i'm replacing the upper dash on my 67 ss chevelle,the upper dash is spotwelded to the cowl,how do i cut the spotwelds lose with out damaging either part?

do you drill through both pieces with a spotweld cutter? or does a spotweld cutter just cut through the first layers?

thank! chris

You only want to drill thru the top layer (if the top layer is the one you are removing). You need a spot weld bit, there are many different ones on the market.

All you do is apply a bit of pressure and check over and over. After you are pretty certain you have cut the weld, slip a screw driver between the two pieces and pry a little to pop them apart.

Another thing you can do but it requires more precautions to keep from throwing sparks is use a 3M weld buster disc on a die grinder. I would use one of these when removing a panel but wanting to leave inner layer intact w/ no damage. I found it was much faster then drilling the welds & would only use my spot weld cutters in places not feasible to use other method. What ever method used be sure to wear protective clothing & glasses. Also, if using grinder method cover all glass even only w/ old sheets or drapes etc..... Good luck & if you have any other ? feel free to email me. Good luck, JOHN

Go to www.eastwoodco.com (http://www.eastwoodco.com)

seach on the keywords "spot weld"

Look at items 19003 and 19004

These only cut thru one panel at a time.

Originally posted by Herb:
Go to www.eastwoodco.com (http://www.eastwoodco.com)

seach on the keywords "spot weld"

Look at items 19003 and 19004

These only cut thru one panel at a time. I didn't find this cutter to be of very good quality. Mine only lasted for about 20 or so welds before being so dull that it burned through instead of cutting. Also, with its spring loaded center pin if you have a weld that is not flat, say at the bottom lip of the rear quarter the bit will catch a high spot and spin of the spot weld (if that description makes sense to you) I found that I could do it with a drill bit being very careful to only cut part way through and then separating the panels with Eastwood's knife like device they sell for that purpose.

I hear ya Rick, but these are drill bits. No spring loaded center pins. I think you might be looking at a diferent one. These are just heavy duty drill bits made to cut shallow. If you center punch the spot weld, it won't walk. Most times that's not necessary.

Drill bits work well too. graemlins/thumbsup.gif

""I didn't find this cutter to be of very good quality. Mine only lasted for about 20 or so welds before being so dull that it burned through instead of cutting. ""

Thats all those bits will be good for. At the assembly plant we use them. The ones we get are called " roto broaches ". I doubt we even use them for 20 welds before we smack them with a hammer to break them in 1/2 and install a new one.

Also were it can be used, a nut that will fit over the cutter welded to the end of a pair of vise grips makes a great guide.

Originally posted by Herb:
I hear ya Rick, but these are drill bits. No spring loaded center pins. I think you might be looking at a diferent one. These are just heavy duty drill bits made to cut shallow. If you center punch the spot weld, it won't walk. Most times that's not necessary.

Drill bits work well too. graemlins/thumbsup.gif OK, I looked at your cutters, they look better than what I got from Eastwood. In fact I did a search by catagory and don't even see the one I bought from them a year or so ago. They may have dropped it. I might give one of these new style ones a try.

www.dentfix.com (http://www.dentfix.com)
Hands down the BEST spot weld cutter out there.
Mine has lasted over a year of production shop usage.

http://www.dentfix.com/acb2/showdetl.cfm?DID=6&Product_ID=23&CATID=3

well i bought a sheet metal and spot weld cutter from my snap-on dealer,its a shaft with 5 or 6 different size cutter bits. its steap $125.00 but it work great! it cut the welds and never got dull, it made the job a snap! i think it cant be beat, its what all the top body shop around here are using!

chris

Good information here guys. Thanks

i just use my grinder and grinding disk locate the spot welds grind them downwatch as the metal changes often rust color comes to show move to the next i use a thick putty knife and small hammer to finish the job it is time consuming but cheap as a disk should last 20-30 spots

Guy, if you are going to do that, a narrow cut off disc held on edge works very well also.

I have just used a regular drill bit, drill all the way through bot panels and then when I want to weld the new panel on I weld through the hole and fill the the hole with weld with a mig welder. I guess if you have a spot welder you should not drill all the way through. Erik