playing around with a new spot welder I bought and dug out a old spot welder and got it up and working. want these spot welders for some future projects and can make the work a lot easier
45+years ago I had a120 volt clamp type, I think I only used it twice. I still had a torch and brazing patches ,no mig for another20 years .I was not doing anywhere near the kind of repairs and builds you do..sure are fun to watch,gets me up and out there and I thank you for that.
I have the identical 60s Canadian made spot welder. Mine came out of surplus from the GM Oshawa truck plant. I love this thing! I use it for the exact thing you are floor pans and rocker panels. Having the ability to spot weld from one side makes it so much more useful
Ha ha rolls canhardly bless you Fitzee my dear old dad used to say that brought back some great memories. Super video my friend really enjoyed it , im teaching myself to weld at the moment and I’m also in the market for a few different welding devices so this was truly a gold video for me thanks dude 👍
1977 i bought a Lenco Panel Spotter. Playing and playing , like everithing you practice enough. I did awesome repairs on rust. I cut clean the hole and treat inside with any rust preventive primer , plus treat the patch. I saw repairs, last forever. I bought a nozzles kit to weld regular 1/4 washers to pull dents on cars. Is a very versatile machine.
I've seen the little (modern) one in use, but that big old beast looks just the ticket for most things anyone would ever want to spot weld. Looks a lot more versatile - and talk about quick! Loved the finish it gave too....and you're right - the spot welds look way more factory and original than a smooth surface. Glad I am not the only one who goes looking for them on vehicles I am interested in! The old unit reminds me of an arc (ark? haha) welder my Dad had many years ago. It was old when he bought it back in the 80s and she hummed like a substation when he flicked the switch on the transformer (the 'old school' version of the modern inline RCD units that take the hit and cut the power in an overload or short circuit scenario). It could happily weld quarter and three-eighth inch plate and although it was on a dedicated trolley, she wasn't something you moved without thinking hard about whether you really HAD to. Damn thing weighed a good 120kg easy, I reckon. Did its job well for many years, that thing. Dad built a boat trailer with it for a mate of his who owned a 32' Pelin Topaz. He used a mix of three-eighth inch angle iron, C-channel and I-beam to do it. This trailer was the bane of my existence when I mowed our lawn, because his mate sold the boat (without telling Dad, who was still working on the trailer for it) and then went overseas for several years....so it got put out to pasture so to speak. It was the cause of many bruised shins, orange-tinged sheets (when I pushed it too close to the washing line) and caused our neighbour to have to take a trip to the local A&E unit to get stitches after a number of cold brews with the old man one night. In the pitch-black darkness of winter, he forgot it was parked between the garage and his gate in the fence and he went face first over the rear of it....but it could have been a lot worse - and just made my job of mowing the lawn harder because there was one less place I could park it! It was finally sold after 8 years sitting in various places around the lawn and as testament to the quality of the welding, it was towed all the way to its new home - some 120 miles away over winding hills in the country. Anyway, thanks for showing us those spot welders, Tony. I know of a few places on one of my vehicles where either one of them would be useful. Might have to look into that..... All the best!
Thanks,I have one identical to that one.bought from my wife’s nephew when he was selling all his late father’s things out of his body shop, never really played around with it. Now I know how to use it, thanks again for another useful video
Rolls-Cunardly, my dad’s favourite brand. He never bought one as we lived on top of a hill, but that is probably a good thing as I hear they suffered from poor rocker panel integrity.
Another great video. Keep it up your excellent work. Some tips to improve the quality and make professional spot welds with the ProPoint machine. For 18 gauge ( 1.2mm ) mild steel or stainless sheet metal the recommended electrode tip diameter is 0.216 in ( 5.5mm ) and has to be perfect flat, not rounded, with smooth surface and clean. To make good quality spot welds you have to make the welding electrodes to be COAXIAL to each other when the 2 metal sheets are between the electrodes & the proper clamping force is applied. To achieve this setting the factory supplied upper tong end has to be bent more until the 2 mounted electrodes get coaxial. It is obvious that for every thickness of sheet metal you will have to use different diameter / length welding tips & set up their alignment individually. Using copper spacers between the welding tips and tongs makes this setting easier. Sparking is not normal and could be dangerous ( proper protective gear is a must ). During welding it is not allowed angling of the clamped materials, The welded materials must have smooth surfaces in the welded areas, to be clean, free of paint , rust, grease, etc.....I recommend to make sample welds first , twist and peel test them using a wise and pliers and check if the proper welding nugget is formed between the electrodes. The goal in resistance spot welding is to melt the 2 or more sheet metals placed between the two electrodes and fuse them together. If the heat is generated between the two mating surfaces of the welding tips and sheet metals, due to dirt, oxidation, rust, rough finish, no proper welding nugget will be generated. On a good quality spot weld the sheet metal mating surface with the tip has very little discoloration from heat and should remain flat. It is important also to use dielectric grease on the welding tip’s thread, otherwise it can fuse to the arm due to the very high welding current. Adding a timer is also a must for good quality spot welds. There are timers with welding time compensation. These are monitoring the welding current and adjusting the welding time accordingly. I managed to spot weld aluminium sheets too with my 220V ProPoint.
Hey thanks for you're reply Matt, & so fast too, cheers mate, hopefully fitzee see,s these comments on here, & he will do a follow up video of the inside of this old girl,, the old saying over here is just because it's new doesn't mean it is better, the old stuff is simple & more reliable, cheers again Matt.
I worked to repair rust and quickie paint jobs to make a living in the 80"s and bought a Lenco spot welder and made me a lot of money repairing rust but it was hard work and the handles of the welder got so hot you needed heavy welder gloves to use. The sound made good memories. and I still have the welder.
My brothers and I bought a Lenco Mark II years ago to repair rust on our cars in the 70’s. I still have it. We would put a line of welds in a patch panel. Then I would use a propane torch and melt lead solder on the edge. It would soak in the solder just like soldering a copper pipe. It would seal the joints between the welds to keep moisture from getting in from behind and popping the bondo off the patched panel.
Sir, you are the best maestro I have seen teach in years. Thank you for your insight. I have been a bodyman for over 45 years, Your work is very impressive.
Man I've watched a lot of welding and fabrication videos, and while I've learned something from all of them I find this channel and these videos the best.
Nice to see the Porta Spot 2001! I bought one just before Covid hit for doing panels on a project car I am working on. By the time I get around to using it I will have to get reacquainted with using it. When I first brought it home I spent quite a bit of time trying different heat settings and times until I got spot welds that consistently held and would tear when testing their strength.
I am going to go get one today. I started thinking about how many times I would use it on my restoration after you gave some ideas that it became a no brainer. Thanks for the tips, your the best. Oh, thanks for bringing up the need for a 220 extension cord, that has pushed me toward the 110 model.
Thank you for your videos. Some of the tips I've learned on your channel have been very helpful when dealing with problems with my own restoration project.
Thank you Fitzee. Previously I thought a spot welder was a pointless bit of kit if I could do them with the mig. How wrong I was! The spot welder is so much cleaner and faster. I want one 👍🏴
You can't use them on any thing newer cars 1983 or newer becouse of the carbon content in the metal like a quarter panel becouse of an accident the quarter panel can break off... That is for the old style spot welder I still have one and only use it for small patches on think lid or wheel well or bottom of the door ...
I saw the spare tip that you had and wondered why the tip to your older welder had a hole in the tip then realize it was because of the stud feature. Nice old welder. Hear is a suggestion but you probably already thought of this, Cut the old cord to you old welder about 6-8 or 10 ft. or what ever you think will work and put a new plug on the cable to the old welder then put a matting socket on the cable end. Now you have a usable extension for your newer welder. Nice tip on the door skin area. Keep the tips coming.
Try to think about the name on the large welder. It is resistance welding. With the smaller welder, try applying light pressure when you hit the switch and then more pressure at the end and then release the switch. The heat will come from the resistance from the poor connection when starting and then the added pressure at the end will squeeze the metal that has melted together. I have a 110V and that seems to work real good for me. Also on the smaller welder, lets say you want to weld your tool box draws back together. You can scratch tiny spots in the paint on the front of the draw (like 4 spots)and use a sharp tip to make contact inside that spot on the metal. Then sand the back side of the front portion of the painted draw so there is no paint. Sand the metal on both sides of the folded side wall side so that there is no paint between the two panels and no paint on the inside of the folded wall. Then use a fatter tip on the inside so no matter where the sharper tip on the front side is located, it will hit someplace inside the area of the fatter tip on the inside of the draw. Then apply a small amount of pressure and press the switch. When you see the paint change color on the front, give more pressure and release the switch. You can reweld this way and not do so much damage to the paint on your box. My box is a Snap-On and they refused to repair or replace the draw, so this is how I fixed it. Another great video Fitzee, thank you for spending the time to show us. EDIT: I didn't know spot welds can be made without the two welding contacts being directly across from each other pressing the two pieces together. Holding those two welding tips next to each other and having it work really surprised me. Sometimes you think you know, and then someone comes along and changes everything. Thanks again Fitzee!
I was trying to figure out how to weld the door skins on with out mig welding em to look factory and you showing how to do it with the plate will solve the problem just wish I could find a spot welder like you're old one that would be the ticket thumbs up 👍.
This is an awesome video! I had to do some rewelding of old vintage mags that broke and this type of spot welder looks it will work fabulously for my needs! Thanks for the tutorial video!
I'd never really considered it before, but lap welding with an offset on both pieces provides exactly the same sort of strengthening as bead rolling...factory style and hiding in plain sight. Everyone knows factory panels normally have some contours stamped into them for stiffening, but you can see how the panels you spot welded together have good stiffness along the length of the joint.
I bought a Harbor Freight 110 spot welder and loved! I did the lower edge of my rockers. I had to hold each weld for about 8 to 10 seconds and they came out great! I did the length of the rocker in less than 5 minutes! 👍
I have the Harbor Freight 110 unit. Had to upgrade to a 30 amp breaker and 10 gauge cord to use it. Now it works well. Put a roof on a '72 Cutlass with it.
using that overlap sheet metal spot welding method , sure opens a greater option to use anywhere , and not only on floor pans . great tips, thanks for sharing Tony.
Great video once again, I think a friend has one of these smaller spot welders and I can now have an idea how to use it. Thanks for the classroom type lab, I definitely learn more from this type of education. 👍
Some very useful tips there as usual. It would have been interesting to see how the welds went if you used weld-through primer on the plates. I know you don't like it, but with seams on car floors, it could be worth considering using it if you aren't seam sealing under the floor.
I use these machines but a larger version daily at work. As stated below the correct way to weld using your big machine is to still have the electrodes on opposite sides of the metal being welded. It still works in the way you are doing it but it isn't as strong. Also make sure you go from one end to the other. Don't tack each end and work your way to the middle. If you do that you might end up with a pucker that only gets worse the closer you get to the center. One end to the other walks the excess material out the other end.
Thanks for that demo. I 'awhile back I bought one of those old pinch type spot welder. (weights abut 150 lbs). Been eying one of those old spot boxes but really wasn't sure they they would work as advertised. But now I'm defiantly getting one. like you said the time it saves drilling spot welds, filling them with mig welder and so on. Thanks again for the demo.
Nice! That old school machine is awesome. I have the 110V version of your Princess Auto model; not enough power. Would love to find a vintage spot welder. Can't wait to see the results on Crusty!
Thanks for the video Fitzee, very informative. I have zero practical experience, but because I'm an electrician, I have 3 points which might possibly be of interest. Firstly, I would suggest than when using the slab of steel to protect the back side of the weld, you could try using Aluminium or Copper. Since it has a much higher conductivity, it should give a stronger weld, because that will concentrate the power in the steel sheets. Secondly, I noticed the spot welds with the old machine are tiny. Not a problem I expect if you can put in lots of them close together, but if stronger welds are needed, would a flat tip, 1/4" or 3/8" wide with a hole in the middle to reduce the contact area, give a bigger and therefore stronger weld. No doubt more power would be required. Lastly, I partly agree with Mattsawesomestuff below, but my conclusions are different. Heat is generated where the most electrical power is lost. i.e. where where is the greatest voltage drop. Which is why ideally the 2 electrodes would be on opposite sided of the steel sheets at the point of the weld. In the method shown in the video, there will be a significant portion of the current passing across the top sheet alone and there will be voltage drop between the 2 spot welds because the current is passing through steel and steel is not a great conductor. The greater the distance between the welds the greater the voltage drop. To reduce this I would suggest having a slab of Copper or Aluminium on the table, to press the steel sheets against. This will allow the current to pass from the back of one weld to the back of the second weld with minimal voltage drop. There is bound to be a cooling effect, but only experiment will show if that's important. PS In an ideal world, the Copper slab would have two raised probes (points of contact) similar to the ones used to deliver the power. This would really focus the power in the spot weld. But you would need to place the hand held probes directly over the ones below. Probably not practical. Sorry so long 😀
Great video, Fitzee, a lot to be said for old-school machines. I have a 1964 300 amp Hobart, my father bought brand new. I am still using it today. Thanks for the lnfo and tips. Take care 👍
Very cool video Tony, that clamp style spot welder I’ve used in high school shop classes but that older one is way cool and looks like it would make quick work of crusty’s floors . The tips are always great
That welder is brilliant, the speed you can knock out spots once everything is place and setup is outstanding. The amount of time you will save doing full floor pans is huge. Loved the tip for spotting door skins Tony, thankyou very much.
i have never one of the older model spot welders but would love to have one i could see endless uses for one of those love the videos thanks for videos
I still have a old Port a spot made in Canada 🇨🇦 still works the time control broke but it is set for max and I just use the the button to control the time I paid $200 for it used and still works great I use it for small patches but for big patches I use my mig welder since 1983 they changed the metal to higher carbon steel but for small patches works great haven't had a patch pop off yet the reason your not supposed to use them is for putting large 1/4 panels on is incase of impact the welds can break and 1/4 panel can come off the car that what I remember being told back in 1983 when most body shops went to mig welding.... I looked on line and there was a couple for sale for around $500. But great for making metal boxes etc. Great video comparing them myself I think I will stay with my old one... I also have all the different tips one has a slot in it to weld washers to the panel to pull sends with a Dent puller the other has a small hole for stud welders pins to pull dents as well as a shrinking tip and a few welding tips... I used my machine many times in the mid '70's-early'80's so many people making offers but I can't sell it to hard to find another.. They were made in Windsor Ontario but like I safe I keep it on high heat and use my trigger...
When I was 14, I worked at a gas station that had one of those giant welders. The boss who moved from Canada to the USA showed how it worked, and with a few days we kids were building enclosing bodywork on our bicycles. I loved that machine. I would love to find one.
Thanks Fitzee...as usual you are right on time for what I need to know, I will modify the contact points on my propoint welder that I have had around for a while now. I use a 220v extension cord that I bought at Princess Auto..I have had it in use with my 220v mig welder to get anywhere in the shop. (just cut some of the cord from the old guy and put plugs on it)
Thank you for this wonderfull and teachfull Video about spotwelds and the Maschinerie to Do it Take care have a nice weekend and a good New week Yours Frank Galetzka
Thanks for breaking out the old spotwelder. I have never seen one llike this. IMHO, I would rather have the old spot welder than 4 of the new ones. It can go where the other Chinese product cannot.
Love the old one. My .02 you already have you extension cord either of two ways. 1) Add a receptacle outlet box onto the case of the old one wiring to the contactor in that machine or 2) cut the cord near the old machine an add a plug to the old machine and a receptacle outlet to the cord.
I used spot welders like those in 80s, n bought em both by the early 90s. My tong welder is twice the weight of that one. Life changed and I got away from sheet metal fab work. Sometimes it was easier to clamp the ground off on that oldie, n do a spot at a time. Old tin snips got two pieces of steel welded in jaws to step metal in short steps. Never did a floor job but did do a rocker on a 55 chev 😁👍 Wasn't a prob putting three layers together when ground lead was pressed towards triggered lead. You're going to use these quite a bit.👍 Thanks for sharing Fitzee
Fitzee's Gakuen. (meaning Fitzee's Class in Japanese). I learned a lot from today's episode. I got to learn much about yesterday's technology as well as today's technology in spot welding. How to modify and save yesterday's tools are essential for long term use. Thank you again for teaching all of us skills and knowledge from your past experiences. Cant wait to see how Crusty's floor comes out. I too want to modify my floor on my 1975 Corolla. Till next time, stay safe.
I have the Princess Auto 110V spot welder but have almost never used it. Very timely video as I have a rocker panel repair to do that it will be just perfect for now that I know how to properly set it up !
Back in around 1980 my buddy's uncle had a body shop and we used a machine identical to that one to do some floor repairs on my buddies 66 chevy winter beater. Made the job go very quick!
They sell a tool that not only punches holes but on the other side of the head it will off set the metal just like you did with the metal breaker but do it uniformly I "think" it's called a pneumatic hole punch, I used one on all the panels I would spot weld with one of those "old time" spot welders, made my job A LOT faster and easier, enjoy it you will love it and say to your self "how did I ever do with out one" lol...
you can hold the leads on both sides to pinch weld it like the Pro Point style ( or Classic Pinch type spot welder ).. line up your leads to one spot weld... where you can reach both sides...
Golden as always Fitzee. I have the 120v unit and it is ok. I have 20 amp 120v breakers and it trips them when I hold it too long. I suggest the 220v unit due to that. For the tips on the spot welder there you taught me something there. And thanks for letting me know that Princess Auto carries them. Cheers
Tony - I don't think the table affected the weld thermally, maybe 10-20%, not much if any. It's electrical resistance welding... it's affecting the weld electrically. With spot welding, the path the electricity takes is where the heat goes (there's no arc). If you have the workpiece sitting on the table, a huge portion of your welding current is flowing through the whole workpiece, spreading out, going into the table, and then back up the other electrode. When you had it on wood, the electricity is forced to go through the workpiece only, so there's far more heat concentrated through a smaller amount of metal because that's the only place the electricity is flowing. Frankly, on your door skin example with the huge thick backing piece, I'm shocked it welded at all. That's some good abuse of spot welding practices to get an interesting side-effect. I'm definitely adding that to my list of tricks. Also, I'm pretty sure the loose electrodes are still meant to bear hug the metal and be placed on either side of the sheet, not be placed side-by-side on the same face unless you have to. Side-by-side is a bit of an emergency hack with respect to spot welding. It works, but barely. Ideally you want the electricity flowing through the cross section you want welded, not just applied to the general area. It's a valid technique (for example, spot welding to batteries it's necessary, you can't be inside the battery, you have to be side-by-side on the outside), it's just generally inferior to "proper" spot welding through the cross section with pressure. You're going to create a much smaller and weaker welded area, with a much larger heat zone. But with a welder big enough and metal thin enough, you can force just about anything to weld, and that monster is certainly big enough. No "wrong" way to do things, long as you figure out a way to make it work. But in general you want to pinch the weld where possible for a strong weld that won't shatter over time.
@@avid6186 from a factory? Zero. They have great big machines with huge jaws that can reach any surface. Even back in the 70s, they had huge spot welders on chain hoists that you'd swing into place with your bodyweight
The best way to test a spot weld is to weld 2 strips at 90* to each other. Then twist them apart at 90* in the flat. A piece of one strip will remain 'the nugget' and show how much fusion happened. Much easier than splitting with a chisel.
