john1950 Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 Maybe you should get it on draught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 2 minutes ago, john1950 said: Maybe you should get it on draught. I am going to buy shares, I might as well get some money back 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIKES Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 That door looks excellent. I've probably missed it in your write-ups but could you advise what gauge metal you have used for the skin. I've got a couple of doors to reskin and don't want to make life more difficult for myself by using too thicker material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 7 hours ago, MIKES said: That door looks excellent. I've probably missed it in your write-ups but could you advise what gauge metal you have used for the skin. I've got a couple of doors to reskin and don't want to make life more difficult for myself by using too thicker material. I used 1mm mild steel , not sure what that is in gauge, you could probably get away with 1.2mm but any thicker would be painful to fold the edges. Definitely not any thinner, 1mm is quite thin but with the brace bar loaded with seam sealer and a good bead around the edge it firms up well when dry, the only downside is thin metal welding!! I still always manage to distort the sheet slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7VHU Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 18 SWG 1.26mm 20 SWG. 0.996mm Used all that filler yet? Enough to make a door : ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 1 hour ago, 7VHU said: Used all that filler yet? Enough to make a door : ) I was airing on the side of caution 😁 I’ll use it on general decorating jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 25, 2021 Author Share Posted September 25, 2021 (edited) Quick update Drivers door now fitted, it took a bit more work than anticipated, the top and bottom hinges needed minor adjustments on the cab it’s self and the side panel altered but it has all worked well and the door sits nicely and shuts fairly evenly all round Couldn't get a good picture as the truck is to close to the house. Lastly I finished removing the rest of the paint from the doors and came across a very distinct layer of blue on the passenger door, this is the only blue paint found anywhere on the truck so I imagine the passenger door has been replaced at some point, it looks like RAF blue to me but I am not sure if the RAF would have had any wot6’s ?? Edited September 25, 2021 by 67burwood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 25, 2021 Share Posted September 25, 2021 Its coming along very nicely. My welder has bust just as we started fabricating repairs on the Commer. I have for now ordered a very cheap gasless Mig that has been recomended by a few classic car friends. I thought lets give it a go and see what happens! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 Out of interest and looking at the quality of your welding can I ask what welding set up you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 2 hours ago, Rootes75 said: Out of interest and looking at the quality of your welding can I ask what welding set up you have? Good quality or bad ? 🤔 Bought it about 20 years ago, I recently replaced the wire guide sleeve as the wire speed was erratic 🤞 it’s now working well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 22 minutes ago, 67burwood said: Bought it about 20 years ago, I recently replaced the wire guide sleeve as the wire speed was erratic 🤞 it’s now working well. Good usable machine I'd say. I replaced the wire sleeve some years ago with a steel spiral wound sleeve, transformed how the machine operated after that. It's worth pulling the wire out and taking the tip off occasionally and blowing the line through with compressed air clears out the fluff and dust that seems to get pulled into the sleeve and bungs things up. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 We tried the cheap gasless Mig we bought today, absolute rubbish for welding bodywork. Even on the lowest settings you cannot stop burn through on 1mm. We managed to weld a couple sections in but the finish is awful as I had to keep puddle welding burn throughs on the original material. My old Gasless Mig never had this problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 1 minute ago, Rootes75 said: We tried the cheap gasless Mig we bought today, absolute rubbish for welding bodywork. Even on the lowest settings you cannot stop burn through on 1mm. We managed to weld a couple sections in but the finish is awful as I had to keep puddle welding burn throughs on the original material. My old Gasless Mig never had this problem. I have a Sealey Supermig 160 like 67burwood has. Had mine for 20 years, use it on thin sheet as well as much heavier metal, works a treat. My advice on welding thin sheet, especially if you do not have much experience is to have a piece of copper behind the weld, this will help not to blow holes. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 Thats a good tip Richard. Done plenty of welding on our previous restorations but like I said the old welder handled thin stuff really well. Its this new cheap one that simply isnt up to the job. I will try anything to make it work, so will find myself out some copper sheet at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 It’s been a good machine and as Richard said it copes with thick and thin. On a separate note has anyone had this message before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 (edited) 36 minutes ago, Rootes75 said: We tried the cheap gasless Mig we bought today, absolute rubbish for welding bodywork. Even on the lowest settings you cannot stop burn through on 1mm. We managed to weld a couple sections in but the finish is awful as I had to keep puddle welding burn throughs on the original material. My old Gasless Mig never had this problem. In order of best finish under clean indoor conditions for me it would be Tig, love to have a set but can't justify the outlay, Gas Mig had my unit for 25 years now, Gas welding handed back my BoC contract last year they were just taking the mick, Arc welding haven't done any for years but still useful for larger work then Gasless Mig it has it's uses for outside high amperage stuff but I don't rate it for thin sheet I'm afraid. Pete Edited September 26, 2021 by Pete Ashby 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11th Armoured Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 Just now, 67burwood said: It’s been a good machine and as Richard said it copes with thick and thin. On a separate note has anyone had this message before Yep - can't have the audience getting too appreciative, makes them go all giddy & stuff... 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted September 26, 2021 Share Posted September 26, 2021 No not seen that try putting some more dosh in the meter?? Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 26, 2021 Author Share Posted September 26, 2021 8 minutes ago, 11th Armoured said: Yep - can't have the audience getting too appreciative, makes them go all giddy & stuff... 😂 6 minutes ago, Pete Ashby said: No not seen that try putting some more dosh in the meter?? Pete Clearly I’ve used up my goodwill allowance today “ I’ll get me coat “ 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Herbert Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 On the use of a piece of copper behind the weld, the heavier it is the better as it acts as a non stick heatsink so if it is too light it will initially work well and then melt ! That said, a piece of 28mm copper water pipe flattened out can get you out of trouble. Brass really doesn't work as the zinc content will burn if it gets too hot and if not will tend to melt and solder itself to the back of the weld. I have a hand held spot welder (great for sectioning a piece into a door skin) for which I made a flat faced copper cap that fits over one electrode so that that side of the spot weld is almost dead flat. This way there is almost no distortion or damage to the outer surface. David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 So, a bit of digging and I have found the issue with the new welder... Lowest setting is 50amps, not ideal at all for welding bodywork. The old Mig has a lowest setting of 25amps so no wonder I didnt get these problems before. Now then, I see a way round this if I can find a way of repairing the old welder.... Sorry Burwood, this has hijacked your post so I will take this into a new one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Rootes75 said: Sorry Burwood, this has hijacked your post so I will take this into a new one. No worries, information sharing helps all of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zuffen Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 I've used an old fashioned copper headed soldering iron as a heat sink. They are heavy chunks of copper and are readily available, used, work a treat. Even have a handle to hold them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
67burwood Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 It’s been a busy weekend catching up on unfinished jobs……..the Doors!!! It’s still the Doors!!! the never ending job 🤨 well there’s now light at the end of the tunnel 🎉🍻 I can say without any doubt body prep is not my thing, the endless amount of filling and sanding over and over again is tedious to say the least!! It would appear there was a lot more heat distortion to the door skins than first thought, very disappointing especially as they looked pretty good when first spot welded. The new door bottoms have taken shape quite nicely, if you weren’t familiar with the original pattern they fit in well. More filling and sanding Attention turned to repairing the damaged caused when fitting the door You can certainly tell autumn is here, the moisture in the air didn’t do me any favours on the unprotected metal in the last week or so, the surface rust appears very quickly 🙄 but at last it was time to paint. I like to get the bonda red oxide to cover everything for max protection which can be a slow process, when the paint is wet it is very noticeable how distorted the panels are, good job it’s not a gloss finish. Second coat is the grey Zinc primer which 🤞 will give the truck a few years of life. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 I must say it looks very good. Its been great to follow. I am working on front wings at the moment and after cleaning up the welding getting contours right with filler layers is tedious to say the least!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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