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.