How are all of you guys stretching your welds, after shrinkage has occurred, in areas which are extremely difficult to reach with a dolly? An example would be above a wheel well on a quarter panel. Post your homemade contraptions or special tools for these tasks.
Some areas it's just not possible. Others need 2 people working in unison, and some, I just cut out the inner panel to gain access.
Of course you think about weld seam access ahead of time. This thread is regarding those areas where it isn’t warranted to cut the whole panel off just to stretch a 2” patch.
Hey I'm a body guy. What do you mean by stretching from welding. Do you mean warping from heat? If it is shrunk you can pull it out using weld on studs. If it is tin canning you need to shrink to tighten it up. I use a mig Mag welder to do shrinking by tac welding in the area on opposing sides so that the tac shrink will pull force against each other pulling toward center. Good for warping. If you need to hammer dolly with out getting to the back side you have to weld plates and hold and tap. Hope this was usefull Sent from my LM-Q720 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Oh and another way to pull or stretch is to weld tab pull light force on area then tac weld around pull area.it may seem like a shrink but by doing so it will move with the concentrate heat produced by the tac when your done just grind the tacos off smooth carefully with low pressure be careful not to cause heat with the grinder Sent from my LM-Q720 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
This statement tells me your a production "Body Man" not a metal finisher. Disclaimer; I can not show more of this project due to being scolded by monitors because it's on an "Off Topic" vehicle. These photos are just for reference to metal working process::::: I've tried several ways to "Metal Finish" seams where access is tough. In places like the wheel house I actually remove it when possible or at least cut access as needed to get behind it with my hand tools. Trying to use leverage just doesn't do the job for me in that what ever your prying against with the Tool ends up with witness marks that then need repair. Then there's the recoil with contact you can't stop. The other reason to have good work access is to dress off the back side of the Weld so it don't fight your finish work. Case and point. This weld is pretty fair but not ready to set a dolly on (or bump with a H.A.M.B,er) . How do you dress it if you don't have clear access to it? Here is what you can end up with when you have total control of the seam.
In areas where back side access is simply not possible, I use the mig welder and limit the heat affected zone as much as possible to reduce the heat affected shrinkage.
I hear this heat equals warpage and shrinkage often. I do know when excessive amounts are applied it will happen. Part of the job as a welder is to find or know the correct amount of it to make a proper weld seam. When all you apply is the correct amount and control the zone you won't have either. When you get to that point of being a Welder all you have to contend with is the weld itself. Once the weld is planished out any movement in the body panels will return to where they were before you started welding. I never chase a wave out across any panels. Looking at the inside of my panel the work zone is about 3" wide and none of the primer outside it has changed color. That's a controlled work zone. No panel movement outside of it. The piece of tubing on the inside of wheel opening is 1" wide. It is welded on the very edge of the rad. to the tube. Look at the outside, no burned primer and metal finished on the edge. Ya, it took a little while to learn this but it sure make the job a lot easier.
I agree with everything you said...and over the years learned the hard way not to chase a wave across a panel. That said, the question was how to deal with planishing out the weld in areas where there is no backside access. My response was that for those areas, I try and reduce the amount of heat as much as possible to reduce the size of the heat affected zone which then tends to reduce the amount of warpage. I go into a bit of detail on the topic in my build thread.
I sometimes remove the part. Drill out the spotwelds. Metal finish the part and reinstall like this 59 qtr. I have welded handles to dollies to reach inside panels.
I think my Short answer would be that making access to get behind a weld seam is the better way to go if your working on a project that you actually care about. Weather you remove a wheel house or cut access in one I believe your much better off than trying to get at it with long reach tools of any kind. You still should dress the back side of the weld and that's hard to do with a long stick of any kind. Production Body Shops can't afford the time to do this kind of work. That's why there's Body Man in a Can.
You can get close using a stud gun or other weld on slide hammer set up. You work the weld area up. Not as good as a dolly on the back side but can work well.
Just sink it low and fill it with dough!!!! That's what a production man would do. Just kidding[emoji4].Ya it is typical to use body filler in a production shop because it is production. Insurance co do not pay you to pic and file and would be close to impossible with today's extra thin high strength metals. But working for a living has nothing to do with wether on not someone can pic and file weld. So call me a production man or what ever. The original question was about not having access and the only two answers are either gain access or choose to do one sided metal work. Using weld on pins or tabs and working it out from one side it's not easy it's an art. It looks like you are doing a fine job too me. Keep up the good work. My two cents is only worth two cents. Sent from my LM-Q720 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
These are all great answers. There is not one way to skin a cat. Lets see some of your homemade, hard to reach, dollies next!
Don’t have a picture but if just a niece of tubing welded to a cheap dolly. I recommend these the long handled pic hammer is the best hammer ever for bumping on these old cars
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