Hi there,

I am building a t-case bucket. I have been inspired by all the other (professional) buckets.

Maybe this likewise can be some inspiration for others. I came up with a single pice bucket that even allows fitting the E-Brake (Well the stock E-Bake-Drum that came on older European models) with simple mods. It ia attached to the case at both arms and bolted to the raer of the case.

It is made of about 20 pieces as I only have limited bending abilities. The sheet metal that hit the rocks the most (center piece and lowest pieces facing forward and backward) and the short arm are 1/4" steel. the rest is 4mm sheet metal (a bit thicker than 1/8"). The long arm is 1.5 by 2.5" 1/8" steel tubing.

So here are some pics before the final weld so you can see how the parts are cut.

Best regards,

Norbert

Another shot without t-case.

That looks real good, what kind of jig did you use to be sure the t-case was all lined up in the bucket straight? I was wondering, i have been working on a jig for building buckets, that will index of the drive flanges of the case and the three mounting holes of the arms.

Looks really good! VERY similiar to Bill Forrest's bucket. Always good to have something to model things after. hope you like it!!

Looks really good! VERY similiar to Bill Forrest's bucket. Always good to have something to model things after. hope you like it!!

Hi there,

yep, you are right: It is a mixture of the bucket idea (Forrest-bucket inspired) and the one-piece design (inspired by mighty-kong?). These people have made great work.
I just cannot get rid of my habbit to fab things myself.

regarding jig: I have bolted the parts to a spare t-case before tack-welding. Finding the right location for the mounting holes was not easy. Measure twice, drill (undersized holes) once, take the file and correct the holes...
Jig would be a good idea. I only wanted one piece so I will get away without a jig. With its twenty parts and all the cutting (see my hand-saw) I could not earn any money with selling buckets. But for me it's the fun of fabbing.

Here are some more pics of the built up. I will post a write-up on our local club page after this thing is painted.

I started with the long arm: two pieces of 1.5x2.5 1/8" steel tube.

Two main pieces: short arm and center piece.

short arm cut and drilled.

center piece with holes for drain and fill plug

long arm, center piece and short arm tack-welded. I bolted them on a t-case before welding. Just the pic is without t-case...

shot from other side

forward main piece 1/4" steel tack welded

....ande the rest of the forward facing parts. I attached a gusset to get better load distribution on the long arm.

main piece at rear side. Again 1/4" steel. Most other parts are 4mm steel.

Pics of all parts assembled are at the top of this link.

And again this shot: Do not forget to leave an access for the bolt for the speedo cable.

looks good I feel the pain with all those pc. By hand,, heres one we just finished no pc. all one bent up cut out flat on the mill.
The new ones will have all new arms made but I used the stock arms and reinforced them for now.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/rock4x/4X%20product/bucketstart.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/rock4x/4X%20product/bucketfinished.jpg

nice fab work :cool2:

with all thoes parts to weld just make sure you dont warp it when you weld it all up



:massey:

Good Job Nose, I still think this is the best type of skid plate for the "hardcore" Samurai guy.

The ones I made are 8 parts welded together. Just weld slow and let it cool or it will move on yea ;)

nice!

Hi there,

@ Bill and moto: thanks for the tips on welding. I still am not hardcore, but I am getting closer. I found some very nice people here in SC to go wheeling with. And there is some more serious trails. Hence the bucket....
And I just bought a selectable locker. This should help not to stay behind all the time...

@ Rockrat: Yep, yours looks very nice. I guess I should tell everyone that buying one of those is probably the best way to go.
I have already spend so much time on this thing (well 4 evenings and 1 weekend) that buying would have been more efficient. But I went for the fun factor.

Best regards,

Norbert

Hi there,

@ Bill and moto: thanks for the tips on welding. I still am not hardcore, but I am getting closer. I found some very nice people here in SC to go wheeling with. And there is some more serious trails. Hence the bucket....
And I just bought a selectable locker. This should help not to stay behind all the time...

@ Rockrat: Yep, yours looks very nice. I guess I should tell everyone that buying one of those is probably the best way to go.
I have already spend so much time on this thing (well 4 evenings and 1 weekend) that buying would have been more efficient. But I went for the fun factor.

Best regards,

Norbert

I understand the doing it yourself part, thats half the fun sometimes.. heres a shot of how we cut out our new one( single sheet ) just bend and weld

The first one we did was all templates and individual pc. once we new the proper fitment heres they way we went. we should have a full test fit on this one tomorrow.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/rock4x/4X%20product/Bucketsheetplate.jpg

I would have had it done but the mill was tied up doing these
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v260/rock4x/4X%20product/Newlinktabs.jpg