BBX

I need to remove a few hundred spot welds from the car.
Has anyone ever used one of those spot weld removal bits? How effective are they? How long do they last? Should I purchase more than one to remove about 250 spot welds?

Any other methods work for you guys?

Thanks!
BB

soccergk

The spot weld drill bits work well....depending on which brand you get you may ones to get a few bits. I destroyed my bit the other day drilling a few out. Make sure you use some PB or other lube when you do it.

danglerb

HF has an ok one for $2 or so on sale, $4 now, and its double ended.

WHY do you have 250 spot welds to cut?

BBX

Come on Mike, you have been following my gts quarter install right? when the new ones get in, i need to cut the old ones off, but i want to do it in all the original spots.
oh, interestingly i noticed yesterday the factory used lead at the lower quarter panel location.

BBX

thanks for the pic, i will head to hf tomorrow and grab a couple

JHowell37

When I changed my quarter panel I used one that is in the picture that danglerb posted. It was alright. In the end, I found it easier to use some high quality bits for drilling metal, and gave my Drill Doctor a hell of a workout.

Depending on how much of this you plan to do yourself, I would strongly suggest you invest in one of these.
http://www.eastwood.com/panel-separa...html?reltype=2

These are also very good when installing the new quarter panels.
http://www.eastwood.com/metal-fabric...ld-pliers.html

The original seam you mentioned is filled with lead. There's nothing special about lead. Fiberglass reinforced body filler is a perfectly acceptable substitute wherever lead was previously used.

86'928S MeteorGrey

Blythe,

I've had good and bad results with the HF spot weld bits. I've used some before that worked GREAT, and lasted what seemed like forever. I've also got some that looked identical that wouldn't make it through 2 welds before being SHOT.

Best bet,(If HF is close enough to you) is buy one, bring it home, and test it. If it works good or bad, go back and buy accordingly.
It couldn't be more than 150 welds could it? What kind of spacing do you see? +928 on the cuttling oil....

BBX

Thanks for all the help guys!

Larry Velk

Mike is sooo right about cutters - they vary even within manufacturers as to longevity. I have drilled many hundreds of spot welds in E-type, 50's Fords and Merkurs and there is no silver bullet as even US made 'Roto-Broach', etc. often only last 10 welds. A key point is whether you need to preserve the lower panel (obviously). The best tool I've used are hand cut drills - using a Dremel cut-off wheel to shape (the thin discs). These last as long as dedicated bits and you can use any size drill you choose. You cut these "flat" with a small center point. You'd think they'd dull quick as you remove any surface hardness, but the ready made stuff is so variable that a good random, hand cut drill often (usually, in my experience) cuts better. I hate to say, but if the expensive US made stuff isn't up to speed you may as well get a pocketful of Harbor Freight crap and throw them away every 6 welds. Of the fancy stuff, the Roto-Broach" was the best.