recommendations

[superls]

hi all,

just a quick one (hopefully)

im after a spot weld drill for some car work ill be doing at the weekend, ive looked at a few, the ones that look like a drill with a point in the middle, but ive spotted this one at machine mart

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/cht467-38in-spot-weld-drill

any thoughts? anyone got/used one? how good or bad are they? not got much work for it but i at least want it useable afterwards for other possible jobs.

any recommendations as to others i could get?

cheers scott

 

[Robotstar5]

We used a similar type at work, blades are double ended and replaceable.

 

[ampegboy1]

I bought that Machine Mart one - it was absolute junk The teeth lasted for about four spot welds on my Beetle before the teeth on the cutting side broke and the teeth on the non-cutting side ate their way into shaft - not great, especially since I go easy on tools and take good care of them. I replaced it with one of these from ScrewFix. The ScrewFix one is nice and cuts very smoothly. The small point at the end helps it self-centre to a degree as well.

Michael

 

[breezer]

I got a cobalt Dormer one like the screwfix one off ebay for £3.99 not used it yet but it looks nice and I REALLY rate Dormer bits.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DORMER-6mm-CO...eNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ht_1736wt_1165

Jim

 

[series2]

I got a cobalt Dormer one like the screwfix one off ebay for £3.99 not used it yet but it looks nice and I REALLY rate Dormer bits.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/DORMER-6mm-CO...eNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ht_1736wt_1165

Jim

They work really well, and when it finally does lose its edge, you can grind it up into a drill bit.

I got about 100 - 150 welds before it stopped working.

 

[Blackjack]

Once upon a time, I was using these all bloody day it seemed like.

Which is best?

Depends on the car.

Rule of thumb, the mini hole saw ones are best on newer (thinner) stuff, the drill type ones better on older (thicker) stuff.

But, if you get and older car and the seams are swollen, the hole saw ones work better, and you can often clean the rust back and make it worth while using one.

Likewise, newer stuff, it can be a bit hard, and the drill type tends to be better in that case.

This of course is my experience, yours may vary.

Get both, pay attention to the RPMs they run at, see which is best on the application.

 

[superls]

update

i bought one of the machine mart ones in my post above, mainly as i pass a machine mart on my way home from work.

firstly i started out be centre punching the spot welds, so the pin would stop in, but that was a bit hit and miss especialy on the harder to reach spots.
so i opted for suing a tiny centre drill just to leave a small hole in the middle of the spot weld, worked a treat, perfect for the job, and still re-usable for the next front x-member i have to replace.

cheers for the advice.

 

[MG David]

I have alo found that the machinemart type works much better if you drill a pilot. The hole bunch dimple is not quite enough.