They must leave a huge hole to weld up.
Best way to separate pinch welds
- Thread starter Jayman62
- Start date
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I dont use it on where a panel will be reused unless from the back side. Like on a quarter panel or bedside. Grind just the outer skin on the weld put the new panel on. No holes to weld up besides your normal spot welds or plug welds. I only use drill bits when i cant get this in the area
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Okay. Jayman62 said he needs to save both panels.
After you center punch the spot welds you use this spot weld cutter. They have one with a small pilot drill bit or one with a spring loaded pointed pin.
I like and use the springed pin style. Due to not having a hole through both pieces so you can save a panel if you want to spot weld it instead if mig welding.
They are made by Blair. you can buy them at advanced auto parts. I included a link below. They work great. The spring center punch lets you center punch on the lightest metal and on pieces that are flimsy without destroying it with a hammer.
Watch the video.
Premium Spotweld Cutter with Pilot Pin
Buy 3m 01991 wheels and watch them destroy spot welds. Only good for the side you're not using. Belt sanders are great but the 3m wheel will outpace them all day.
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
I definitely agree with you here, ive done a lot of work with these belt sanders and its one of my favorite tools, i use the $90 harbor freight Baxter one and it feels exactly the same as the $250+ matco ones ive used in the past, and its been going strong for about 2 years now, and the purple 3m cubatron belts are hands down the best ive ever used, they seem to last way longer than the orange norton blaze belts
Thats a good looking cutter for 30 bucks.
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
But to put my 2¢ in, i just use a standard drill bit and only drill through one layer, its kind of something you get a feel for overtime, i always use the smallest drill bit i think will work because you can always go up a size if the panels dont wanna split, and center punch because the bits like to walk on the hard weld, then i take a plain thin putty knife and hammer and split the panels apart ,its best to tap light and try and go at it from as many angles as you can, and it doesn't matter if i have a hole in the good panel because thats just a hole to do a plug weld in, a lot of the factory plug welds on my car kind of suck and they really dont take much to separate anyways, strength in numbers i guess... Lol
I have every tool known to man to separate spot-welds. Your procedure is the the time tested minimalist best procedure. I like to sharpen the long edge of a quality putty knife.
If you have a big budget, the CP zip gun is a indispensable air chisel.
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
I rarely allow myself to use an air chisel because i somehow always end up with a slip here or there and making more work for myself lol, but they definitely make some jobs easier i used the drill method on my wheel house removal and the great thing about it is i was able to drill all the way through in a few places so that way i have alignment holes for when i put the inner wheelhouse back in after i finish widening it
NICE. The CP zip gun is very forgiving. It hits hard but the trigger lets you deliver them one stroke at a time. I have custom ground bits. Some of them very sleek and sharp. Ya, it goes against the grain of " chisel " principles but it works for me.
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
Ive only ever used the big snap on ones so i think thats where i went wrong, and that was for floor removal on VW busses, hundreds of spot welds on thin crossmembers, they are more or less a one handed jack hammer with two modes, off and destroy, the ones i used at least, a good controllable trigger is the most important thing on any bodywork tool, maybe one day ill add a good zip gun to my collection but for now ill be on the hunt for putty knives to sharpen lol
I agree with you. I rarely use the air hammer unless im cutting junk metal out of my way. After you either grind or drill the spot weld you dont really need it. Like body person said. Putty knife or even a gasket scraper and a light tap and they pop easy when done right
I agree, I use a dynabrade. Not budget friendly but its light years better than the china ones. Made in the USA and the quality is amazing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000KFW95E/?tag=fabo03-20
I did mine a little different. I kept the wheel house to floor welds intact and separated at the floor to frame and trimmed the floor off. Sorry getting of track.
And you would have never done that with a belt sander. Nice Job.
Dave_J
Well-Known Member
I bought 5 spotweld cutter bits from Eastwood years ago, still have 3 as I miss-placed the first 2.
I center punch the weld then drill through both pannels with a 3/16 bit. Then drill out the bad side. I have no problem rewelding the small hole using a thin copper backing block.
I have also used my plasma cutter on welds that I can get the head on to. A quick blip and the weld is gone.
I center punch the weld then drill through both pannels with a 3/16 bit. Then drill out the bad side. I have no problem rewelding the small hole using a thin copper backing block.
I have also used my plasma cutter on welds that I can get the head on to. A quick blip and the weld is gone.
Once you use a blair spring loaded spot weld drill they are the best I have used. They make all different diameters and only cut around the weld on one piece not through the center of both pieces of the the weld. Real slow rpms and it cuts like a mill bit. You save both pieces.
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dbphemi
Well-Known Member
i’d try leaving it attached, you know it’s welds are good. if not just use a spot weld cutter. it’s going to take a long time but it builds character lol!
I have a similar situation, only I can't get to the "scrap" side due to little clearance. I have a set of cut off truck bed sides and I can't get in under the upper lip to grind that portion away...... was gonna go at them with something like a Blair rotabroach on both the donor and recipient..... unless someone has a better way to do this.
Id liek to seperate them as if "everything" was wanting to be reused. bot on the bed I am rebuilding and on the inner bedsides on the cutoffs.....
Id liek to seperate them as if "everything" was wanting to be reused. bot on the bed I am rebuilding and on the inner bedsides on the cutoffs.....
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
Try and take some pictures of the area, it will help shine some light on your situation
The replacement, cut off bedsides are ~30 miles out, it'll be a minute before I'm ready to retrieve them/ but they are complete cutoffs from an 8', 80s D150. They cut thru the front wall and all the way down the length of the bed, "just" inboard of the wheel wells. Other then drilling from the "inside" of the bed towards the outer wall, I know no other way to seperate the upper lip (where the stake pockets are) from the inner fenderwells and be able to use them, than to drill out every spot weld.....
Mine probably aren't "bad enough" to replace complete bedsides/ could get away with patch panels over the wheel wells.... but the PO was one who would scrape the sides of an airplane hanger pulling in/backing out..... and I have what I have here, which are the replacement full bedsides rustfree from Georgia already.... and Ive done the "patch panel" thing before and been disappointed. looked GREAT for ~2 years then it started rusting exactly at my seam.... so if I do complete bedsides, I won't have to worry about that.
Mine probably aren't "bad enough" to replace complete bedsides/ could get away with patch panels over the wheel wells.... but the PO was one who would scrape the sides of an airplane hanger pulling in/backing out..... and I have what I have here, which are the replacement full bedsides rustfree from Georgia already.... and Ive done the "patch panel" thing before and been disappointed. looked GREAT for ~2 years then it started rusting exactly at my seam.... so if I do complete bedsides, I won't have to worry about that.
Blaine Davis
Well-Known Member
Sounds like you all ready have the right idea of how to do it, I would definitely drill out the spot welds like you are saying, its probably less work than doing a patch and your gonna have a much better end result that will last, in this case if you have the whole panel might as well use the whole thing and make it count, and if your careful you can just drill through the bedside layer and leave the inner structure more or less unharmed, (that is if I'm imagining this right in my head) do the same to separate your replacements and then you'll have holes for plug welds, the spot weld cutters work ok but for me the hole they leave is a little on the big side so i just end up using a sharp drill bit and a light touch and an old putty knife, with practice you'll hardly leave a mark on the bottom flange
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