The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Spot Weld Removal Tool?

I seem to recall hearing about a specialized tool for removing spot welds other than the good ole twist drill, pry bar, hammer or hot wrench. Can anyone point me towards this mystery tool or share their secret techniques for separating the numerous spot welds found on AD trucks?

eastwood too.

I got a nice one off the MAC tools truck, about $30. Brian

Any autobody supply store will have them. Matco tools has a set of varying sizes on sale this month.
Scott

This is what I use everyday at work. They are about $400.00 so too much for a home hobbiest but if you find yourself doing a lot of projects with spot welds, I HIGHLY recommend it. It has a few different "clamps" that go behind the weld with up to about six inchs of depth.

Basically using this tool or not you have to look at drilling out spot welds as "unbolting" the part. If you were unbolting the part would you start prying on it with a chisel BEFORE the bolt was out? No, so don't do it with a spot weld either. Take your time and drill STRAIGHT into the spotweld completly removing it. If the weld is bigger than the drill than make two (that is all it usually takes) offset cuts. Place it so it cuts about half the weld then move the drill over so you can cut the other half and not have the centerpoint "in" the first cut. This will usually prevent the drill from walking. If you try right in the middle and then try cutting a little weld left you will likely have the bit walking and screw up your bit and the hole.

Drill it out without hitting the bottom panel too much. But really you can strategically drill right thru both panels and then use that hole to plug weld your new panel on. So SOMETIMES it is not nessisary to use a spot weld driller at all. Though I always do because I have the need tool that does all the work

After you have drilled out the weld, I have found the BEST tool for spliting the panels is a gasket scraper! You know the real nice ones (I have been using a Snap On one for about 15 years) what looks like a screw driver but has a "blade" at the end about one inch wide. They are thin and slip between the panels tapping it on the handle with a small hammer you slip the tool up to the spot weld (something will sometimes be left of the weld that you have to break) and tapping the hammer on the handle a bit more will run it right thru breaking the panel apart.

It is one of the very few times I will use a tool for something besides what it was intended. It works like a charm.

[img]http://members.aol.com/basicofbasics/spotwelder.jpg[/img] [img]http://members.aol.com/basicofbasics/spotwelddrilled.jpg[/img]

Looks like a rivet shaver.

The pros use a special air drill, it has 2 legs to keep it from skidding around has a depth stop and runs at the right rpm. Perhaps more than most people want to spend but nice.

I used to own a tool like this when I worked in a body shop. It was called a "Spottle". Excellent for drilling out spot welds. Panels practically fell off after drilling.

JS

Thanks for all the suggestions. Although probably the right thing to do, spending $400 for another tool would be a bit over the top in my wife's opinion. So far she has given up her side of the garage for the last 16 months and if I spend more on one tool than I spent on the truck in the first place I have to give up my side of the bed and start using the bed of my truck for sleeping. I like to push the envelope in life but there is a limit. I will try the single bit route and get on down the road. I can probably get that bought under her radar.