Removing Spot Welds

A

antoniohawk

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 3, 2003
Messages
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On a case of mine, that I'm trying to take apart, there seem to be a group of 3 spot welds attaching two pieces of metal. Is there any way to these pieces apart without totally destroying the area?
 
If it's a crappy weld, freeze it and try to split it with a chisel. (This is much easier on a steel case than an aluminum case.)

Otherwise, use an end mill or some other cutter to bore/grind one side of the weld (this lets you try and keep at least one side intact). If all else fails, drill it. If you use a stock size, you can push or weld a piece of metal dowel into the hole to patch it back up.
 
antoniohawk said:
On a case of mine, that I'm trying to take apart, there seem to be a group of 3 spot welds attaching two pieces of metal. Is there any way to these pieces apart without totally destroying the area?
Click to expand...
You can get a spot weld remover from a company like www.eastwoodco.com but its basically drilling it out. Just the proper tool for the job.
 
I drilled a hole in all the welds, but it didn't seem to be big enough. I'm gonna go back with a bigger bit and see if that helps. If not, I'll put it in the freezer. Thanks for the advice guys.
 
First of all, what material? Is it aluminum or steel?
If it's aluminum, you're going to crack it. If it's steel, it'll be tough.
You should be using a die grinder or Dremel cutting wheel; the weld is stronger than the surrounding material on steel, though. (On aluminum, the whole area is weakened unless filler is used, and it'll just crack apart.)

What you should do is cut into a side with a die grinder right on the weld; remember, it's fusing the metals together. Do this for all the welds in the area or along the structural edge, and then use either a chisel or prybar to try working them. Don't force it, because you'll just bend the metal.

These don't sound like spot welds tho. Spot welds are those tiny beads about rivet sized, easily hacked off with a die grinder. These sound like short seam welds.

(No, I'm not a professional, I'm self-taught.)
 
That could be, maybe they're not spot welds. When I got one apart, it looks like a 10mm diamater puddle of burnt metal where they must have been fused together.
 
Spot weld diagram:
http://www.engineersedge.com/weld/electric_resistance_welding.htm

If they had their machine set right, the weld spot will be the strongest point. Drilling out the center, then twisting the parts is usually the fastest way (if you don't mind the resulting hole). If you only want a hole in one part, grinding it away is main option if you don't have a machine shop handy.

And by freeze, I mean liquid nitrogen freeze. A kitchen freezer just doesn't have the oomph to crystalize the weld nugget. :)

(I spent eight years breaking spot welds in a machine shop, but I had a machine shop handy. :) )
 
Oh ok. Well, I stuck it in the freezer overnight and I'm gonna go check and see if it did any good at all.
 
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