Well after doing some searching in here and on the interwebs. I have decided to jump into the fabrication world and try my hand at some rock sliders. I have a 2010 jku rubicon and decided that this would be a good place to start.
My Question is after removing the stock step bars I am left with the mounting brackets (3). Are these strong enough to include into the new rails,(possibly box them with some extra steel), or should they be scrapped in lieu of some beefier ones.
Here are some cell phone pics of my progress so far. Remember I am just a humble newbie fabricator

 

I would beef up the top rail with some small braces like i did because it is weak and mine flexed bad on the trail until i did it......Good luck

 

Point well taken, did you powder coat or spray on liner?

 

Some progress if anyone is interested....
I have learned that I suck at welding but nothing a little (a lot) of grinding cant fix.

 

not to bash but if thats flux welding id recommend going and having them welded with a gas welder bucause its not going to withstand the abuse trust me i learned the hard way many years ago with that building frames because its all i had until i got my gas hook up or if your welder has a hook up for gas id use it. just a suggestion i learned the same way your learning by jumping in with both feet now i have mig tig and plasma cutters and went through the hobart school so enjoy welding is a blast and i enjoy it very much

 

So is the flux dirtying up the welds? Is that what makes them inferior to gas? seems like its penetrating well, am I on the right thought process here? My current welder doesn't have a gas hook up

 

Lol, not true. Flux is just fine, it actually penetrates better than gas just not as pretty. Practice makes perfect! Use some scrap, watch some videos and burn some wire.

 

Well I guess there is only 1 way to find out... Hit the trail.

 

Well you don't have to believe me. Google is your friend.

 

Little update, got the one side all done today except for a second coat of bedliner. Probably going to tie in the ends to the frame also. But anyway here is a pic.