Home made shackle questions

I have a BDS 3.5 inch lift on a 94 Wrangler .The Military wrap is hitting the frame .
What size sheet metal should I use to make the shackles. I know I could buy them but I have the steel and the money could be better-spent elswhere. The stock distance from eye to eye is 4 inches. I do not want to have problems with lifting the suspention any more and get Vibrations and such. I was thinking adding one inch and a half inches , that would give me the distance from the frame I need. I was thinking of using one-quarter inch steel.
Will this be thick enough to handle the job . I thought of making them a
boomerang style. But the cuts wirh my sawzaw will be much easyer if they are
rectangular. At what distance from eye to eye on the shackles would I need a center bolt?? The problem I see with a center bolt is the same problem with the stock shackles, the spring would hit the bolt instead of the frame . Any sugjestions and precautions ???

Bear

make your own boom shackles. use 3/8's

yep, use 3/8" x 2" flat stock. It will lift it one half the total length of the increase in the shackle length.

Hey Bear

I sent ya a PM

Here is a pic of mine. I have BDS 3.5" YJ's on all corners. The measurement is 5.5" eye-to-eye on center with 2" square tubing in between. You could go with whatever you want in the middle. The 2" was just easier to line up with the 3/8x2" band.

http://www.sweetcj7.com/web_dev/Shackles.jpg

use 3/8 and you don't need a center bolt, if you really want one make it offset from the center so its right up but not quite touching the spring. Hope this helps. You don't need boomerang if you dont have a center bolt