I suppose at times you have in some form been perusing the veritable maelstrom of aftermarket products for your off road vehicle. You may think to yourself, "Gee golly I wish I had some of those nice bumpers, a pair of those nice sliders, or possibly that lovely slanty tire carrier contraption" You may even save your hard won dollars for one or more of these things.

Now, most of the time, when  you spend your little dollars on these type products, you're pretty happy. "Ahhh, I am happy" you say.  Other times though, the products have an array of negatives that make the purchase a little less enjoyable. 

The product you bought; may have cost a bit much, have a funny angle to it, attachments that you don't quite like, or inversely, may not have that attachment you wanted. It may in fact not exist! While that clears up all previous problems, it leaves you where you started, without a fun product.

'Tis a quandary...

I am filled with solutions though! Or rather, a longwinded story about getting myself, and hopefully you, some tube doors for your 73 to 97/91 GM truck.

Yes the solution to your problems is in fabrication, or more specifically YOU learning how to fabricate lovely metal bits for the truck of yours.

I thought I'd start out with the second project I did, (if you don't count burning holes in steel and crying, then throwing the pieces across the highway in frustration as a project) that being, a set of tube doors. 

Why would you want tube doors? Well, because regular doors are heavy, 80 pounds versus 30 for a tube door. Also, you can't see through the stock ones. As an added plus they let you keep an eye on where your truck is going, and what is about to smash into the side of it. Driving around in a tall truck with no solid doors on is comparable to riding in a top down convertible, and who doesn't like that? No one! That's who!

1, 2, 3, let's jam!

Tools Part 001 : Overview & Welders

First we need to lay out what tools you are going to need.

All of the following tool spiels take for granted that you don't have any of these tools. Some of you may have all or most of the following already.

You are going to need to get yourself a welder. There's no real way around it, you can't use wood glue on this one, nor carpet tacks.

I recommend, if you are buying on a budget, a stick electrode welder. They run around $200 and are simple and reliable. They are a bit hard to learn on, but once you have it down, you can do some really nice stuff, and most of the standard models can weld up to a 1/4" with no special processes. You will need a 220v outlet for it though. Check the old garage firstly.

My first welder was a Lincoln AC225, a great unit, and a fetching red theme too!Wonky eh?

For a bit more cash, you can procure a 110v Mig welder. These run a bit more, up around $500 or so, not including a gas cylinder. It's nice to be able to plug into 110v, but you will need a good solid outlet rated for the welder. You can buy some welders like this with a gas kit ready to go, so you will never have to chip slag again! The thickness is limited on the 110v jobs when running shielding gas. I was just able to get decent welds on .120 wall. Even so, you can switch to flux core wire and weld up to 1/4" with proper prep, but there is that slag problem to deal with.

The Mig would be that smaller number on the gray cabinet. Magnificent eh? It compliments the stick electrode well.It's a Lincoln SP135T and I just am tickled with it. Not literally tickled. You know what I mean...Oops! I showed you a door before you were ready. Don't get all excited!

The next step up, if you don't want to venture into REALLY expensive equipment, is a 220v Mig. You can usually find a nice one for $800 or so, again, not including a gas cylinder. This is the real option for you if you plan on doing a lot of fabrication. I should have gone with this in the first place, but oh well. 

Finally, you can just borrow whatever welder you can find, a neighbors, a friends, or a schools. Try and get a good one, and make sure it can weld 1/8th".

Anyway, I should say, after giving you this small welder explanation, that I cannot teach you how to weld in a few paragraphs. You will need to practice. Also keep in mind the explanation of welders was short, and to the best of my knowledge, correct, but not all encompassing. I suggest independently researching your options. I am happy with both of my welders, but you may not be, with the same equipment that is.

I also would like to not I take no responsibility for you shocking yourself, making steam come of your head, burning your hands, setting your clothes on fire, or cutting your hands to bits. I have done all these, I suggest you follow the manual that comes with your welder to ensure that you do not follow my path. You will also NEED a good helmet. I don't want to see anyone trying to make a bumper and ending up blind from watching the arc, it hurts, and it hurts badly. Again, refer to every manual that comes with your welder. Lincoln includes a very nice set with their products, as I am sure other manufacturers do also.

Tools Part 002 : The Other Stuff

The next thing you will need, is an angle grinder. The 4.5 inch wonder tool. The grinding discs can smooth down weld beads, the wire brush can knock slag off like no ones business, the cutting wheels can buzz right through metal, and the sanding discs can smooth everything over very nice.

I do not recommend using an angle grinder with a cutting disc for all of your main cutting. It takes forever, and it takes a lot of discs. If you have the time and not the money though, it's an option, because you will NEED an angle grinder. I have two presently. One is a very nice $45 Craftsman unit, the other in a, get this, $5 warehouse type model. The first has held up very well, and the second, believe it or not, does well for what I use it for. I have two grinders so I can run a wire brush on the cheaper one to brush off slag, and a grinding disc on the other to do the manly work.

Well, there you are, my grinder, and the other tools I will be mentioning.

Drill... you are going to need a drill. You should already have a drill. If a person has one power tool, I bet it's a drill. The only holes required for the main door, will be 3/8ths, so you can get away with a 3/8ths chuck drill well, not that it won't take bigger bits.. Any old drill will do basically. 

If you have the money, pick up a drill press. I picked up a cheap model, and since I am running it at it's lowest RPM to cut steel, it works surprisingly well. Cutting oil helps too.

To accent the drill, you'll want to buy one of those 3/8ths bits I mentioned earlier. Find one rated for metal. Masonry bits may look cooler, but they won't cut into steel too well.

Next!

Chopsaw. I tried to get by with a reciprocating saw at first, but that gave me cuts about as straight as...... a butterflies flight path? Hmmmm, metaphor well ran dry. Anyway, you will need a chop saw if you plan on any metal work. I bought a very cheap one at first, and I got what I paid for. I ended up throwing it in the corner and spending quite a bit on a DeWalt model. It has not failed to cut anything I throw at it yet. In summation, buy a chopsaw and don't skimp.

There's my chopsaw. Pay attention to the warning on the wall, disregard the fireworks and other items. Be careful!

Don't think that you don't need a reciprocating saw though, it is a very useful tool in off road modification, but that's another story.

Anyway, right now you are pretty much set for tools. You will need the various small parts for the welder and power tools such as blades, discs, brushes and whatnot. 

You may want a few c clamps. They are very handy for welding. Also, a bench grinder and a bench vice are handy for smoothing up small parts.

As a last comment I will describe my setup when I made most of the doors. First I set up a table or work on a floor fairly close to my welders. Most welders will have cables of around 12 feet, so you can't wander around too much. Next I ran a heavy gauge electrical extension cord from an outlet and attached a three way splitter. On the ends of the splitter I had one grinder with a wire brush for knocking slag off, one grinder with a fine grit disc to smooth down the surface welds, and a drill or reciprocating saw on the other. That's about all you need for the main build.

First off, steel. Most of those who are reading this, I would assume, have been to a lumberyard. Great place right? Well there's another place called a steelyard that deals in the same way but with metals, and usually has a welding shop in house. Look in the phone book. Ask anyone you notice with a large amount of steel where they got it from. In any case, find a local steel source.

This is steel, in case you were unaware what it looked like.

Depending on how you build your doors, you may be dealing with a lot of different sizes and shapes of steel, but for the basic setup, there are only two types you are going to need. Three if you feel like capping the ends of your tube.

First is 2" x 2" x .125" tube, the bread and butter of most of my fabricating work so far. 11 gauge (.120) in the same dimensions will work fine too. I'd imagine you're going to need at least 8 foot per door, but extra is always fun, so why not buy a whole 24 foot stick!

The other pieces you are going to need for the basic tube door are two 24" long 2" wide pieces of flat stock for the doors' flanges. The last time I made doors I used .250 inch thick, but I actually managed to warp that, so you may want to go a bit thicker.

If you plan on capping your tube ends, but a foot of 1.75" flat stock in any thickness .120 or over.

Now that we have our little hands full of steel, it's time to scamper on down to the local hardware store and get yourself some mounting hardware. Get one of those nice brown bags, and find out where they keep the 3/8th's bolts. You will need eight bolts for both doors, along with sixteen washers and eight lock washers. I usually get about thirty seven extra of everything, because you know you are going to lose half. Oh, and eight nuts too... I'll refrain from lewd jokes...

While you are out at the hardware store, get a few cans of good primer, and a few cans of whatever fetching color you like. I recommend flat black, it goes with everything!

I Believe It's Time To Make Some Doors

Ok, if you read everything through and have procured all your materials, it's time to make some tube doors.

First, take off your doors. They weight about 80 pounds, so don't go dropping them. You may want to try and scribe around the hinges so you can align them properly when you feel like putting them back on.

Next, take the two foot long piece of flat stock you bought and clamp it onto the door hinge with a c clamp or locking pliers. Make sure the outer four holes of the hinges are covered and centered, and that the flat stock is relatively straight up and down. Wherever the top of the stock is, will be the top of your door. If you inspect the photo a few paragraphs down, the position indicated puts the top of the door at a comfortable arm rest height. Make sure there is at least 2" of stock above the top of the top hinge.

(Note that the hinges may distort when clamping or when bolting the final tube door on, I have not had any problems because of this, but be aware.)

Once you have it situated, mark the holes on the hinges with a permanent marker onto the steel. The holes in the hinges are square for adjustment, so just try and fill the whole square in.

This is the only picture I have of this part of the process. It's from the first set of doors I made. At the time I thought it was a swell idea to use angle instead of flat stock. It does add a nice look, but there's a lot of grinding and tricky welding involved to get it to work. Anyway, that's what the bar flange looks like bolted onto the hinges. I used, as far as I can remember anyway, 1.5" bolts with the head of the bolt towards the front of the truck with the layering being: bolt, washer, hinge, flange, washer, lock washer, nut. I'm getting ahead of myself though, we are not going to weld these together on the truck.

Now that you have a marked piece of flat stock, fire up that drill with the 3/8" bit and drill out those holes. A center punch helps out a lot with this process, keeping the drill from wandering about. Use a slow drill speed. If you have a hand drill, try setting it's speed control very low. If you have a drill press, knock the speed down as far as you can. Seems proper cutting speed for this specific application is around 1050 rpm, as referenced here, but usually, the slower the better.

Once you have your flange made, and have marked which end is top or bottom, cut yourself a 36" length of your 2" x 2" tube.

At this point I will have assumed you to have taught yourself how to weld, or have been taught. Don't let this be your first try and have yourself melt the flange you worked so hard on to junk.

Proceed to weld the tube to the top of the flange. The end of the flange should completely cover the hole on the end of the tube and be flush on both the side and the top. Make sure to tack weld the two pieces together first to prevent distortion.

I'll let you in on a little secret I discovered. If you want to cap the end of the top bar, cut a piece of that 1.75" flat stock I told you to buy into a square, being 1.75" x 1.75". Round off the corners with your grinder. Take a 3" long piece of tape, masking or duct, and cover half your square. Now you should be able to drop your little rounded square into the open end of the tube and fold the tape over the sides of the tube. Now that the cap wont go falling down the tube, you can tack two corners of the cap, take the tape off and tack the other corners, then weld away. Be careful with duct tape though, it will melt/catch on fire if you get it too hot. I suppose masking would too though.

There, I drew you a nice little example picture. I'm sure helpful eh?

Ok, now you have the basic main structure of the door. If you feel your welds are good enough, you can grind them all down flush with the material. It's VERY easy to grind too much, and you should really use 24 grit sanding discs instead of grinding wheels. It'll take longer but be better in the end. I have, in my less experienced days, ground material very thin trying to make it look smooth. And I suspect if you are welding your own tube doors for your off road truck, you feel that function comes before looks.

Well, now that you have the main structure down, you can weld you're little heart out with the rest of the 2" x 2" tube you have. I recommend that you keep it simple, another 36" bar ran parallel to the bottom one, welded between the bottom two bolt holes, and a section on the end connecting the two into a giant square. Dash simple eh?

As mentioned above, the amazing rectangle door of doom!

There are many different ways you could make your doors.

Anyway, get to it! Get the door made! The process is the same for both sides.

Finish up with a coat of primer and paint and you're ready to go.

	Man, you really can't see out of that very well can you?
	Ahhh, what all the work has been about! You can see the ground now! And all that stuff you just drove over!

---

Bad News Coming : Latches

I am sorry to say, I cannot advise you on how to make the latches for your doors. The reason is, I haven't yet come up with a smooth, dependable, tight, and namely, safe way to latch these shut. I have tried pins, spring loaded lathes, spring loaded pins, and a few other things, but all I can really offer right now is suggestions, not plans. 

You may want to cobble together something that will use the factory striker. You may want to replace the striker with bolt (1/2" coarse thread) and use that, or use it to bolt something else on.

Here are a few different things I've tried.

 I will, when I have the latches worked out, update you to as how they are to be made, but for now you are on your own. 

I do have a general idea of what I am going to do though, so keep your eyes open for an update.

Good News Coming : Attachments

Here's a little fun note. As you progress in your fabricating adventures, you will gain the skill and imagination to make a bunch of whiz bang attachments for your doors. I have, as of now, made: mirrors, cupholders, door shields to keep your junk from rolling out from under doors, and light mounting tabs.

See! Cupholders!

---

Epilogue

Well, there you have it, a very simple primer on how to make yourself a set of tube doors. I know it was a bit open ended, but that's how fabricating new parts is, it never comes out exact, that's why it's fun. Adapt on the fly.

GO FORTH AND WELD !

(some extra pictures that may be helpful)