Spot Welds

[jvhodges]

Hey guys, I received my floor pans (front 3/4 and rears) and about ready to go tackle this part of the rebuild, from what I'v been reading is that the first thing I do is to lay the new pans on top of the old and trace a line, than draw another line about 3/4" below that line for cutting, now differant people use differant ways to remove the spot welds, a spot weld drill bit, a spot weld cutter (this one you have to drill a pilot hole) or a regular 3/8 drill bit but being carefull not to drill thur the frame, my question is what have you guys used and works best and lasts the longest without dulling the blade, is a electric or air drill the best. Thanks for your help.
Jeff

[Killer_Mopar]

I have both the spot weld drill bit and the spot weld cutter (at least I think its what you mean) and by far the cutter better. The drill bit wears out and is a little hard to make self-pilot...they say you can sharpen them but thats time consuming. The cutter is easy to use, it pilots itself easier, and the actual "cutter" part can be changed out in seconds after it becomes dull....

[jvhodges]

Thanks Killer, I'm still doing some research on the 2, it looks like the cutter is the way to go, I'll wait till the weekend before I start to get involved in this floor replacement.
Jeff

[gomangoRT/SE]

I think the spot weld cutter is the way to go if you have a large panel you are replacing..........for smaller patches and such the drill bit works fine.........some people say they wear out the bit but I have used my bit without no problems.........costs less than $4.00

[Steve]

Get both. Also, Get a right-angle air drill....compact and needed for tight corners.

[Plum6Pak]

I've used a small hole saw, install the pilot bit so that it's just bearly out of the hole saw so it won't penetrate the frame, then when you drill, you drill just enough for the saw part of the tool to cut around the spot weld, the only problem with this way is that you need to go around and grind off the little spot on each one you drilled out. Another problem is that it's a little awkward to get to some of those hard to reach spots, some of them are hard to get to with just about anything though. The good part of it is it gets the whole weld, the metal lifts right off without any stuck areas and is very clean when done. Just another idea, it works well for me and the saw lasts a long time. It also helps to use a little cutting oil to give life to the bit.

[jvhodges]

Thanks for all the replys guys, gives me some options to think about, what ever cutter I use I'll use cutting fluid with it, looks like alot of spot welds I got to get to.
Jeff

[jvhodges]

Heres what I decited to get, could'nt find any desent ones here in town so i ordered these online, I read that Blair was a good brand.

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/blr13224.html

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/blr13214.html

So maybe next weekend I can jump into it.
Jeff

[dougs bs23]

I've used the Blair equipment cutters,  the ones i use are a self centering type. Simply use your center punch to place a dimple in the spot and the retracting center pin hold it in place and the cutter does all the work,,  similar to a plug cutter that you would use in wood working.  They cost a little more but i think they work fine