PART 1 JEEP CJ5 SEAT FRAME BUILD | Aluminum Willys Seat Frames

Welcome Back! In this two part series, I start the fabrication of the driver's side seat frame for my 1957 Willys CJ5. For this build I decided to use some 6061 aluminum flatbar. I would like to keep the weight down... plus I need to practice my aluminum TIG welding skills. For this seat, the aluminum is 1/2" thick X 2" wide. I used my portable bandsaw to make some relief cuts in the aluminum so I could create as many simple bends as possible.
This 1/2" thick aluminum is WAY overkill for this project. In fact, the thickness made it difficult to weld. My Everlast TIG welder maxes out at 185 amps. And the small #9 torch I typically use was not able to handle the high amperage. Adding a little helium to my mix would have helped, but I didn't want to buy another bottle for just this small project. I was able to make it work with a larger #17 torch and some preheating.
The seats I chose for this project are from Bestop. They are the Trailmax II Classic Lo-Back Vinyl seat. The color is called Spice.

Видео PART 1 JEEP CJ5 SEAT FRAME BUILD | Aluminum Willys Seat Frames канала milkcrate82