Let's talk about how to remove spot welds, because it's more difficult than it first seems! Please help support the channel: www.gofundme.com/restorationf...
Your spot weld cutter looks the same as mine. If you take it out of the chuck and look at the end there should be a screw visible in the centre. That bears on the spring for the spring-loaded centre and can be adjusted to act as a stop. You set the depth of the cut to match the thickness of the sheet you're cutting and prevent you cutting into the panel behind. Adjust it on a piece of scrap the same gauge or set it too shallow on the first spot weld and then slowly adjust it to increase the depth until it just cuts the first sheet. Saves a lot of damage and time. Run the drill slowly.
The angle grinder's faster. Another option, especially if you have access from the other side, and if you're replacing the removed panel, is to simply drill them right out. You can then use the holes to weld through from the other side once your new panel's on.
YOU DON'T NEED TO CUT THROUGH THE FIRST LAYER!!! You just need to cut deep enough that the first layer remains very thin, almost foil like. It will separate simply due to having little strength. :)
Great work and lots of useful tips. And I totally agree: master of craft is somebody that has already made all the possible mistakes once and is able to fix all those mistakes and maybe avoid those in the future. It doesn't matter if you're working with wood or metal; pretty much any mistakes in working can be fixed, it's just the question how much extra work that's going to require.
Excellent; being a "beginner" helps because there are so many things one forgets as they get better/more accomplished. Your using the center punch(I have EXACTLY the same one!) aaand a small drill bit(less than 1.8") to keep the center point from wandering is my favorite trick as well. thanks for taking the time to make this video with very good explanations, bruce
Very nicely explained. I really like that you showed all the pitfalls you encountered. I'm the kind of person that can find more problems than most people knew were possible, so this really helps. Thank you.
I am so glad You made this video because I’m about to tackle spot welds to remove the rusted rear valance from the hatch of my Z and all of your information covered all the questions I had before I needed to tackle this so thank you 🙏
I took out so many spot welds on my 240z restoration as well. After a while I just used an angle grinder w/cutting disc as well as a belt sander to speed things up more.
Another way to remove spot welds is to use a 3" die grinder. The discs are cheaper and typically easier to find than belts for the small belt sanders. You can also get into really tight areas that way. Any way, good luck! I'm going to go watch some mroe of your videos!
Thanks from across the Pond for the video as I'm starting to deal with Spot Welds too - AND the Horrors revealed under whatever it is you're removing. RUST!! PS: I love your 'Jenga' (an old Swahili word) wooden axle stands - 'hadn't thought of doing that either to gain some extra height off the ground. Cheers, Piers in Avebury, Wiltshire
Nothing works better than a 1/2 inch drill bit, one step and finished and you can easily punch holes in new panel and make it look like it's never been replaced,
If yo u are removing a lot of welds on the same thickness of sheet metal welding a washer on to the cutter (at for example 1mm from the tooth edge) stops you from being able to go too deep. It won't help in restricted access but on most panels it makes repetitive removals easy. Place the washer on a socket, insert the cutter squarely and then place 3 or 4 Tack welds around the cutter. Also using WD40 or similar and slowing the cut speed/Rpm will extend the life of the cutter.
You failed to mention the speed at which one will have to replace the cutters on those tools but there is a way to keep that forn from happening as often and that's to use a dedicated "Cutting" oil and use a lot of it. It not only prevents the rapid dulling from heat, it keeps you from breaking off the teeth due to catching on the work piece.
Thanks mate.....I was looking to find a video on removing spot welds. Low and behold i come across your video AND you are working on a 280z as well. Thanks for the tips.....I have everything but the finger sander so i might do some research on that too
Place a wrap of teflon pipe tape around the awl before threading on the bit. Also, use some kind of cutting oil, any oil will work, I've even used plain old olive oil! Oil is oil :)
Great video..do I need to grind the weld on my fence to loosen the bolt attachment to the concrete columns ..thank you have a blessed day and be blessed
Great video. I would recommend you try a cutoff disk verses a belt sander. Sander still has its place but cutoff disk are much quicker. Just another tool in your arsenal. Also, I’d use jack stands verses wood. Much more safer. Again, great video and enjoyed your presentation.
Using a 5 1/2 inch grinding wheel will get to that spot weld a lot faster than a belt sander. What may prove to be the fastest method to get through it would be to use an 1/8” drill bit and then use a step bit (Unibit) to go through it afterwards.
Dang, after watching this my z might not be as solid as I thought it was 😅 good thing I am pulling the motor soon, and going to make the engine bay spiffy. I will definitely keep this in mind. Thanks!
Perhaps a little helpful information there is a product called coroseal it changes rust into a no rust product . It can be slushed around into hard to reach areas and the rust is convert in 24 hours Body shops sell there own version and nun the less it saves you from taking a car apart. I gave your video a thumbs up. Good luck with the car
I learnt its makes it easier if you apply a couple washers before you screw on the cutter for a much deeper cut .you'll get a few mm of cutting teeth past the centre punch with very little pressure applied when cutting
Thanks for lesson. On my way to the junk yard to retrieve a truck fender. Please upgrade the body front support to a 4"x6" at least. The sideways 2"x4" is making me nervous to watch. When you mom bumps the fender human injury or bent fenders could occur wit a fall. Is the wood screwed together?
My cars exhaust has a small rectangular plaque attached to the underside of it that says 'for race use' that I need to remove, It's welded on with a spot in each of the 4 corners. What is the easiest way for me to remove this myself? I don't own lots of tools
Very useful video, and great attitude -- thank you so much! Would you like to add some affiliate links to the products you've shown? I am looking to buy the drill cutter set and the sander you used; would have been a win-win with those links. Thanks
You are using way too high of an rpm speed on your drill. Those spot weld cutters tear through the welds at very low RPM's 500 RPM's is recommended. Any faster and it takes longer and just dulls the cutter. Ask me how i know. haha
Great video mate! Curious to know if you tried the spot weld drill bits? So they’re a drill bit with a flat head basically, advantage it has over the cutter bits are you don’t have to grind down the circle left over. I haven’t used them but planning on trialling them when I start my repairs
I have, but I generally like to use the belt sander, because I found they give me a lot more precise control of preventing damage to the sheet metal on the back side. I tried like 3 different types of spot weld drill bits, I still prefer the belt sander for most cases.
I'm proud of you for throwing yourself into this. Your knowledge has been growing at a fantastic rate. This classic Z is a car worth cutting your teeth on so I have to tip my hat to your proper stewardship.
Just so you know your pliers didn’t get a good grip because their teeth are directional and only bite in one direction. You were using them in the wrong direction. Flip em over and they will work really well for you
Easier way to remove spot welds is to use a uni-bit. I'd recommend spending the $60 on a 1' Klein one, but if you're on a budget there's always the $12 Harbor Freight option. HF one just dulls out quicker and requires more effort to use over time. Uni-bits work best when ran at a relatively high speed, but not necessarily full throttle, and don't apply a lot of pressure. Not much more than the weight of the drill itself.
Hello young dudes, get off your wallets and get a Blair spot weld cutter, the Annular cutters are higher quality and it has an internal stop that keeps you from drilling through. The Ever Necromancing Blue Mule
Maybe I didn't see it properly but it looked like the drill you were using was going in reverse. That would definitely make things go slowly. Just saying. Otherwise, thanks for the info.
