Well I'm finally ready to move on the the drivers side corner (I need to post up my finished pics)! What do you folks use to cut spot welds. I'm about to tackle my other inner cab corner and outer and I'm looking for a better way to remove the spot welds. I removed the pass side inner with a spot weld cutter with the drill bit in the middle and a round cylinder with teeth and that didn't work very well and infact I just ended up doing most of them with a regular drill bit...worked but was more work filling all those holes. I was thinking about buying this from Eastwood Spotweld Cutter Pro Kit 3/8 And 1/2 Inch but wanted to see if there was a better way to go about this. Also if I was to get this would I really need both sizes (the set) or should I just buy two 3/8 size bits at $25 each.

Thanks in advance.

 

When I replaced my cab front quarter, I used the drill shown here, which looks to me very much like the cutter you are considering.



1956 Ford F100 4x2 - Cab Cowl Patch

Good luck.

 

I went thru about 4 of the Eastwood cutters on a crash repair job, maybe 25 spot welds to remove. The smaller ones chip on the cutting edge almost immediately and then are worthless. They are only any good on totally flat metal. The larger ones do a better job, in terms of lasting. It always seemed the spot welds were larger than they appeared, too, so the big one was ultimately needed.

 

I bought a flat bottomed bit at the local hardware store, similar to what Randy posted above. But those spot welds are HARD and the bit didn't last too long, but it did the job I needed.

 

I use a Spot weld cutter which is a 1/2" hole saw. Available at most auto paint stores. Also handy for drilling access holes for power window motor bolts. And holes for undercoating.

 

Blair's spot weld bits double sided, but you must drill a pilot hole first with an 1/8" bit to get the most life out of the spot weld bit. Blair Spotweld Cutters

(Alright, I gotta get back to work)

 

I usually use a standard 1/4" split point drill bit, trying to not drill all the way thru both panels. A very stiff paint scraper (one that is sharpened on one side only) tapped between the panels in line with the spot weld is typically my tool of choice to pop the panel loose. For real stubborn ones or where I started drilling off center, I might move up to a 5/16" drill (I never use anything as big as 3/8 or 1/2") I have a Craftsman 1" all steel wood chisel (looks kinda like a ******* child of a carpenters chisel and cold chisel) that I use on real stubborn spots, it will cut right thru them. Last resort if I'm in a hurry and I don't want to save the top panel is to use the edge of a 1/4" thick grinding disk in my 4" angle grinder to grind thru the upper piece over the spot weld.

 

When I was doing body work everyday I usually drilled out several spot welds a day.
I often replaced truck bed sides, top skins etc. The Blair type cutter's worked best for me and lasted the longest. If it's something your not going to reuse the top panel you can also use a air hammer with the slant side cutter and it will cut the top panel off leaving the lower section intact. You will have to have the flat side of the chisel down and the tapered side up. If I am replacing a bed side I will use the air hammer.along the bed rail and sides and only use the weld cutter on pieces that curve. Cobalt and spotle are two brands I use. They can be bought at auto body repair parts places as well as online
Good luck.

 

I just used a 1/8 carbide endmill chucked up in a drill. Little hard to start but worked great and didn't dull at all.

 

I've been using Eastwoods 3/8 spot weld cutter bit and haven't killed it yet. I've cut out probably 20 - 30 spotwelds so far.
Spotweld Drill 3/8" Pro

John

 

I like the Rotabroach cutter, and have had great luck with it for years. But I hear lots of guys using B&D Bullet brand pilot point drills. They're cheap and readily available at any local hardware store, so you can buy a bunch of them, if need be.

Amazon.com: Blair Equipment 11090N Rotabroach Cutter Kit: Home Improvement

Black & Decker Tools | 1/4" Bullet® Drill Bit 19108

 

I second the B&D Bullet bits, I tried the Eastwood spot weld cutters and didn't have very good luck with them. The bullet bits work well if you are careful to only cut through the outer panel.

 

I've got about 400 spotwelds cut with my Blair Spotweld Cutter. Their Rotabroach and Holcutters are also the best out there. Never tried the Eastwood, but I've tried a few other brands and nothing compares to the Blair stuff.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. I will try the cheap fast route first which is the B&D drill bit with Ax's method since I can get that going asap and see how that goes. I may end up with the Blair kit later on since that seems to be a good setup for the investment from what I've read.

 

Well here is an update incase anyone runs across this thread. I ended up buying the Blair set from ebay which was the best price I could find and had a gift card I needed to use. Well so far I've used it on about 30 spot welds and it's done a really good job so far. I used Ax's method and stuck a screwdriver near the weld I'm drilling and that really helps to pop the weld lose before drilling through the panel behind. So far it gets a thumbs up from me and to this point I would recomend them. I'm still drilling out the inner corner but so far it's working great.