Thread: Stud Welding....

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I just got me a fancy dancy stud welder to pull dents from double wall panels without leaving holes
Anyone got any tips on its use?Do and Donts?

Good grounding on material, right amperage to make it stick and check the insert electrode often for burns and corrosion. It keeps the amperage correct for your project. Nasty insert electrodes play havoc for making the stud stick to the surface. Then play away, all materials react differently from their composition and age.

Something like this?

Exactly....... With a fancy slide hammer too. Any tips....?

yes i have used them for many years and the washer welder machine/ spot welder that held a washer on edge. that you used a small slide hammer with a hook on the end to work thru the washer hole before they had the nail welders. tricks yes i have many. i would clean the spot good hold the trigger to long and you can blow holes thru the metal .when you weld the pull nail i just used enough heat to stick it on the panel that all .this you will get in time and if you pull and it fall off then you need more heat on the nail head. when i was done i would uses side cuts two get them off just by getting on the head the giving the just a twist if there is no head on the nail then you to hot. i could reuse the nails i used this nail welder for lite dents. not big dents i used other way to get at them. i would use one or two nails but not much more i would pull up on the nail and work the metal with a body hammer i never weld them on so it would look like a porcupine why?? you can not feel or see or work the metal with all the nails in the way. i all so used the nail welder for shrinking metal and trim studs you know the ones that hold the trim on older cars they look like a nail head and you can allways find them when you wet sand a car out ..with your finger tips ..boy that,s fun if you never have done that try it next time you wet sand out a car i never used the slide part to much of the hammer . just pulled with it .the hole thing is to just get the metal up and work around it with a hammer beating away with the slide hammer makes hi spots that were low now they are hi i never grinded the nails off just made more heat and over work the steel that right here is the best trick i can give you not to over work the metal... with any tool and if you used this tool on new cars you may have to get at the steel they do not weld to good to any coated galvanized/alum steel

I've had one for years, you are going to love it, Shawn!!! Takes a bit of practice to determine the best placement for the pins, but the learning experience pays huge dividends in some excellent results. A real time saver, too!!!!!

Buddy of mine has a body shop and was just telling me he bought one of these, where it holds onto the metal and you twist it 1/4 turn after you pull the dent, and it releases it. Is that what you guys are talking about?

Don

Pops, what you're describing sounds like what nitro was talking about. I had the first one of those here in Seattle in my shop about 10-12 years ago. The tip of the "gun" or handle lightly welds to the panel (no studs or other attaching devices). Depending on who's unit it is there is either a built in slide hammer in that handle or there is a prybar kind of arrangement as part of the handle, either way the idea is to pull out the dent.

If you look at the pic I posted above you'll see some nail like studs sticking to the panel. The stud welder attaches them to the metal and then you attach a slide hammer with a chuck like end on it to grip the welded stud for pulling. The stud then is snapped off, or cut close and finish ground depending on how hot you welded it.

they did use a spot welders that did have heavy copper electrodes and one electrode and one having a slot to hold a washer had a timer and amps and if they were not clean they would rise hell had used one for many years that the body shop i work at

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

Pops, what you're describing sounds like what nitro was talking about. I had the first one of those here in Seattle in my shop about 10-12 years ago. The tip of the "gun" or handle lightly welds to the panel (no studs or other attaching devices). Depending on who's unit it is there is either a built in slide hammer in that handle or there is a prybar kind of arrangement as part of the handle, either way the idea is to pull out the dent.

I've got one of these, two. Works great for pulling dents in big, flat or curved panels.

Thnx guys ,I have a cuople of dents in the back of my cab that are on double wall and this looked to be the bast tool for that job.I will get to use it in a couple of days and will try the tricks and tips you guys suggested!