Shooting Hatch design?

Hi guys, after some designs for cheap shooting hatches for my land rover discovery 1 to turn it into the ultimate foxing machine. I see a lot of people on here suggesting boat hatches but cant find any big enough, 550 x 450 seems to be the biggest ive found and that's without the aperture for the hatch so I wouldn't fit my shoulders through. I don't want to spend a great deal. Any guides or advice appreciated.
 
in out old disco I made a hatch using a 45 gallon drum,the one with the removable lid,I cut it down to about 6 inch then had 2 plates lazer cut to fir perfectly this was the most expense of £25,they came with the holes correctly spaces for us just to drill through the roof,
the top ring I welded to the drum,make sure you can weld to a good standard as the drum is quite thin,also watch the for heat distorsion.
once its all welded mark the roof and cut the hole out,driil and bolt in place using the other ring to clamp it all togeather
perfect shap as theres no corners to dig in your side,comfortable and great to shoot out of,we have also made a bench now for the roof which makes shooting off the bidpod even better
 
in out old disco I made a hatch using a 45 gallon drum,the one with the removable lid,I cut it down to about 6 inch then had 2 plates lazer cut to fir perfectly this was the most expense of £25,they came with the holes correctly spaces for us just to drill through the roof,
the top ring I welded to the drum,make sure you can weld to a good standard as the drum is quite thin,also watch the for heat distorsion.
once its all welded mark the roof and cut the hole out,driil and bolt in place using the other ring to clamp it all togeather
perfect shap as theres no corners to dig in your side,comfortable and great to shoot out of,we have also made a bench now for the roof which makes shooting off the bidpod even better

I don't quite understand so you have a circular hatch. What were the lazer cut plates for? Do you have a picture so I can grasp it lol.
 
an aftermarket sunroof from the scrappers, fitted over the rear load area, means you can remove the glass when needed, and stand in the hole.
when not reqd it looks ok.
 
I've tried to find pictures but can't so will try and explain, Defender 110 with a large rectangle of roof cut out, then edged with angle to form an upward facing lip, a hatch was made from 1.5mm sheet by an engineering firm to cover the hole (fit snugly over lip), some waterproof strip and four twist handles (I believe they were boat handles, looked like the catch from sash windows but bigger) fitted front/back/left/right internally secured it all
 
simple to do just mitre some 25mm x 25mm angle to the size you want so the bottom edge faces out and you have the other edge upright. get a firm to fold some 2mm thin sheet in either steel or ally to the the desired height if you ask them to cross fold the top it will hold structure when driving around and not flex.
fit internal hinges and lock and then sit on the roof and mark up for drilling and cutting use stainless button caps and sikoflex and you are done
 
Does the angle have to be mitred? Couldn't I just weld it as a box down the upward facing lip and then once pushed into place and screwed in seal around and put the lid on.
 
no you can do it that way if you wish it will be yours and easier for you not to, atb wayne
 
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