from someone he knows CHEAP.

 

[TJ]

What most people find is that while they COULD make their own sliders, or bumpers, etc...given the time and skill...most calculate what that time is worth, look at the R&D that goes INTO a design, and fabrication work-up...and realize that they could just BUY something that looks like what they were making anyway.

A few do it every year though, as it IS satisfying to make your own of anything...its just most of us just don't have the time to re-invent the wheel (Another thing we just buy...)

The NEXT part of the evolution, is to HAVE a custom job done at a local shop, etc....Of course, a good shop will re-coup THEIR R&D and Fab work-up time as well, so you pay for it anyway...but, the difference is its to YOUR specs...vs the mass market specs that a typical onliine vendor produces.....IE: You can get it with thicker metal, add a nifty feature you always wanted, etc...its only $ afterall.




I've done all three for various parts...I've welded some, had people weld some, bought some, etc....whatever makes sense at the time.

 

[vman]

Well, my primary concern is the supply and demand. If I cannot get an item within a reasonable time frame due to high demand and shops which are overbooked, then it simply makes sense to jump on a bandwagon and get things done yourself. Hell, if you get good at it, start your own shop and then sell stuff. We are capitalists after all More choices will sure help everybody in the long run. More jobs, better products, quicker shipping times.

I am sure that guys at Shrock and Calmini do an awesome job. In fact, I am going to order a bumper from one of them within a couple of months. However, sliders seem to be somewhat easy to manufacture. Of course, there is only one freaking way to find out.

 

[TJ]

Yeah - sliders are sure easier....make sure you make them curve upwards to preserve ground clearance, and protect the rockers...and be sure to protect the pinch seams...if you make the mount points match as many existing holes in the frame as possible, and use crush plates on the frame box, you'll be in good shape.

For a custom job....making the insides clean and air tight and installing air fittings, lets you use them as air tanks for OBA, etc....something the Shrocks, etc...don't offer yet.

 

[cookX]

speaking as a mechanical engineering student in college, i can tell you that college wouldnt be an advantage in this situation.

It just depends on how much experience you have with metalworking/welding.

drawing sliders up in a 3D Modeling program for a production run of one piece wouldn't really make sense as the main point of modeling is to insure repeatability and to easily be able to make revisions.

sketch something out, get the materials, and go from there.

In this situation if you screw something up, just cut it off and weld on another piece, its all a learning process..

 

[vman]

speaking as a mechanical engineering student in college, i can tell you that college wouldnt be an advantage in this situation.

It just depends on how much experience you have with metalworking/welding.

drawing sliders up in a 3D Modeling program for a production run of one piece wouldn't really make sense as the main point of modeling is to insure repeatability and to easily be able to make revisions.

sketch something out, get the materials, and go from there.

In this situation if you screw something up, just cut it off and weld on another piece, its all a learning process..

Yep, good point! I was thinking of using the college as a workshop. My buddy told me that you can work on your own project (hence the sliders for me).

 

[cincinnati_xterra]

I made my own and where do you think I learned how to do all of this. yes I did draw them up 3D but I still learend everything in school.

 

[RockyMtnX]

Do some looking in here, it's been done...

http://thenewx.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=2760

http://thenewx.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=4164

http://thenewx.org/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3331

I actually did a CAD dwg of mine already... I can send you a PDF if you want. Most of the overall measurements were prelim that never got updated, but I know the brackets are spot on. If you look around on this site you can even find a set of Shrock installation instructions and a hardware shopping list.

Are they worth it if you figure your time at a market labor rate? Probably not. But that is the point... your time is free. After doing mine, I gained a whole new respect for the guys who do it for a living, and found their cost to be more than reasonable. Would I do it again? Absolutely! The whole point is the fact that your labor is free. Material really isn't that much, and if you have the skills and equipment to do it yourself, you can knock a set out in a few weekends.

Good luck, and be sure to post back with pics if you decide to do it yourself!