Thread: 55 Wagon Progress

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Thanks for the comments guys. Got the tail gate and lift gate gaps done this evening.

















Now on to some quarter panel weld planishing..

That looks great! Looking really nice compared to what you started with!

Thanks!

Spent this past weekend at Gatormeet for a metal shaping workshop.

The first day started with a tuck shrinking demo, and showing the basics of the process and how the metal reacts. We also had the tuck shrinking fixture to use.











Camaro quarter panels are being fitted with gills for installation on a Firebird. This included fit up, trimming, Tig welding, and planishing..

















The International farm truck had returned, so we were able to see the finished fenders from last year..











The rear fenders need reproducing as well, so the wire edging this year used bead roller dies..





We also discussed using hammer forms, and various pattern methods to determine shape..


























Our new attendee this year learning some shaping...





Some rear corners fabricated for a truck bed..





Some practice at fusion welding using the Tig, here's the front showing some slight undercutting..





The rear side shows some good weld penetration in some areas and needs more practice in others..





Just to show that slight undercutting on fusion welding was not an issue in the joint's strength, the seam was clamped in the apron brake and bent to 135 degrees, with no detriment to the weld..








Saturday afternoon we spent some time discussing tips and tricks to help productivity and also to help open up to new methods and ideas. Here is a rotisserie style mount for a door, helping to locate it for ease of welding or other panel repairs....








Another project that Gator just picked up was this Camaro. The previous owner's substandard welding attempts severely warped and damaged many of the panels where most of the exterior panels will need replacing..























Looks like a project for the next Gatormeet! All in all, an awesome weekend for sharing and learning methods and ideas..

What a cool Class! I wish we had something like that around here.

Very cool and thanks for sharing! A guy can be over loaded with cool info and good tips at that I'm sure. On your tuck shrinking tool, did it start out as 2 punches or center punches bent and welded together? Just curious. I may make one some day to try out.

As the others have said, thanks for sharing.. (seems like I'm always saying that to you! LOL)

I was thinking the tuck tool started out as a couple of allen wrenches maybe?? I'd like to see more of that - I've never seen it before! Hint Hint!

The tuck tool wasn't mine, it was built by Capt Kirk. It started out as two craftsman punches, the spacing between is critical, as is the shape on the end. The plans to build them are on WestCoastMetalshapers, but will require signing up to the site.

Robert, thanks for that. I may have to venture over there some day. It never hurts to learn new sheet metal skills for a guy with minimal. Haha

Another item to get crossed off the list, there was a questionable spot on the drip rail above the lift gate.








After cutting it out, this appears to be the factory seam for joining two sections.





Looking at the profile, we'll add the top hem first...








Then a radius die and the skateboard wheel in the bead roller was used to add the profile to the replacement...








The area where the hem adds another thickness is chamfered to insure good weld penetration...





All welded in place and welds dressed...








Much better!

Nice patch!

Very nice work!

nice job on what seems an insignificant area.
really enjoying your metalwork photos-thanks

nice job on what seems an insignificant area.
really enjoying your metalwork photos-thanks

Ditto - (The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 10 characters.)

As a student I am asking: On Post #219 was it possible to mig weld and file the problem area? Why cut the area out?

Originally Posted by August Mariner

As a student I am asking: On Post #219 was it possible to mig weld and file the problem area? Why cut the area out?

That would have been a viable option had I looked at it a bit closer. With any damage that even remotely suggests rust, I tend to lean more toward cut out and replace. Where this wasn't a clear cut rust issue, I had made these drip rails previously, so I felt the end result would be better once some cutting opened the area for exploratory poking around to see how structurally sound that area actually was.