built new steps and battery box

[rattlecan6104]

so a few weeks ago, work for us in the airframe structures shop was dead. I knew I needed a new battery box as mine is nearly non existent due to rust. I also needed new steps as I had mangled mine while trying to go rock crawling in the deuce with my offroad club. Our LPO (Leading Petty Officer) had no issues with us using scrap materials to build small little projects. It kept us busy and out of trouble, and also was a form of practice for our metalworking skills.

The battery box was pretty straight forward, measure dimensions, make a box and a pair of supports for the bottom, then rivet it all up. I had found that the original dimensions for the battery box can house 3 of the batteries that I am currently using, so for now there is only two in the box, but when I get to adding a 12 volt system, it will have its own battery nestled in the box with the other two. I had used .063" 6061-T4 aluminum and #5 rivets. It all came together simple enough. In the process of making it I had an airman come over from the tire shop. Aside from his "A" school, he had never done any metal working. He was so excited to help, that he nearly took over and I had to just sit back and supervise. It took only a couple of days to finish, putting it away every now and then when actual work came in, then finally it was glass blasted, treated, primed, riveted together, then I took it home and painted it, and there it sat up until today.

Shortly after came the steps. We had a few sheets of .080 301 half hard stainless that was to be discarded, so I took advantage of that and proceeded to make a pair of steps for the deuce. Being that it is 301 stainless, it could be welded, so keeping that in mind I built it accordingly along with a support in the center. This time I had one of my third classes in the shop that wanted to help. He was very meticulous in his measurements, and I had reminded him that it was a truck and not an F-18, he told me that as far as he is concerned he wants to do the best that he can at everything that he does. I couldn't really argue with that logic, and as a shop supervisor, why would I? Once everything was bent up, it was time to be welded. The guys in the weld shop were kind enough to TIG weld it up for me, and bam, I now have a pair of steps. I took them home and then they received a treatment of prime, paint, nonskid, then more paint on the nonskid.

Now that everything has cured, I decided today was the day to install these new parts, I could tell you guys it looks better, but a picture is worth a thousand words, unfortunately no pictures of the work in progress, pictures in the building tend to be frowned upon.

 

[Boatcarpenter]

Very nice 6104.
BC

 

[srodocker]

nice work should make some to sell!

 

[bones1]

Good work. Wouldn't mind having a couple of those steps.

 

[islandguydon]

I am impressed with your forethought and ingenuity. Good job..

 

[Cleptomaniac]

Looks great!!

 

[wreckerman893]

I like the anti-skid....I have busted my butt more than once slipping off a deuce step.

 

[CobraCDR]

Nice work on that!

 

[boondock]

Very well-done & the no-skid surface is an excellent upgrade.

 

[John S-B]

If you ever make another set of those steps, I'd definitely be interested. Do you have any idea on the price would be?

 

[rattlecan6104]

I would love to build more of these to sell, however I can catch a lot of **** using uncle sam's equipment and material for "monetary gain" I just do not have the tooling to build these on my own. If you have a box and pan brake, TIG welder, and a drill (drill press preferably) it just takes a day of your time to build these steps.

For the nonskid I used the same exact material we used on EA-6B prowlers for all the steps and walkways, its super easy, just scoop some out and roll it on with a roller, apply multiple coats for more aggressive tread. If you are interested in the nonskid these guys are the supplier: http://www.davispaint.com NSN:8010-001417842 and they can be gotten in a variety of colors, the stuff I have is light grey, so it had to be painted.

Should I ever get the tooling available however, I will let you guys know and see who is still interested in a set.

 

[M35A2-AZ]

Nice job!!!

 

[mdmorgan]

From one airframer to another, good job! I was in VFA-137, stationed out of lemoore, ca. I had a buddy in a EA-6B squadron, can't remember which one, he was an AT3 at the time, then again that was almost 10 years ago, his name was jeff whitehead. Probably not even on the navy anymore.

 

[John S-B]

Do you have pics of the bottom of the steps?

 

[Wildchild467]

I like the anti-skid....I have busted my butt more than once slipping off a deuce step.

anti skid stuff is nice. its on the front bumper of my winch truck and tops of the fenders. i dont know why i havent slipped off the bumper and smached my nads yet, but i havent! you'll hear the scream all the way down alabama when i do.

 

[rattlecan6104]

I can take pictures of the bottom of the steps, but they will be installed pics, they are basically a 3 inch strim of the same stainless steel, bent to a 45* and TIG welded in 1 inch strips along the edge.

 

[Ferroequinologist]

That non-skid stuff is the best, unless you're crawling around on your hands and knees, doing 'shellback' lol. (fellow Squids will understand)

Those items look very nice! I have wanted to get a small brake and see what kind of horrible contraptions I could make. lol. First think I though of when I saw those was, 'this guy could tool up and do deuce parts like Midwest Military does m37 and jeep parts when he gets out.'

 

[rattlecan6104]

With the enlisted review board going around, I have been forced to think more and more about jobs outside the navy, and after seeing the responses in this thread it has gotten me thinking that same way. Who knows, I might just get into the business of fabricating deuce parts.

 

[srodocker]

yes please!!! shipping would cost me nothing!

 

[rattlecan6104]

by the way, here are a couple pictures of the underside of the steps installed on the deuce, if I had a wide angle lens I could have gotten it in one shot. Like I mentioned earlier, all the support on the bottom is just an extra piece of stainless bent to a 45 and then tig welded in 1 inch sections to the rest of the step.