Cheap Tools vs Expensive Parts... WHO WINS - Fabrication for Beginners

[@The_VFX_Guy]

I literally just finished doing this exact same exercise with a friend. Sliders from scratch while purchasing all required tools. My cost was around $1500 as well, and now I can fab even more stuff!!

[@OutdoorAuto]

That’s awesome, totally worth it.

[@ntran2012]

The tools, the knowhow and experience make it so worth it. Thanks for taking time doing this and filming the whole process to share with us.

[@OutdoorAuto]

I agree… I wish I had gotten into fab when I was a kid… such a cool skill

[@the_algorithm]

Great video I recently bought a welder and gear to do my own exhaust for WAY cheaper than the shop wanted to charge me This gives me even more ideas... I can make ALL THE THINGS now!!!

[@OutdoorAuto]

That’s awesome 👏

[@5265060]

Th real sliders are the friends we make along the way.

[@OutdoorAuto]

😂

[@droppedonce7502]

That was a really great video guys! Thanks for actually being hobest and adding in everything needed and not "cheating"!

[@OutdoorAuto]

The funny thing is I Really thought we were going to make it... oh well...

[@overlandout7105]

That was actually a really good video. Enjoyable to watch!

[@OutdoorAuto]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@alexross4062]

Very torn on welding with gas vs without gas. Without gas it such a pain to get refills where I live, I basically have to take time off work or ship my tanks a few states away to refill them, so I moved to flux core wire. The more you use this stuff, the better! I learned on my front bumper and soon I'll be doing some sliders and skids!

[@OutdoorAuto]

I luck out… the farm is next to a big industrial area and I have lots of gas options

[@stco2426]

flux-core is great, but a little splattery. It's also great if windy or the gas runs out and I think it's worth having for these reasons. I use HobbyWeld 7L cylinders and ~£80 is 3h of trigger time, so not too bad. 3h isn't a lot if spot welding bodywork, but flux core struggles with thin sheetmetal, or at least I do.

[@neptarclepuffin]

@@stco2426 from what I've learned running 0.3in wire and overlap or having a nonferrous backer plate aka 1/8in aluminum or thicker to draw away heat works well. And i won't just use this with flux core on thin material. Also I might have had the polarity set wrong a couple of times... All in all with flux your going to have higher running costs and about the same clean up time in the shop setting. Field work pays more but you have to drag your equipment there.

[@gageboysgarage6059]

good video, I find a lot more pride in my vehicles when I do the fab work, even if the end cost was more, you know how it was built and can be proud you built it. looks like you guys had fun doing the work and that is priceless.

[@growlith6969]

Awesome. You guys know how to make a video. Wish more youtubers realized that the absorbtion rate of people watching is way faster than their drawn out edits.

[@foregonetrails]

Great job! Tools are make getting into fabrication so difficult. Nice to see you guys price everything along with nicer options. I built lots of my first projects with an affordable bender but sure am glad to have a jd2 now.

[@OutdoorAuto]

I have heard good things about the JD2… so far I have really liked the Swag a lot

[@One_mole_worth]

Awesome format. Hope to see more diy price comparison

[@OutdoorAuto]

More to come!

[@GOATHartt90]

I am just about to do this. Planning for next year. Thanks for the insights! First sliders, then the world!!

[@OutdoorAuto]

Awesome 👏

[@stco2426]

Good work. I didn't think yopu'd make for less, but as you say you now have loats of tools and skills for the next set, and you can't really price the skill. I think it's useful to know how much it costs to buy something or get someone else to do something and then see if I can do iit for a third, I got this from Dane at Brupeg (YT channel). The nice thing with this theory is it gives you two goes to get it wrong and you would still break even. Then after a couple of goes you should really know if you can really do something or if it should be left to a pro. If I think I will use a tool again I wouldn't add it to the cost of a particular project, but do include the consumables. Finally, I think it's useful to consider tools as investments rather than 'project' costs. Nicely welded logo btw.

[@OutdoorAuto]

100% agree with you that tools are an investment… I like spending money on tools even more than trucks.

[@macattack5691]

Good stuff! I do have most of these tools available to me (not all mine). I have been debating on trying to build mine. I think I just might now.

[@marcustomz]

Did you include the shipping cost of those rock sliders? If not you came in under budget 👌🏾

[@randyhead6481]

Also, depending on the state the company you buy from and you're in, might have to factor in taxes as well. I'd say between tax and shipping they easily cleared it.

[@wolfgang_h3t]

I tossed around buying some sliders and yeah, shipping is one hell of an additional cost you don't think about on em lol

[@jbcope1000]

This how men build their tool collections. Great job! The tools basically paid for themseleves. Now everytime you use them your actually making money. Guy math for the win!

[@OutdoorAuto]

Exactly 👍, see this guy gets it.

[@JTuggy_MissionFrmGlobalMargins]

Excellent video. Great idea and well documented.

[@timothyreynolds5125]

I can’t wait to see some videos on the Cherokee in the background!!

[@OutdoorAuto]

That thing is going to be crazy… it will be an XJ Truck, fully enclosed cab, pinched front and rear with 1 tons, doubler and a V8 toyota engine…

[@allenflud]

Good video guys.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Thanks for watching

[@ironwoodoverland]

I did this with my brother. We built some awesome rock sliders for his xterra, o wish I would have made the leap before buying my rock sliders. Though I do love my white knuckle off roads. I also built coastal rear bumper, but skipped their expensive swing out kit and built my own for like $200.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Rock sliders are the perfect excuse to try out fabrication for sure... Although WHite knuckle slidders are pretty nice.

[@jimskatr103]

As a professional welder (boilermaker 10+ years) and never having my own set up at the house, I’d gladly spend up to $500 more for more tools. My daughter gas lights me whenever she wants to go to town. “Dad, do you need to go to harbor freight?” As soon as we get to town I hear, “I’m hungry.” ❤

[@adventurefriendsgo]

Built not bought baby! A lot of people are saying you didn’t factor in labor. I’d argue that even though there is an opportunity cost in the time it takes to do this all yourself, you can’t put a price on the value of knowing your rig inside and out because you did all the work yourself. Especially if you’re going to be taking it to the middle of nowhere with no one but yourself and your buddies to rely on to get home.

[@nealesmith1873]

If doing this is fun for you and you do it in spare time, there is no opportunity cost.

[@alexxgaming7044]

Hey man pretty cool seeing people are still interested on doing this stuff and fabricating even more stuff. what happened to Seph though? he aint active anymore.

[@OutdoorAuto]

He’s been pretty busy with a few builds.

[@bjlanders]

for cheap, large holes....through pretty much up to 1/4"...carbide cutters. Low speed with hand drill, cutting fluid.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Great tip!

[@bjlanders]

@@OutdoorAuto they make a horrible noise, and are pretty abusive if they hook too hard, but eat through pretty fast, faster than hole saws, and last longer.

[@richadent968]

If you look at building everything: front bumper. rear bumper, skid plates for: gas tank, rear dif., front dif. transfer case, trans. pan, oil pan and sliders you should safe money? Plus you should be able to safe on the materials buying in larger lots.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yeah... the more you use the tools the more you save because you already erased the sunk cost just with the sliders.

[@zephgage3694]

great video

[@OutdoorAuto]

LOL thanks

[@toddshook1765]

Can you demonstrate welding in the field? Friend of mine had an under hood welder ( not homemade but aftermarket) and had to use it. I have seen other makeshift welders. Like to learn more. Thanks

[@OutdoorAuto]

We actually were just talking about ordering one of those... they work best with two batteries but can get buy for a trail fix with 1.... that is a good idea for a video.

[@richardmoore7381]

Cutting tube and profiling the ends - Buy a hacksaw and a box of quality files, teach yourself to be skilled with hand tools and save money in the process

[@jamesmurphy4431]

Should show how/where welded to the frame.

[@OutdoorAuto]

We grinded off the paint for a good weld, weld the pipe straight to the frame add a gusset with the the 1/8th in flat

What would the cost have been if you used 2x6 square tubing instead of round and flat plate?

[@OutdoorAuto]

I wouldn’t build sliders out of 2x6… that would add way too much weight.

[@Sungie264]

Now I wanna learn how to weld.

[@allenflud]

For a real budget slider... no plate, or screw dimple dies and use traction paper similar to skate boards. you could always reapply as necessary and I think it can be found in many different colors, plain black is my preference.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Yup… that is similar to what we put on the rock crawlers

[@javiersioh]

You should do more of these videos

[@OutdoorAuto]

We will, w e have some crazy fab projects in the works.

[@nealesmith1873]

You could lower the cost even more with flux core welding, to avoid the gas cylinder and gas regulator. With stick welding, the rods and welders are even cheaper and can certainly do the job.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Absolutely true… we tried picking the easiest stuff for a beginner.

[@FinallyMe78]

Flux core is probably easier for a beginner.

[@TeknoMage13]

5 thousandths of an inch is thicker than a sheet of paper. Paper is typically is 0.004 in thick with thinner stuff comping in at about 0.003 in. As a former machinist that used paper to set tool offsets, I'm very familiar with its thickness.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Google doesn’t agree with you… BTW card stock is what the “thicker” stuff is call and it’s .010

[@TeknoMage13]

@@OutdoorAuto I just grabbed a peace of paper from my printer and measured it at 0.004 in flat. Google is wrong. Card stock is card stock, not what anyone thinks of as paper.

[@TeknoMage13]

I worked in aerospace as a machinist making parts that had to be within 0.0005 in of total tolerance. I left machining and got a degree in mechanical engineering.

[@zephgage3694]

@@TeknoMage13 dang you got 5 tenths tolerance must be nice, light work baby

[@TeknoMage13]

@@zephgage3694 I assume you're trying to mock me. When things required tighter tolerances than that, they went to grind and/or lap. The only reason I mentioned the tolerance is to show that I know how to measure things, not engage in a pissing contest with other machinists. I'm well aware there are areas of machining that hold tighter tolerance.

[@jominator3187]

What this tells me is- if you have to do it twice (I have two jeeps between mine and the Mrs. that typically get similar or same mods), you’re WAY better off doing this. On top of the experience and fun along the way… no brainer.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Great way to look at it… and yes… so much fun.

[@PhiLIdahoTaco]

But... you can make 3 to 5 sets of those rock sliders and sell them on the marketplace for a lower price and you'll get your money back.

[@OutdoorAuto]

💯 absolutely true.

[@broncorob3]

How many hours of labor though?

[@nicklaplant791]

Is an arc welder a bad idea?

[@scannrmanman8168]

Does your price include labor for making the sliders?

[@OutdoorAuto]

Nope… because the point of the whole video is about people that want to GET INTO FABRICATION as hobby… do you get paid for the time you do your hobbies… Most people don’t.

[@scottclukey2424]

Are weld on sliders better than bolt on?

[@OutdoorAuto]

Weld on, done right, have less compromise, less weight and can be stronger.

[@scottclukey2424]

@OutdoorAuto Thank you sir

[@DestDroid]

Don't forget about your TIME. Are you gonna do stuff that uses similar tools again? Then maybe it's worth it (and I say this as someone that WILL buy the tools).

[@OutdoorAuto]

I am going to always build trucks so I use everything… time wise, I don’t feel like most people need to account charges to the time they put into their hobbies… building it yourself is half the fun… we had a blast that night. This is why I never have time to watch TV.

[@michaelanderson2166]

To be fair, once you have the tools, you can make a lot more than rock sliders.

[@patrickrecker3500]

But how fast can you make that back building more sets?....

[@OutdoorAuto]

Pretty fast… I would bet we could make a set in 3 hours if we didn’t have a ton of people over learning to weld.

[@JW-cn6op]

Should have been can you build bumpers and sliders for the cost of the tools. That would be more reasonable since if uou are buying sliders then you will be going places bumpers and a winch are recomended.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Actually they are going in a Tacoma with factory bumpers… and you’d be amazed where he has taken that thing…

[@JW-cn6op]

😂

[@kbeast1994]

Sure you didn't make it budget with just the rock sliders, but if you do a full build... You'll definitely be in the black vs buying everything.

[@garystockton1]

Good fun - you forgot to factor in your time and overheads and that blows you out the park…. Obviously as you amortise equipment things look better. Good experiment though 👍

[@OutdoorAuto]

Thanks for watching 🙏

[@mblake0420]

That time was invested into learning, the next set would cost less than half the time.

[@antiricergt]

I really like the show but holy hell Nate sounds identical to Kermit the Frog. It came on my TV and I swear I thought it was Kermit.

[@OutdoorAuto]

Dude, it’s true… I have always hated my voice on a microphone…

[@antiricergt]

@ lol it’s all good. btw Great show bud.

[@chalinp4886]

They should include the price of the shop building for people tha live in apartments 😢

[@ranig2848]

Just make a second (and maybe third) set and get your equipment money back. Easy pissy.

[@ericsteinhauer3991]

You didn't charge for your time!

[@lasfitvehiclelife]

Awesome video, Nathan! Thanks for sharing it with us! BTW, I was wondering if you’ve seen my messages on IG. I haven’t heard back from you since our last conversation and just wanted to follow up!