"The tube put up a valiant fight, but in the end it was I, along with the JD2, that won the battle."
Day 18
Ah the first day of bending tube. It was a great sight fitting the first tubes into place on the frame rails. This was a sign that I was getting close!
You won't see a whole lot of progress since a lot of time was spent laying things out, mocking up tires and fenders and bump stops, and setting up the basic design in my head. I have a pretty good idea of what I am going to do.
I did get a few thing accomplished though. I set the front bar in place and tacked it to the frame. This bar is the highest and widest point on the bed cage so it was important that it go in first. I also bent two tubes that will eventually become the far rear portion of the cage that the spare tires will be sitting on.
As a side note, the JD Squared Model 3 Tube bender and mount/stand that I built for it worked great! The 1 3/4" .120 DOM tubing put up a fight as expected but with the aid of a 6 foot long cheater bar (pictured) the tube bent easily.
I will see you all tomorrow!
Jason Gonderman
Online Editor
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