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Butt welding made easy!

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by fitzee, Dec 7, 2012.

  1. fitzee
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,862

    fitzee
    Member

    Been welding panels now for a long time and found that butt welding was not always the easiest thing to do.. making you patch to fit into a hole,trimming it to fit then have it move around on you as you weld it. clamping it and have it move in the clamps.. well this is what I came up with. Now I say it has been done before but I dont see it alot so I figure I do a post on how I do butt welds that I find so easy and fast..

    Well here is a hole I cut out of my quarter that was metal that was not going my way after shrinking it one too many times.. lol

    [​IMG]

    Now I like to reuse metal.I do this so as to get the same metal thinkness and besides it was free!!

    [​IMG]

    here you can see the size of the hole Im going to patch

    [​IMG]

    Nothing fancy I just clamped the panel right over the top of the hold and over lapped the panel.

    [​IMG]

    Now that i was happy with the fit I just cleaned the edges and tack the panel on the car.did not tack the corners as this is where Ill start. I tack it in place as so that it wont move as I cut and weld. Ill cut those weld when I come to them.

    [​IMG]

    Now no fancy tools. I just use my 4 inch grinder with a thin zip wheel. I played around with this and found if you use the patch as your guide and cut into the quarter on a 45 dregree angle the panels tend to fit tighter. Now i start in a corner and make two 2 inch cuts.

    [​IMG]

    here you can see the cuts

    [​IMG]

    Now all I did then was pushed the corner in till it was flush with the car and tacked in place

    [​IMG]

    Now that the corner is welded i cut about 4 inch of the panel along the top.. I only go four inchs cause the panel will fall past where you want it and you then have to push back on the panel.

    [​IMG]

    Here you can see how the panel is falling into the car. I stop here ,tack it in place and then move on another 4 inch.

    [​IMG]

    Now just keep cutting ever 4 inchs and tack till your all the way around the panel.

    [​IMG]

    Now before you start welding it up remove the old cut panel from the back side.I find it may have a few tacks holding it in place but they seem to brake very easy for the most part.

    [​IMG]

    As you can see the fit is good and ready to be fully welded.

    [​IMG]

    here it is all welded and grind down

    [​IMG]

    this works great on crown panels.what I like is by over lapping it this way the panel your installing stays tight on the car and cant move. also Im find that the time spend doing this is way less then cutting and fitting and the finsh fit is always better.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2012
  2. gtnrkix
    Joined: Jan 29, 2005
    Posts: 709

    gtnrkix
    Member

    for welding butt cracks?
     
  3. That's what ya call, thinkin outside the box.
     
  4. rottenleonard
    Joined: Nov 7, 2008
    Posts: 1,993

    rottenleonard
    Member

    Well thats a method Ive never seen, but I could see how it would save time with fitment.
     

  5. pitman
    Joined: May 14, 2006
    Posts: 5,148

    pitman

    Fitzee!
    Great tech sir!
     
  6. Pewsplace
    Joined: Feb 10, 2007
    Posts: 2,795

    Pewsplace
    Member

    I have never tried it your way but it looks easier than cutting the patch to fit the opening.
     
  7. 296 V8
    Joined: Sep 17, 2003
    Posts: 4,666

    296 V8
    BANNED
    from Nor~Cal

     
    That’s some good thinking
    Iv always found it a lot easer the make the hole fit the patch rather than the patch to fit the hole.
     
  8. ausbuick
    Joined: Jan 31, 2011
    Posts: 676

    ausbuick
    Member

  9. FunnyCar65
    Joined: Mar 11, 2007
    Posts: 2,092

    FunnyCar65
    Member
    from Colorado

    That's how I did the filler patchs on the quarters of mine and my brothers altered wheelbase cars.
     
  10. carpok
    Joined: Dec 29, 2009
    Posts: 552

    carpok
    Member
    from Indy

    That's one of the best ideas I've seen in a while. Thanks I have a couple quarters to put on I will try it. Sure beets fitting, cleaning edges and clamping. And holding the shape of existing panel
     
  11. Egghead
    Joined: Jun 6, 2012
    Posts: 55

    Egghead
    Member

    Good info fitzee, thanks!
     
  12. Hey! That's a pretty damned good idea. I'll try it. Thanks for sharing.
     
  13. fitzee
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,862

    fitzee
    Member

    up here I dont have to many people to learn this stuff from so I study and play around with it and teach myself.One think I learned over the years is your not the only person to think this way. I new someone else out there was doing it just never seen it..lol
     
  14. 64ONEOFF
    Joined: Nov 30, 2011
    Posts: 378

    64ONEOFF
    Member
    from Md.

    Good Idea, Thanks for sharing
     
  15. fitzee
    Joined: Feb 26, 2003
    Posts: 2,862

    fitzee
    Member

    here are some crown panels I welded the same way.. I cut up another 52 chevy roof to get all my shapes from.
     

    Attached Files:

  16. RoadsterRod1930
    Joined: Jun 15, 2005
    Posts: 415

    RoadsterRod1930
    Member
    from NEPA

    thats how we do new quarter panels in the body shop, in the sail panel area
     
  17. robertsregal
    Joined: Oct 2, 2008
    Posts: 743

    robertsregal
    Member

    Thanks for sharing a Great Idea!
     
  18. EBW
    Joined: Oct 16, 2011
    Posts: 544

    EBW
    Member

    Thanks for showing us another way. Keeps my options open when its time to do repair work.
     
  19. Fitz, you never cease to amaze me, good idea, and Flatliner is looking good.
     
  20. hd4unm
    Joined: Dec 6, 2012
    Posts: 151

    hd4unm
    Member

    Love it. Well documented too!
     
  21. gsport
    Joined: Jul 16, 2009
    Posts: 677

    gsport
    Member

    thats pretty darn slick... i like it
     
  22. i've been doing that for along time. works great. fits perfect everytime.
     
  23. chopt top kid
    Joined: Oct 13, 2009
    Posts: 959

    chopt top kid
    Member

    Thanks for sharing!!! It's threads like this that keep me liking the HAMB...
     
  24. Good post! Use a air saw and you can make an even nicer fit. Easier to round the corners too.
     
  25. crazy wheel
    Joined: Jul 31, 2011
    Posts: 66

    crazy wheel
    Member
    from Missouri

    Thanks!
    I'm gonna try that.
     
  26. Binger
    Joined: Apr 28, 2008
    Posts: 1,734

    Binger
    Member
    from wyoming

    Great idea! I cant wait to try it out.
     
  27. movingviolation
    Joined: Feb 19, 2005
    Posts: 1,177

    movingviolation
    Member

    Stopped in the shop and saw the patch...it looks good! And the method looks to be easier and faster... All in all i'd say that it was a wicked job!
     
  28. I love this method. I wish I had thought of it long ago, or at least told about it. I will definitely try it your way next time.
     
  29. DamnYankeesKustoms
    Joined: Jan 14, 2010
    Posts: 297

    DamnYankeesKustoms
    Member

    Yep...been there, done that.... works very well !!
     

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