has anyone custom fabbed a rear diff skid plate? i'd rather save 150 bux and have some fun with it. same for some sliders, i figure they would be harder,but again, i'm a poor college student and am lookin to save some dough for gas and other necessaties and have fun in the process

dude go for it, Im also in college and have been thinking of fabbing my own sliders to save a buck. Let me know how it goes.

i will, once i get some more info. i just wanna see if anyone here has done it

There are several guys who have fabbed their own armor. There just isn't a big selection of fabricators who deal with Xterras or Nissans in general for that matter.

If you've got the skills and the desire man, go for it. Who knows... somebody may like your design and want to pay you $300+ to fab a set for them.

ya man, my friends and i do all our work on our cars/my truck. we did my exhaust in like, 2 hours, and swapped a celica gts motor and trans into his mr2 spyder. i just wanna know if people have made their own based on the calmini one. it looks simple enough

That's cool. Keep something in mind when you start brainstorming for your sliders.

They have to be strong enough to support the majority of the weight of an xterra on any singular point. Not only are the rock sliders used for what their name states but the sliders are really the only place you can use a hi-lift jack to lift your X if you get stuck. So the sliders HAVE TO BE strong enough for that. Otherwise you're just making really heavy step rails. lol

haha, yea, i'll make them strong enough, but they seem like a pretty good challenge

Keep us updated with some pics when you get started with the projects. I'm gettin a welder through work in a couple weeks and want to start making things I can't afford, so pretty much everything

i picked up a small arc welder and that crap isnt easy... i will take some pics of what i welded together... just remember it is my first thing to ever weld..... pics will be up soon... LOL

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2913.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2914.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2915.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2916.jpg

I'm gonna look into picking up a small welder myself. I've also found an emergency welder for my trail kit. It's about the size of your basic ratchet set case.

I've received a pretty decent job offer and if I take it, they are located right next to a community college. After work, I'm going to go to school and get my welder's license.

I had a few brainstorms this morning of a couple of rock slider designs I would like to try.

a guy i know sells a welder ( or should i say buzz box ) that runs off of two car batteries.... you might check into somthing like that.. the one pictured above i bought from walmart.... $98 smackers LOL i also bought 7#'s of stick from a local welding supply for $20.....

That's not bad at all. I've got a buddy who does Solidworks design and I may get him to convert my drawings to a true schematic/blueprint and see what a local fab shop here will do them for. I'm trying something new with this slider design that I haven't seen yet. Just a small change but I think it will help the weld strength a lot.

i picked up a small arc welder and that crap isnt easy... i will take some pics of what i welded together... just remember it is my first thing to ever weld..... pics will be up soon... LOL

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2913.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/jsongrl/clubX%20stuff/IMG_2914.jpg






In case you're looking for constructive criticism, I'd say you need to turn up the heat and slow it down a bit. Keep it in one continuous bead. You want to get a puddle going, that sinks down into the metal and flattens out a bit. Once you start a puddle, you can work in small circles or zig-zags to widen out the bead as you work your way down the seam. In case you're not looking for tips, then just ignore me. :mocking: Arc welding can be pretty tricky to get it pretty, but you're off to a good start! Just keep burning rods till it starts looking good.

thanks for the info i am running on the high setting already i just need to slow it down

That's on high? Uh oh.... How thick is that metal? You have a good clean grounding point? Maybe that welder just isn't up to the task of the thickness you're doing, but that looks awful cold to me. Try just keeping the puddle in one spot without moving down the line, and see if you can get it to penetrate at all.

i went pretty fast i think but it was also the first time i tried to weld.....