CJ3b....That is what the vin tag says.

[daniel_buck]

The guy can take picture with DOF like this

AND build a jeep like this...

Taking a photo with shallow DOF, is easy! Building a jeep however...



That front diff skid looks BEEFY! I want something like that

[vwtipeii]

Paint the wheels Hammer Finish Black!!!

[jonah]

I would love to do Cleg this weekend, but it looks like I am getting a new place this week and it needs a lot of work before I can move in so I am going to be busy for a couple of months.

As far as DoF goes, it would actually be harder to get deep focus on these shots because my shop is so dimly lit. That forces me to shoot with the aperture wide open, which gives less DoF. It does however help in these shot because it simplifies the composition and makes it easier for the viewer to know what they should be looking at Jeep building, that just takes time and money....

d_b, I like seeing at your jeep everytime I go to Samy's! I do think that front diff has a cool look, like a winking robot to me. I can't recall who made it (Mike aka MrGreen gave it to me) I did add some 1/4" plate to beef it up. But it is a stock cover with some added metal, it would be easy to make one if you want one, I have a spare cover here.

Wheels, I have to decide if I am going to keep them. If I do I want spacers to get a bit more turning in the front. I don't know, I like them silver.

[jonah]

I need to post up some of the most recent mods, maybe tomorrow.

[daniel_buck]

d_b, I like seeing at your jeep everytime I go to Samy's!

I don't know what you are talking about, where do you see my jeep at? Swing by and say high next time, where ever it is

[jonah]

I don't know what you are talking about, where do you see my jeep at? Swing by and say high next time, where ever it is

Isn't that you on Beatrice? Samy's Rental is there.

[daniel_buck]

Ohh that's right, I was in our Playa studio at the end of last year for a month or two. I'm back in our Venice location now since early January.

Yea, that was mine.

[JK08]

I would love to do Cleg this weekend, but it looks like I am getting a new place this week and it needs a lot of work before I can move in so I am going to be busy for a couple of months.

As far as DoF goes, it would actually be harder to get deep focus on these shots because my shop is so dimly lit. That forces me to shoot with the aperture wide open, which gives less DoF. It does however help in these shot because it simplifies the composition and makes it easier for the viewer to know what they should be looking at Jeep building, that just takes time and money....

d_b, I like seeing at your jeep everytime I go to Samy's! I do think that front diff has a cool look, like a winking robot to me. I can't recall who made it (Mike aka MrGreen gave it to me) I did add some 1/4" plate to beef it up. But it is a stock cover with some added metal, it would be easy to make one if you want one, I have a spare cover here.

Wheels, I have to decide if I am going to keep them. If I do I want spacers to get a bit more turning in the front. I don't know, I like them silver.

Well i think Cleg is out anyhow. Afriend of mine wants to go to Azusa and i have not been there yet.

Good luck on your move. and by all means post up so new pics.

[jonah]

Interior Lights

This is a mod that I quickly realized I had to do the first time I camped overnight with Ope.

First I found these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5M-300LED-35...sories&vxp=mtr

A 5 meter reel of waterproof LEDs with self adhesive back. There is a cut point every 3 LEDs (about every 2 inches, see below). You can cut on this mark to make the strip as long as you need. I used 32" strip across the front of the cage and two 12" strips over each seat. and an 10" strip over the back seat area. They are all wired in one parallel circuit and the total amp draw for 58" lights (87 individual LEDs) is .521 amps.

It is a bit tricky to solder them up. I needed to peel back a bit of the waterproof covering to expose the soldering points. I used a new razor blade to carefully separate the silicon covering from the backing. Then be sure to tin the wire, after the wires are coated in solder place them on the soldering dot on the strip and just touch it with your soldering iron just long enought to join them, if you leave it too long you will melt the backing strip (if this happens, just cut off that 2" section and try again).

The marking on the LED strip


The finished connections


Added a little shrink tube to protect the connections.


I tried to place the strips so their light pattern would cross and provide even lighting. Also on the "A" pillar hoop I placed the strip so it was hidden from my view while sitting in the drivers seat. That way if I need to turn them on while driving it will be less distracting.




Finally I made a little switch panel for my interior lights and my off road lights. A little aluminum plate, drill the appropriate sized holes, add switches and bingo!



I love the way these light up the interior. It is a nice even light with no hot spots and dark spots. I still have half of my roll left so I am going to add more in the bed area, under the dash and under the hood (for those night time repairs!)

[daniel_buck]

oh man, that's pretty awesome

[curtis]

Great job.

[jonah]

Thanks! I would say that if I knew they came in a black backing I would have got those just so in the daytime they would be less noticeable on my black roll cage.

[curtis]

They have some on http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...Fled_prods.htm Great idea, Thanks.

[I H8RDS]

Upgrade...Thanks for the diff protection Mike! I better go put some oil in it before I forget.


Well I have a little consolation for buying the boat motor, the crank in it was good, mine was not. So at least not a total waste.

Machine guy is bumping me up, might be done early next week. Fingers crossed.

Damn Jonah!! That thing is Bad a$$ !

We have to go wheeling together soon...let's make a demo for a Jeep commercial and send it in

[6spdYJ]

A lot of people have a hard time soldering. For wire less smaller than 10gauge, the best advice is to use a rosin core 60/40 solder in as small of a diameter you can find. If you can control your temperature, 420 works the best. The melt temperature of 60/40 is 376 degrees. Anything hotter than 420 and you risk damaging the isulation or mounting compnents. Make sure you get the wire hot with the iron under the wire and flow the solder into the wire. Don't melt the solder onto the iron, as soon as it hits the wire it will coat the outside and flash cold. Even if it flows good on the outside, it will be the electrical equivalent of a cold, booger weld. It will fail at the first vibration. Once the solder has flowed through the strands of the wire, tin the other connection the same way. Hold them both together and put the heat to the joint. Once it melts, the solder will flow through both pieces making a good joint. Do not add more solder! It will cause the copper to float and make a solder bridge between the pieces - which will break. Keeping the pieces as close together as possible and using the solder to bond them allows the least leverage on the joint. Onece the solder has flowed and is a shiny silver, remove the heat and keep the pieces perfectly still. Movement will cause uneven cooling and a weak joint. When the solder flashes cold, it should still be pretty bright and smooth. If it looks rough and dull, if you have some paste flux, apply just a dot on the joint and reapply the heat. Some guys think soldering is welding. It's not. You're just melting the solder to a point that it flows into the joining materials and creates a bond. When done properly, it makes an amazingly strong bond - even on steel. That's how a lot of iron sights are put on firearms.