panelbeaters - help! urgent!

[l1ttle_d3vil]

I've gota get a panel spot welded into the gutter above my windows, had someone lined up to do it then they remembered their spot-welder was stuffed

in my phone calls to find someone else with a spotwelder, ive been told they hardly use those machines anymore (the ones which clamp the panels together and fuse them together). they generally just drill a hole through the panels then fill the hole in with a mig and it works fine.

is this correct? are there any special tricks to doing this? ive got access to a mig welder etc so if it can be spot welded easily and tidily this way then i'll go down this path. the main reason for wanting it spot welded with a machine was because its a really tidy way of welding them, so am a bit hesitant about doing it with the mig...

anyone have any advice on this method of spot welding?

cheers.

[2LTR Rona]

the above method, drill and fill, is what we are using on my Capri, am in the process of replacing a section in the drivers foot well, and its not a small section either.

On the tidiness, a dedicated machine will usually be more efficient but if the person doing the work takes their time and knows what they are doing, you can get a pretty good dam finish.

The same has been done on both front guards on the Capri, have been on there for a good two / three years now & haven't seen any issue with them at all.

Hope that helps.

[l1ttle_d3vil]

On the tidiness, a dedicated machine will usually be more efficient but if the person doing the work takes their time and knows what they are doing, you can get a pretty good dam finish.

that was my main concern, and the reason for wanting it machine-welded.
if it is mig welded, it will probably be done by my dad who has been welding for 25+ years, so should be a decent job. ive just never heard of it being done this way before thats all.

is machine welding it also alot quicker?? do you have any idea roughly how long it would take to run a few spot welds down the gutter above the windows on my ke35 (basically from the front windscreen to the back)?

i need this done asap so I can get a wof by friday, as I'm going away for christmas! ...maybe...

[tex]

You will VERY VERY unlikely find any panel shop with a spot welder. Unless

1) The custom make panels aka Jessi James Monster Garage Stylez
2) The have it sitting out the back and hasn't ended up in the local schools metal shop room.

The are spot welded in the factory, but for repairs, the spots are drilled out (10mm? for i-car standards) and filled with a mig "nugget''. The nugget will be stringer than the spot welds ever were.

Depending on the repair will depend on how the parts are joined. I not a panel beater, but have had my share of drilling out panel cuts.


TEX

[2LTR Rona]

not sure on how quick a machine would do it in comparison to an actually person doing it. Could imagine there would be some setup involved & thats if you are able to track down said machine.

Personally I have ever only experienced the drill and fill method & if as you say your father is doing it, then with the experience he has under his belt I am sure he will be more than able to handle it.

I would say, depending on how many welds you are doing, it shouldn't take more than hour, assuming everything it there ready to proceed with. If the surface isn't prep'd etc, then obviously additional time would be needed for that

[l1ttle_d3vil]

sweet, surface was already all prepared and the plates bent and shaped ready to be welded in. we had a guy with a spot-welder ready to do it, then he rememberd it was broken, so I assumed i would just find another panel-beater with a spotwelder. after ringing around about 10 panel/engineering shops, half of them said spot welders are a thing of the past.
its all being migged up now anyway, so will hopefully be good(er) as new!