Plasma cutter

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 9:27 am

I'm in need of a steady hand and Plasma Cutter to blow a couple of 4" holes in my rear bumper for some LED back-up lights.... Who can help me???

Postby **Grumpy** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:01 am

Uh, really stout drill and a big hole saw?

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:36 am

Grumpy wrote:Uh, really stout drill and a big hole saw?

It'd have to be REALLY stout, the bumper is at least quarter inch...

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:39 am

i'm thinking plasma would be easier, but I know little... Hoping that somebody will have an answer & the tool(s) necessary, so I might actually see behind when backing up... The stockers suck at best...

Postby **Grumpy** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:45 am

You can try my 18 volt Rockwell...

Postby **mattawajeep** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 11:02 am

I've cut 3" holes in 1/4" steel before with a hole saw and drill. It was actually really easy, and made for a nice clean cut. I don't think a 4" hole would be that much harder.

Just go slow and use plenty of cutting oil.

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:56 pm

I'm game but it looks more like 4 1/2 to make room for the rubber donut that holds the light in (Truck light style)...

Postby **79chevy39.5's** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 1:58 pm

i too vote to hole saw it out i use a normal 18 volt dewalt drill a plasma will burn the finish on the bumper, i have a torch and some pipe in the 4" flavor and can produce a fairly similar cutout to the plasma if need be but i would choose a hole saw over plasma/torch

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:33 pm

Well who feels like playing, and when? Sooner I get them in the sooner I can wire them up and see... Gawd I'm an impatient B... I need 2-4.5 inch holes to place 'em...

Postby **Grumpy** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm

Go buy a hole saw and come on over, I don't mind watching. I'm about 6 blocks from your place...
:wink:

Postby **SPR** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm

Lance, Buy a hole saw of the correct size (excately the correct size) and I will loan you the drill. You might want to use a test piece to be certain you're working with the correct hole size. Once you drill a hole with a hole saw, you can't jump to a differnt size without a lot of extra work.

Postby **iaccocca** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 6:06 pm

JK Lance wrote:so I might actually see behind when backing up...

Look behind when backing up... there is a novel idea.

Postby **mattawajeep** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:39 pm

iaccocca wrote:
JK Lance wrote:so I might actually see behind when backing up...

Look behind when backing up... there is a novel idea.

I just hardwired my horn into the reverse circuit. Who has time for looking behind them?

Postby **Livin4Today** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 7:48 pm

Getting my buddy Brian's 4.5 inch hole saw and help tomorrow...

Postby **Lurch** » Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:11 pm

Test drill it on some plywood or sheet metal first to make sure it isn't to big. Hard to put metal back on once it's off

Postby **Wrench** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 6:00 am

Dont forget the cutting oil, or the hole saw wont last long. Unless your buddies hole saw is new and razor sharp, I would just go buy a new one.

Postby **Jay W** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 7:26 am

Wrench wrote:Dont forget the cutting oil, or the hole saw wont last long. Unless your buddies hole saw is new and razor sharp, I would just go buy a new one.

Definitely oil. The other common problem when running big hole saws is too much RPM. A 4.5" should be run at 100 RPM or slightly less.

Postby **Livin4Today** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:34 pm

Good news/bad news... My lights are too big for the bumper, prolly going just below the current taillights... My buddy Brian is ill so I may look for a hole saw over the weekend... Only going thru tin now...

Postby **SPR** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:46 pm

Please tell... why are you changing out the lights? Do the original ones have issues?

Postby **SquirrelCrusher** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 9:49 pm

JK Lance wrote:i'm thinking plasma would be easier, but I know little... Hoping that somebody will have an answer & the tool(s) necessary, so I might actually see behind when backing up... The stockers suck at best...

Postby **mattawajeep** » Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:24 pm

If my brain were working I would have mentioned this earlier...

Just replace the stock bulbs with something brighter. I swapped out my crummy TJ reverse bulbs with some overly powerful LED arrays.

They are incredibly bright, and generate enough heat to burn out if left on for over 5 minutes or so. However, as I have never been in reverse for 5 minutes straight over the past couple years, they still work as well as the day I bought them.

Cheaper than a hole saw. Your factory service manual (you should really buy one of those if you don't have one) should tell you the exact specs for your reverse lights. Then you can go out and buy a better bulb for the socket. Or take a look at jeepforum.com, I bet someone over there has already got it figured out.

Postby **Livin4Today** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:38 am

SPR wrote:Please tell... why are you changing out the lights? Do the original ones have issues?

Yep, like all typical OEM lighting, they are inadequate for anything other than meeting a outdated DOT standard, meaning I can see $hinola... when backing up in the dark, hence my desire to supplement this inadequacy with more light. Allowing a half dead vision wearing down knucklehead to actually see what he might be about to hit.

That whole idea of things going bump in the night was really not intended for cars, trains, and planes...

Postby **TJDave** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 5:45 am

If you decide to go smaller, I have a hole saw I bought to put the JK turn signal housings in my grille. I think it's 3" or 3 1/4". I'll have to check.

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