Dean Jenkins
Promoted Users
el Camino project: Now that I have the underside and firewall done and the body shell bolted onto the frame (another thread) it is time to finish the minor body work left and get ready for paint.
A previous owner blessed me with four 1/4" holes drilled in the bed with eye bolts in them (some people are under the weird misconception that an el Camino is a truck . . .) So these holes needed to be filled.
I came across a YouTuber from Newfoundland who posts a lot of metalworking videos, he is a hoot! And he gives a lot of practical tips. His name is "Fitzee." Here is his YouTube channel if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6JPmJ_aicru8XPWr3EvJnw
I saw this hole plugging method in one of his videos and I liked it.
**I'm sure many of the amazing metal working artists here have their own method, or already know something similar to this. But I thought I would post for anyone like me who is learning and looking for tips.
Here is the original hole:
Opened it up and made it a uniform circle with a step drill bit
Spot welded a stud on the repair material with a dent puller stud welder
Then cut a small square off the repair panel and chucked it up on cordless drill using the dent puller stud.
Used a bench grinder and the drill basically as a lathe. Have to go slow and apply very gentle pressure, the stud is soft metal and will bend if you push it.
I also found that spinning the drill with the grinder (vs. against it) made for a smoother operation, if that makes sense.
Just ground the patch piece down until it was the perfect diameter.
And here it is, perfect fit and ready to MIG. about 4 spot welds around the perimeter and it is good to go.
And it is done! Ground off the weld and now very nice (didn't post picture of the MIG welds, too ugly! But they worked, good penetration and this will last forever.)
This was fun to do and fun to share. If it helps anyone else, that is cool!
A previous owner blessed me with four 1/4" holes drilled in the bed with eye bolts in them (some people are under the weird misconception that an el Camino is a truck . . .) So these holes needed to be filled.
I came across a YouTuber from Newfoundland who posts a lot of metalworking videos, he is a hoot! And he gives a lot of practical tips. His name is "Fitzee." Here is his YouTube channel if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6JPmJ_aicru8XPWr3EvJnw
I saw this hole plugging method in one of his videos and I liked it.
**I'm sure many of the amazing metal working artists here have their own method, or already know something similar to this. But I thought I would post for anyone like me who is learning and looking for tips.
Here is the original hole:
Opened it up and made it a uniform circle with a step drill bit
Spot welded a stud on the repair material with a dent puller stud welder
Then cut a small square off the repair panel and chucked it up on cordless drill using the dent puller stud.
Used a bench grinder and the drill basically as a lathe. Have to go slow and apply very gentle pressure, the stud is soft metal and will bend if you push it.
I also found that spinning the drill with the grinder (vs. against it) made for a smoother operation, if that makes sense.
Just ground the patch piece down until it was the perfect diameter.
And here it is, perfect fit and ready to MIG. about 4 spot welds around the perimeter and it is good to go.
And it is done! Ground off the weld and now very nice (didn't post picture of the MIG welds, too ugly! But they worked, good penetration and this will last forever.)
This was fun to do and fun to share. If it helps anyone else, that is cool!