Technical Butt weld cleco clamps?

True, but when you're doing major metal shaping, you need to keep fitting the panel to the car MULTIPLE times, and you really need to put it back on exactly where it was the last time, or you're spinning your wheels! Not talking just welding on patch panels here.

 

I just looked at the Roseville ones on the link at in the beginning of the thread, and I do like them better than the Lazze version. Not only are they thiner, but they are cheaper as well. I'd just buy those as well.

 

Here is how I like to make my sheet metal butt welds using Clceos:

overlap the two pieces about 1/2"



drill for clecos

scribe the gap line with a Sharpy marker; cut away all the metal creating little tabs around each Cleco



run the tabs through a bead roller to offset them



tack weld / cut away the tabs /finish weld

 

My method is the same as @THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER , but I like to scribe the line in, and I use pliers to make the offset on the tabs.

 

Wonder if the holes in a bicycle chain are 1/8" for cleco's? Might be able to grind the rivet heads off and get lots of links from an old chain...