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Spot weld Cutters

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Norton47

Jedi Warrior
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Starting to lay out the plan on rocker repairs. I see Eastwood has 3/8's spot weld cutters and a larger one.
The 3/8's one would appear to be about right. But as I am on travel and not in my garage, I need some help with the right size before I order something.

Is 3/8's cutter the right size?
Are they worth having for removing a rocker panel on a TR6?
Any inout on using them would be appreciated or other methods used for undoing spot welds.
Thanks
 
I tried using those cutters, and didn't really like them. I had much better luck with stubby cobalt (135 deg. split point) drill bits. Just drill through enough to seperate the panel from the weld spot. If your careful, you won't put holes in the other panel. I used about a 3/16" size, maybe slightly larger. The dimples where the spot welds are center the bit easily. Also, there is much less grinding to do afterward. The drill bits aren't the perfect answer, as you may have to get in between the panels with a thin chisel every now and then to whack things loose.
 
The 3/8's work fine, but not for long. Buy a couple
 
A small handheld hole punch also works very nicely where you have access to both sides of the panel to be welded. Just punch out the spotweld. The benefits are that it is quicker then drilling and you have less distortion in the panel.
 
I used the cutters, worked great, but I agree, have more than one cause thy tend to dull quickly. I bought mine from Habor Freight but they worked fine.
Tinkerman
 
I bought the 3/8 Eastwood cutter and several extra bits. I'm pleased with the results so far. Lots of grinding but not that bad.

The Eastwood cutter has an adjustable/retractable centerpoint built into the cutter holder. IT IS NOT RETAINED BY ANYTHING!! I was drilling a point and went to deep and Boom! right through both panels. Not a big deal until I went to the next weld. The point must have shot out and was swallowed up by the garage, never to be seen again. Now the holder and bits are of no use. I ordered 2 more holders and am VERY careful now!!

Gordo
 
Years ago I bought the Eastwood cutter that looks like a hole-saw with a spring loaded center pilot. It works well but can benefit from having a small pilot hole drilled through the weld to keep the spring loaded pilot centered. I used the cutter on low speed and put cutting oil on the parts before starting. It did eventually get dull but I used a cut-off disk on my Dremel to re-sharpen the teeth. I noticed that Harbor Freight now sells a clone of this tool but I have not needed to buy one in a while.
 
Ya know, I forgot about the pilot hole. I used one and it helped a bunch.
Tinkerman
 
I agree with Martx-5.
The center pilot on these devices should be a drill bit and not just a spring loaded pin. They tend to 'walk' off the work.
Would say you are better off with 5/16"-3/8" drill bits. (As he suggests.) Even regular drill bits worked better for me.

Keep on.

P.S. A good sharp spot weld cutter in an air chisel works wonders for spot weld removal especially on rocker panel pinch welds. If you are careful you get very little distortion in the base panel and it is quick. A spotweld remover for an air chisel looks like a regular chisel but for a small groove/kerf in the center of the blade which cuts through the hardened spot material.
 
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