6 replies to this topic

[rustbuckets]

anyone tell me please the best way to remove spot welds.Have just removed rear o/s wheel arch
by slitting it out with disk but have cut around the bracket which is tacked to the rear seat back
panel and the floor panel also cut around bracket with sub frame holes in, have tried spot weld
drill which is like a mini hole saw but goes blunt after a couple of goes even going slow and using
oil as lube. Still got the lip on the rear quater panel to seperate aswell any sugestions welcome ,cheers.

[skoughi]

I've been using the same spotweld cutter as you have and to be honest it's worked ok and has cut a lot of welds but has gone blunt on both sides, and it can be a ******* to use unless I drill a good sized pilot hole to locate it. I've just ordered the drill bit type to see how that works, I think it should be slightly better. Today I used an 8mm drill bit on a couple of spots, I kinda rolled the bit around and round so to cut out the outside of the spot weld before it went right through then seperated the two parts with a bolster and that worked ok. I've also cut of the whole of the panel I want rid of except for the strip where the spot welds are then taken a pair of vice grips and gripped the strip and rolled it off, can opener style. But then my clubby is 73 vintage so maybe the spotwelds weren't that great then a days!

[Tupers]

The mini hole saw type ones are useless, you need a proper spot weld drill bit like this. Clicky

Centre punch each sport weld, go slowly (you should be going slow enough to count the rotations) and apply plenty of pressure. If you're doing it right you should get flakes of steel peeling off as it goes.

[rustbuckets]

thanks guys spot weld drill looks better ordered 3

[GlynC]

My advice whichever type of spot weld drill you use is to use a small drill to make a small pilot marker in the first section of sheet, as the centre section of spot weld drills, which effectively acts as the pilot drill on the spot weld drill, is the bit which goes blunt and looses its edge first.
My Dad had a cutter and tool grinding business for many years and I do miss having him face up the drill and cutting tools for me now, lord knows I would give a kidney for the use of a decent machine shop as most of the gear sold today is made to throw away after use.
I have a couple of those as linked to on eBay and they work well using this method
I am in the middle of wheel arch removal myself, so you have m sympathy !!
All the best

[sonikk4]

To be honest i have never used a spot weld drill bit, i have always used a 1/4" drill bit or slightly bigger, then a modified wide section hacksaw blade with a sharpened edge to help fit between the affected panels. Works fine for me but then again i use drills for a living and know a few tricks.

[daddy2coull]

i've just ordered one too, which is probably a good idea as i now have the use of a spot welder