Tips on Bobbing Beds

[DontStall_RockCrawl]

ok, well i plan on bobbing my bed tomorrow on my 84 single cab longbed. any tips you guys wanna recommend. what kinda cutter did you guys use? any pics?

[sickfab]

angle die grinder with a 3 in green corps cutoff wheel. they got em at custom colors, or a plasma torch

[TNToy]

To cut the body, use cutoff discs in your angle grinder. END OF DISCUSSION.

I've used a sawzall, air die grinder, plasma cutter, tin snips, and probably half a dozen other tools to cut sheetmetal. Use an angle grinder and 3-4cutoff discs. Fast method that's by FAR the cleanest and striaghtest. Clean is nice, but straight is **VITAL** for a good alignment after the cut.

Bobbing my 4Runner 12 inches:
Day 1 - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...&highlight=bob
Day 2 - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...&highlight=bob
Day 3 - http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...27#post1553827

Bobbing ChopSuey's 4Runner after doing mine:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showt...&highlight=bob

Run a search in the Toy forum for "bob" and "bobbing"... should tell you a bunch.

[RMW]

i'll support TNToy's suggestion. ANGLE GRINDER CUT OFF DISCs, tho it only took me 2 to do mine (but since i was cutting over the wheel wells i think i had less to cut). the cut is damn staight and turned out well.

no real intetion as of yet to put a section back on the back again (think boogerweldz old truggy kinda cut on the back) but the 4.5" cut off discs worked really well to cut off the ass-end.

[DontStall_RockCrawl]

well currently my friend has my welder and i am letting him borrow it. what will require welding? i dont plan to put the tailgate back on but i do plan to keep the lights. i have an angle grinder and the cutoff discs

[Toyofast]

Is everyone in good moods lately?


Dude... bobbing beds has been covered way too much,SEARCH! You'll be amazed at what you'll find.

I used tape to mark the lines, a sawzall to cut the bed sides, jigsaw for the floor and a welder to weld the other half back on. Took 13" out.

Again, SEARCH!

[Chrisf]

skill Saw and a Sawzall is all I use to cut it.... just get a long straight edge and do lots of measuring

[Kcrawler]

Whats the deal with the flap disc's do they actually grind down metal or do they just clean up the grind wheel marks?

[freds40]

Measure, Measure, Measure. I used a die grinder with a 4" wheel worked good. If you do weld it back together, use .023 wire, you can actually run a bead on the tin foil, i mean sheet metal.

[TNToy]

Originally posted by Toyota wanted
Whats the deal with the flap disc's do they actually grind down metal or do they just clean up the grind wheel marks?

They grind a little bit slower, but MUCH smoother.

I use a grinding wheel, then finish up with a flap disc.... if it's a small weld bed, just straight to the flap disc. They rock.

[freds40]

The discs I use are about 4.5-5". You have a backing piece that attatches to the grinder and then you put on the disc. I use 36 grit and it's nice and smooth. If I want it really smooth, I can throw on an 80 grit disc.

[Ishikawa]

TNT: sorry, but cut-off wheels are NOT the end of discussion. is it the cheapest solution....yes. is it the easiest and most accurate of all the cheap solutions....yes. is it the end of discussion....no.

DONTSTALL: if you have the resource, i'd recommend a plasma cutter. simpler, more accurate, and much faster than any cutting discs. granted, you have to have access to one, and they aren't cheap....but it is the overall best solution. if you set it up right, the cuts are much cleaner and it makes cleanup for welding slightly more hassle-free.

Again, if you want the cheapest route...TNT is right on. if you want the best route, go plasma. To me, there is no middle ground, and don't even consider a oxy-a setup....metal's too thin.

Max

[fabricator]

Originally posted by DontStall_RockCrawl
well currently my friend has my welder and i am letting him borrow it. what will require welding? ............

you gotta be shittin me! you gotta weld everything that you cut
off, sorry for being so blunt but, you need to doa little research B/4 trying this or anything else.
Don't tear it apart and then not finish it.

[Hoodlum]

Here's a cheezy write up I did of my bob job...



http://members.cox.net/krawlinacoma/new_page_9.htm


I'd also have to say PLASMA CUTTER if you have access to one.

TIP: cut about 1/16" from your line then grind down to it for a finished edge. This is the technique I used on my bob. You can see how tight the seam is in one of the pics towards the end.

TIP: Use solid wire WITH GAS. It's a MoFo to do with FluxCore!


Happy Bobbin'!

[Krusty]

sawzall off the rear, cut x " out and weld back----- 2 hours!
cap off the stock tail lites (they WILL break on every run), and mount Grote rubber mounted tail lites in the tailgate.