BUILD THREAD Rustier then I thought!!!

[TURNA]

I did my entire floor pan and toque boxes with 2 harbor freight spot weld cutters

Buying from snap on and mac is OK if you have a STEADY truck guy.

If not good luck with their warranty.

You will have to mail it in

wait

let them warranty it

wait

ship it back

wait
..........................

 

[84cutlasssupreme]

Rabbitt
See my post under cars for sale..."'84 Cutlass Supreme for sale in Mn."

 

[Ribbedroof]

Since I've never used a snap on screwdriver i wonder if its worth that much more then craftsman.

Nope. But they do offer stuff that Craftsman doesn't make. Cornwell and Matco as well. Locally, the Cornwell guy has better prices, the Matco guy is a great person, Snap-on is kind of a douche to some of the guys, but I've never had an issue with him...but I don't buy much Snap-on as I feel their level of warranty service is not what it used to be...especially for being the most expensive of the major trucks.

 

[Cte069]

I did my entire floor pan and toque boxes with 2 harbor freight spot weld cutters

Buying from snap on and mac is OK if you have a STEADY truck guy.

If not good luck with their warranty.

You will have to mail it in

wait

let them warranty it

wait

ship it back

wait
..........................

I did my entire t-top header panel spot welds with the harbor freight spot weld bit. Took only 2 to do which I was very happy with after bulk picking up 10. I have not used any of the other fancy bands people mentioned. Harbor freight ones worked awesome for me considering the, what I would image, the price diff is... The cutter is actually flippable. Two uses per one bit. Which was a nice surprise when I got home. It looks identical to the one Eastwood sells for 24- 29 bucks. A ton of various cheap harbor freight clamps will work and save a buck too.

 

[Doug Chahoy]

Do NOT buy the Harbor Frieght Pittsburgh brand C-clamp vise grips. They’re junk the C part of the tool will bend out of position. Happened to both pair I tried. Stick with the original Vise Grip name from Irwin Tools. A lot of mine are over 40 years old and used abusably, but kept oiled, still function like new.

 

[Cte069]

Spot weld cutters are awesome-a punch works great in meaty areas to hold spot weld bit centered as someone mentioned earlier. A header panel in my case is a little flimsey, I didn't use a punch. I drilled a small pilot hole start(not all the way through) with a drill bit to use as the spot weld bits guide. After you get good, and have a butt load of back up hf spot weld bits on stand by, you can spin the the drill and figure out which way the torque and shape of the the metal will pull the bit. You can compensate your drill position and body orientation different directions to let the torque of the drill help hold you in place and skip the punch and drill bits at times... This usually requires multiple beers while summoning your Jedi skills..

 

[TURNA]

Do NOT buy the Harbor Frieght Pittsburgh brand C-clamp vise grips. They’re junk the C part of the tool will bend out of position. Happened to both pair I tried. Stick with the original Vise Grip name from Irwin Tools. A lot of mine are over 40 years old and used abusably, but kept oiled, still function like new.

The new ones are Chineseium now

 

[Cte069]

Do NOT buy the Harbor Frieght Pittsburgh brand C-clamp vise grips. They’re junk the C part of the tool will bend out of position. Happened to both pair I tried. Stick with the original Vise Grip name from Irwin Tools. A lot of mine are over 40 years old and used abusably, but kept oiled, still function like new.

Yes sometimes on the c clap the part that lines up with the top of the tighting/loosening screw will jump out and have to be knocked back in. I never bent the c part, yet. My preferred use im talking about -header panel alignment, floor pan alignment to hold in place right? Or anything to hold in place to spot weld. They are adequate in those situations from my experience. Hell those plastic clamps from home Depot are if they will fit in the spot. Cheap method to hold in place with out breaking the bank to spot weld. If im clamping panels together and im bending c clamps out of wack I'd stop re check fitment, measurement, etc etc. They are just for positioning/holding in place. Not for holding/maintaining 1000lbs per square inch pressure for sure.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Do NOT buy the Harbor Frieght Pittsburgh brand C-clamp vise grips. They’re junk the C part of the tool will bend out of position. Happened to both pair I tried. Stick with the original Vise Grip name from Irwin Tools. A lot of mine are over 40 years old and used abusably, but kept oiled, still function like new.

I bought 2 3in clamps for 299 a piece. Im glad I didnt buy more. I mainly got the consumables at hf.I did however buy the spotweld cutter and a few 299 vice grips. There so light and cheap I wish I wouldn't have. I already had a bunch of old cincinatti tool c clamps and 1 craftsman, 3 irwin c clamp vices, and a bunch of irwin needle nose vices. I've actually got a deal worked out to trade my old lincoln 140hd for a bucket full of name brand vice grips probably 30 mostly duck bill and spot weld clamps and a used matco da sander. I brung the shears and heat gun home from work to see if that'll help with the floor pan removal and insuing seam sealer battle. I like toner283s idea but Im thinking its a bit out of my price range. I've been workin on it this weekend. Ill post my progress tonight. I also have a few questions concerning the proper process when it comes to pulling the frame and bracing the body. Thanks again everyone for the advice. Now I get to fix my stepdads f150 brake line rusted out. I "fixed" the driver side last weekend. Then it blew the passenger side . I hope it holds this time. I need it to haul my floorpan.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Spot weld cutters are awesome-a punch works great in meaty areas to hold spot weld bit centered as someone mentioned earlier. A header panel in my case is a little flimsey, I didn't use a punch. I drilled a small pilot hole start(not all the way through) with a drill bit to use as the spot weld bits guide. After you get good, and have a butt load of back up hf spot weld bits on stand by, you can spin the the drill and figure out which way the torque and shape of the the metal will pull the bit. You can compensate your drill position and body orientation different directions to let the torque of the drill help hold you in place and skip the punch and drill bits at times... This usually requires multiple beers while summoning your Jedi skills..

Right on. From what im gathering frome everyone is you'll get the feel for the spot weld cutter and its capabilities. Just gonna have to dive in. I was gonna cut the pan out last night but i dont have the replacement in front of me. My ? Is should I wait to make sure I don't cut to much out? Or go ahead and cut to the factory welds? Also should i save as much good metal as possible or cut it all out uniform and neat the same size as my replacement?