The heat is on!

It is 22 degrees outside and dropping but it's 70 degrees in the garage!

I bought these outdoor heaters from Costco a while back(the bright red glowing  things on the wall).  But nothing warms up the room like the propane heater.  I also got a couple of kerosene heaters but right now the propane was the cheapest for the amount of heat. Even though the garage is insulated, it is very drafty.  I even have a hole in the ceiling with a box fan to help flow the fumes out of the garage when I paint or weld.  But I still have to open the door from time to time or go out for fresh air.  But for working in the garage this is good heat.  During the summer I got stand up fans and AC!  That metal duct work in the back is for the AC.  (AC not shown).  Back to work.  I just primed a part and need to do some more sanding.

I really need a bigger garage!  :-)

2009 Blizzard

Another pic of the garage heaters in 2009.

I use the propane heater when it is really cold out. The wall heaters usually work fine until we get a long cold spell like we had this season. 

  This one has a ceramic back and is very quite. So quite I have to do a double check just to make sure I turned it off at night.  When I change the tanks I check all the fittings with 409 or Windex to make sure there is no leaks.  Tonight things didn't smell right and I did a soap test (409) and one of the hoses was leaking.  Shut it all down and fixed the leak with a new clamp.  Checked again and all is good!  The heat is on!    

Spotty we need more power! I'm giving her all she's got Captain!

I wanted to re-create the spot welding of the assembly line welding and weld marks to keep it as close to the factory setup as possible.  But spot welders are very expensive.  Then one day I found this spot welder on the internet and bought through Amazon.  It was made in China.  Very cheap and heavy compared to the name brand models.  Most were about $700.  This one was $150.

When I first got it I wanted to try it out.  So I got some scrap metal and tried it.  Nothing but a buzzing noise.  took the tongs out and cleaned them.  I figured out where the tongs clamp down via Allen screws were not fitting right and some of the screws were not even tight. I ended up shaving the brass blocks the tongs fit into because they kept moving and the screws were cheap so I found some new screws at Homer Depot and replaced most of them.  Tried it again and it was working!

The bad thing is the tongs are only 7 inches deep and it is heavy.  Holding it with two hands and trying to get it in the right spot to weld is a challenge.  I can start to weld the edges and some panels.  I will have to figure out how to get longer tongs to reach inside the large panels.

But here is a sample.  The rear quarters were hung too high in the back and I had to cut the welds and realign them to fit the end caps at the right height.

I'll post some new pics soon.

Here you go.  010409 10pm and yes it is cold in the garage at 27 degrees outside.  But I got some heaters.  I'll fill you in later on the heat.

Front Apron by the shock tower.

Here is a test on scrap metal.  This is thick metal, it came from the old front torque box.  10 gauge.  It is giving me the type of spot welding I was looking for.

Here is some new pics from Jan 15.

Going to make some longer tongs!

I looked around for the longer tongs but the cost was more than the welder so I found this place that sells all kinds of metal.  http://www.speedymetals.com/

I ordered these 24 inch solid copper rods and had to bend them and shape the end for the contact point.

I first tried using a propane torch to heat it up but that took forever so I placed the rod in the heater for a good 10 minutes.  Brought it to the bench vise and it was a lot easier to bend.

Cool it down with some water.

Ready for some test welds!

Smokin'!

Looks almost like a factory weld.  Need to practice more.