I am getting set to replace the floor pans in my 72, I have heard of a drill bit that is made specifically to remove spot welds. Does anybody have any knowledge of this and know where I might get one?

eastwoodcompany.com

tiptools.com. Very good company to deal with. I have dealt with them on several things and never a problem.

www.eastwoodcompany.com (http://www.eastwoodcompany.com)

I bought a 3/8 inch from eastwoods. works fines. possibly the 5\16 would be sufficient, but if i was buying only one, i would go 3\8 again. However, these bits do get dull and are rendered useless. So when removing old sheet metal that will be thrown away, try using your air powered cut off tool with a thin cut off wheel. It grinds out spot welds faster and easier than the "drill bit" kind. Just put the spinning wheel on the weld and move back and forth across the weld until the top metal is cut thru. It is not hard to save the bottom piece. It is the top piece that is not usable again if you cut the spot welds out with the cut off tool. The cut off wheels are 6 times cheaper than the drill bit. But you will need the bit kind occasionally in tight areas or where you want to save and reuse the top panel.

Another cheap and easy alternative is just use a drill bit slightly larger than the spot weld. Go slowly and apply pressue between panels and when weld is cut the panels will "pop" apart leaving base panel with a nice clean spot for a tack.
Be careful those "rotabroach" bits are brittle and can break easily, Set drill on a slow speed if your using them

Those bits will remove 10 times the amount of welds you can remove grinding in the same amount of time. The key to using those bits that I have found is put them in a high speed drill, mine spins at 4000-5000rpms. Use a 1/8 bit for a pilot hole but dont drill all the way through if you do the bit tends to walk. Also have the bit moving at full speed before drilling. DOnt have the bit touching metal then start it up, that seems to wear them out the fastest

For sevt_chevelle....what brand of bit do you use? I bought a "kit" from a place called Performance Tool here in Detroit area. Kinda like a "Harbor Freight" store. Those bits did not last longer thatn a snowball in a hot oven..I did not spin them very fast in my Dewalt drill thouhg. My machine shop training told me the larger the diameter the slower the rotational speed. Do you use any coolant?

Let me know...

Mike

Eastwood's got two different types of spot weld cutters - their model numbers 19068 and 19017.

I've got one of their 19068s, and it really only lasted for about 20 spotwelds before it became too dull to cut anymore. They sell new cutters for them, but I don't think I was happy enough with it when it was new to want to put new cutters on it.

I don't know anything about their 19017, yet. If I find more spotwelds I need to cut, I'll get one of those.

Chief the type of bits I use is pretty much the same thing in eastwoods part number 19068. Looks like a mini hole saw. Mine is a bit different and made heavier then what eastwood's sell. Ive bought them before and wasnt happy with them, nothing to what I buy now. I forgot to get a company name and number today at work, will post tomm. I can say that I buy them from Arnold Motor Supply which is a Iowa-Minn based parts store. They have a website but dont know if you can order online.

Just know from past experience that those hole saws that I buy NOW tend to work better at higher speeds. Now whether mine is moving at the full 4000rpms like the drill states cant really say. I dont use a coolant

Ive never used the style of bits under eastwood number of 19004, which look pretty much like a regular drill bit, so I cant say if that style is better or not.

Go to an autobody supply store and spend about 5-8 bucks a bit. Use them in a slow speed and they will be like the energizer bunny,last and last and last.I used 1 bit to take out the spot welds in BOTH of my quarters.Snap-On and Mac tool trucks usually have decent spot weld bits also

Chief, just came in from my shop and found a brand new reomver bit still in the box :eek:
What I use is made by Motor Guard Corp. The part number on just the hole saw part is JMC002. their phone number is 800-227-2822, these are not cheap they run roughly 15 bucks...Eric

I'll have to go out in the morning and look at mine but am sure I got it from Harbor Freight. The bits are double sided so when one side wears out you unscrew it from the holder and flip it over. Bought some spares and have'nt opened that package yet. Replaced a trunk floor in a 67 Impala which meant drilling out at least 50 welds and did some floorpan replacements in the EC plus used it on some other stuff. Broke a tooth on one side and the other is getting dull but is the original bit. Think the drill I use it in spins 1800. Use no lubricant.

I got mine from a local Auto body supply house, and it came with 1 extra bit, and lasted me throughout my entire project. Harbor Freight has cheap tools, and that is exactly what you get most of the time. Spend the extra couple of bucks a get a good quality tool.