Best Spot weld cutting method

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Car15

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If you have done much body work you have cut through spot welds and I would like to here what everybody's opinion is I'm getting ready to do a lot and plan on using the old cutter but they tend to cut both pieces easily . I like these for forums because you get a lot of good ideas from different people and sometimes they're so great and simple.
 
Best method I have found is to buy some center drills (Harbor Freight) then center drill all the spot weld you want to remove then buy a spot weld remover (Body Paint shop). Once you have a good center drill hole in the (middle of the) spot weld you can use the spot weld remover to drill out the spot weld. The trick is to clean the spot weld area real good so you can see what you're doing then use the center drill to put a hole as close as possible to the center of the spot weld. Once you have the center drilled hole in place you can use the spot weld remover to drill out the spot weld. This process requires a little patience!! Don't drill too fast (low speed) and you'll break the spot weld remover. Use some cutting fluid and your spot weld remover will last a long time. If you try and hurry you'll break the spot weld remover. I've disassembled a whole Mopar this way and sold all the parts individually.

Treblig
 
automatic center punch and HF cutters did a great job for me. Clean em up with a sand disk on a 4.5" grinder.
 
Treblig said:
Best method I have found is to buy some center drills (Harbor Freight) then center drill all the spot weld you want to remove then buy a spot weld remover (Body Paint shop). Once you have a good center drill hole in the (middle of the) spot weld you can use the spot weld remover to drill out the spot weld. The trick is to clean the spot weld area real good so you can see what you're doing then use the center drill to put a hole as close as possible to the center of the spot weld. Once you have the center drilled hole in place you can use the spot weld remover to drill out the spot weld. This process requires a little patience!! Don't drill too fast (low speed) and you'll break the spot weld remover. Use some cutting fluid and your spot weld remover will last a long time. If you try and hurry you'll break the spot weld remover. I've disassembled a whole Mopar this way and sold all the parts individually.

Treblig
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I agree with the above post. Drill a pilot hole as close to center of the spot weld as you can. I use Blair (brand)
spot weld cutters,. They come in 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" cutters that attach to an arbor. I use a 1/2" air drill as
it has a slower rpm and more power than a 3/8" drill. Buy extra pins and cutters as they will break. Try to drill
as square to metal you are drilling to prevent breakage. I also use Irwin double ended 1/8" drill bits for the pilot
hole. They seem to last the longest, even though they are made in China now like everything else.
 
Lee Robinson said:
I agree with the above post. Drill a pilot hole as close to center of the spot weld as you can. I use Blair (brand)
spot weld cutters,. They come in 1/4", 5/16" and 3/8" cutters that attach to an arbor. I use a 1/2" air drill as
it has a slower rpm and more power than a 3/8" drill. Buy extra pins and cutters as they will break. Try to drill
as square to metal you are drilling to prevent breakage. I also use Irwin double ended 1/8" drill bits for the pilot
hole. They seem to last the longest, even though they are made in China now like everything else.
Click to expand...
Excellent details but the reason I use center drills is because they are designed for heavy duty use and don't break very easily. I'm a machinist and have used various methods to accomplish these types of problems. You can use regular drill bits but they break much easier than center drills. I guess it's just a personal option???

treblig
 
Treblig has the method! I use a Blair cutter too. I have used many versions of the economy cutters but the Blair cutter will cut MANY more welds and faster without meltdown.
 
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Never had to use anything else works great and very controllable.
 
These are spot weld cutters I use. I got mine locally at an auto paint store. If you're not in a hurry you can get them from ebay a lot cheaper. If you go slow (low RPM) and use cutting oil one single cutter will last a very long time if you pre-drill the spot weld in the center. I usually have two drills, one set up with the center drill and another set up with a 1/8" drill bit. After I get the center drill started I switch to the 1/8" drill and drill all the way through. After I've done all that I switch to the spot weld cutter and finish the job. You can do it anyway you like!!

4× Double Sided 3/8" Rotary Spot Weld Cutter Remover Drill Bits Cut Welds Kit | eBay

Treblig
 
I’ve used spot weld cutters. They work ok, but when I cut part of my trunk floor out knowing it wouldn’t be reused, a right angle grinder worked wonderful
 
pauly said:
I’ve used spot weld cutters. They work ok, but when I cut part of my trunk floor out knowing it wouldn’t be reused, a right angle grinder worked wonderful
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If you don't need to save the piece you are removing, grind the spot welds with a 1/4" wide grinding
wheel. A thin cut off wheel or plasma cutter works for removing unwanted metal.
 
You guys are working and thinking too hard on this, drill an 1/8 hole thru the entire panel, and drill a 1/4 hole just in the panel you want to remove, knock the junk panel off with a air chisel.
Mark the new panel from the back side with a sharpie, drill another 1/8 hole and the new panel and burn it in with a mig.
 
Body men at work use a mini belt sander with coarse grit if they are removing a damaged panel that s spot welded on. Works awesome
 
If you don't plan to save the panel, grind it at spot welds. Saves a TON of time over cutting individual welds.

Saving the panel, a pilot drill bit (Halifax's example) works along with a spotweld cutter. I've used Blair and HF cutters. Either work just fine. Drilling a 1/8" hole or marking a larger style punch mark is good to keep the pilot from walking. Once you get the feel and timing, cutting through one panel is a breeze without disturbing too much of the secondary panel.
 
crackedback said:
If you don't plan to save the panel, grind it at spot welds. Saves a TON of time over cutting individual welds.

Saving the panel, a pilot drill bit (Halifax's example) works along with a spotweld cutter. I've used Blair and HF cutters. Either work just fine. Drilling a 1/8" hole or marking a larger style punch mark is good to keep the pilot from walking. Once you get the feel and timing, cutting through one panel is a breeze without disturbing too much of the secondary panel.
Click to expand...
 
I would think a center punch would be the way to go so there is no hole to fill
 
Car15 said:
I would think a center punch would be the way to go so there is no hole to fill
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How are You planning to install the new sheetmetal? They also make seam splitters, like a heavy tapered blade that has a slug shoulder, get it into a gap and drive it along
with a hammer after grinding/drilling the welds weak.
 
Killer6 said:
How are You planning to install the new sheetmetal? They also make seam splitters, like a heavy tapered blade that has a slug shoulder, get it into a gap and drive it along
with a hammer after grinding/drilling the welds weak.
Click to expand...
I'm doing a mini tub on this project so I'm reusing the inner wheel well
 
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