A method for filling holes

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:

Initial bed hole.jpg


Opened it up and made it a uniform circle with a step drill bit

step drill bed hole.jpg


Spot welded a stud on the repair material with a dent puller stud welder

dent stud for bed hole.jpg


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.

plug for bed hole chucked up.jpg


And here it is, perfect fit and ready to MIG. about 4 spot welds around the perimeter and it is good to go.

bed hole plug ready to weld.jpg


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.)

bed hole plug ground off.jpg


This was fun to do and fun to share. If it helps anyone else, that is cool!
 
cool trick there...i have used uncoated nails to fill holes... 6 penny and 8 penny works well..the handle to hold them in place is already there. i have seen people just stick a nail with a large head in a hole from the the back side of a panel and welder up from the top...to me thats a area for rust and corrosion between the nail head and panel from the back side if not sealed properly...weld them flush like you did.
 
Wouldn't MIG welding the hole closed while using a copper covered dolly behind it work just as well? Depending on the location of the hole you may need a second person to hold the dolly.
 
Good information and timely. I'm looking at 40 plus holes to fill on a 70 Javelin where the vinyl top trim used to live. With zero access to the backside I'm not particularly excited about the task.
 

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Tony, aka Fitzee, is great instructor for using basic tools the backyard crowd usually have access to. For fancier stuff check out “Make it Custom” on YouTube. Not too fancy but fancier...
 
I just weld the hole shut, a copper backer isn’t needed; start a bead on the edge of the hole and pull all new successive beads off the previous bead. If you can throw a cat through it you can weld it shut !

In 30 seconds that tiny hole would have been yesterday's news.
 
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