butt weld with mig sheetmetal bedside

Earl Bergeron (aka ebfabman, ezEarl, and eb) installs a lower front bedside panel on a first generation blazer.

[@pjmccracken]

That is about the best work I have seen in terms of patch panel replacement, especially the finishing out.... not much need for filler on this repair !! Very impressed with this work, how it should be done, but rarely is....

[@ezEarls]

Thanks Peter.

[@Nothingtoya]

I know this is old but I think the reason we dont typically see such hood repairs, people simply dont want to pay for great work. Most are ok as long as it looks "good".

[@dman1848]

I'm a Beater with 20 years under my belt. That man there is a Master Craftsman at work.

[@McElhinney65]

One of the best patch panel installation videos on youtube, beautiful work.

[@ezEarls]

+McElhinney65 Thanks for the complement.

[@mattywho8485]

Love the way you moved the weld around 100 times! Great job

[@timdetlor]

Preparing myself for a similar job. Great video, exceptional quality of work. Would love to see more.

[@lesliesterer8273]

I want to learn how to make a repair like this. I've been practicing with my everlast mig welder on some thin sheet. It definitely takes some finesse to get things going without any signs of warping.

[@davebrittain9216]

Ok I few comments regarding this video. First thing is that is was really interesting to see it sped up. Nice to see such nice reproduction of the original piece. Last thing is what a great job! Flawless workmanship is always such a pleasure to watch. Thanks for showing this!

[@ezEarls]

+Dave Brittain Thanks Dave.

[@jamesfoster4246]

Thank you! I will be placing an order with them. Nice Patchwork!

[@titan371]

Nice video and good job on that weld !!!

[@brentstewart4656]

good job less than 2 minutes stuff like this takes me many hours.

[@ryanford9259]

super clean work

[@kevinboatman7716]

At your level, you don't need me saying this but, "Great Work"!

[@ezEarls]

+Kevin Boatman Thanks Kevin. Much appreciated!

[@davekana8388]

A real craftsman!

[@ezEarls]

Thank you Dave.

[@davekana8388]

Earl Bergeron aka ebfabman Keep up the high standards you’ve got going!

[@MrFireman164]

Very nice work , but you need to slow down or your going to have a heart attack ! :)

[@johnjacob688]

That was so satisfying to watch.

[@ezEarls]

Thanks John.

[@thesniperofcs]

Keep going bro , That what i called The Loyalty in Work

[@ezEarls]

thesniperofcs thx!

[@AaronUnknownPerformance]

Thats amazing work

[@ezEarls]

thx

[@modelleg]

That's a workmanlike job.

[@dlove118]

If I was that good I would just clear coat it and tell everyone that I welded that shiney section myself.

[@robertbecker2910]

Almost shameful to cover such beautiful work with paint.

[@_DaSpookyOne_]

I wish I had your skills!

[@28704joe]

Only thing better is to have a section showing the tools and grits you used. Nice work.

[@anonymousgoat3669]

Excellent work.. I do the same thing.👍

[@ezEarls]

It took over five hours to do the bedside. The aftermarket panel, as it was stamped, wasn't close enough. It had to be flattened out and the character line redefined so the wheel opening flow would be correct. Then the door opening side also had to be straightened and the whole panel planished to contour before mock up.

[@JeffTso]

nice. great job

[@ezEarls]

+T Jeff thx!

[@bishop5166]

look at him! getting to it.

[@jorgenieto2972]

very good job

[@ezEarls]

Thank you Jorge.

[@claytonlangenfeld4995]

Not bad, I will weld the floor pans on my 72 El Camino SS. :D

[@scottChapman25]

thank you

[@DoubleRRestorations]

Very nice work. Panel fitment is perfect. What kind of disc are you using at the 1:14 mark. Great work.

[@ezEarls]

Double R Restorations Thanks. The disc you're asking about is a 50 grit disc. I like to keep moving around when grinding to keep from getting any one area overheated.

[@MrFixBroken]

What discs are you using to sand the weld? Did you start with a flap wheel with the grinder? What kind of wheels did you use on your pneumatic? It's really hard to tell. Also, what was the grit at each step? Thanks!

[@ezEarls]

+MrFixBroken Hello, I don't use flap wheel. Check out the other comments for some answers. Thx.

[@shonuffisthemaster]

wow. that kooks great. suprused u didnt remove the paint before welding, or is that some sort of weld through primer or somethibg

[@ezEarls]

Thanks for the reply. All the welded area was cleaned to bare metal prior to starting. Cleaning is a really important step.

[@splash5974]

Absolutely flawless! Only vid you'll see on here, that you can finish your patch panel with primer... Lol Great job! I just welded in a set of patch panels last night, and i spent hrs chasing pinholes in the welds... uggghhhhh I was using flux core wire, so dont know if that had anything to do with it?

[@ezEarls]

Thanks splash.

[@ezEarls]

Thanks splash, the positive comments mean a lot. Yes. you should try solid wire with a shielding gas instead.

[@splash5974]

EB's channel Your welcome! Just bought a new Lincoln 140, so im hoping to try solid core as soon as i find a bottle for sale... Unfortunately had to finish a my patch work with flux core... Makes for so much extra work! Keep up the good work

[@jamesfoster4246]

Where did you get that tiny sanding disc from and what brand is it? That looks like the next “Tool That’ll Change Your Life” for me!

[@ezEarls]

James those are from Klingspor Abrasives.

[@firefightergaines]

Fantastic job. What all sizes and grit did u use in this project? Even the small one?

[@ezEarls]

firefightergaines Thanks. I use mainly 36 and 50 grit. From there its just clean up.

[@mikecorleone6797]

I’d love to hire you to replace the roof section on my 71 F250.. it’s got pretty bad cancer all around the drip channels so i went to the junkyard and cut a new roof section off one of the trashed trucks there.. just have no idea how to change it out...

[@ezEarls]

Thanks....

[@djstatyk1540]

Ok, so i learned something today. Butt weld your panels. i didn't butt weld (I just uploaded a video of me patching my quarter.) Anyway, i didn't do terrible, but it wasn't 100% either, i did it to begin learning. I flanged the quarter and cut my own patch panel out from a scrap impala hood. I rested the panel inside the areas that i flanged, (so it's flush to the rest) And yeah, it works, but i feel like it can be done better. I can certainly use some pro advice, if you can go to my channel and watch my video, it would be greatly appreciated.

[@scottChapman25]

I'm using a mig 130 from eastwood. I'm attempting to play patches in my 280z datsun. I'm setting the welder to the what it advise and my tac isn't laying flat. any advice? great work btw!

[@ezEarls]

+Scott Chapman Get some scrap of similar gauge and just play with the settings. Go to extremes with the settings and spend plenty of time til you get the results you're after. Also the proper mix gas and flow will help. Fast and hot is what I like on thin stuff.

[@Few_politicians_run_your_life]

Super

[@pierdolio]

Nice job! Can you give the wire size, ipm, and voltage, please. How close a fit was it? You didn't seem to be using cooling (air hose). The lack of warpage is remarkable.

[@ezEarls]

Thanks Adam. On thin sheet metal I use .025 Wire speed and voltage is really a "feel" thing. I am adjusting often during a welding process. I never force cool. The weld needs to be "hot" enough to penetrate and also fast enough to control heat. I like for my butt joints to touch. No gap. What works for me may not work for everyone. Its kind of a "finding your own style" type of thing. You just need to have enough penetration that when you do the grinding and finishing step, the integrity of the joint does not become compromised.

[@pierdolio]

ez earls I understand what you're saying. The reason I asked specifically is, there seem to be no hot spots (discoloration) where you tack weld. I find that when I do it no matter what I try I get hot spots and even though I have tried to cool them , I still get distortion. Again nice job. Oh! The welder I am using now is from Eastwood the 135 model which cost about 300+. I'm not certain that could be a problem be cause of the voltage startup or current inconsistency. What make do you use?

[@drrider100]

do you leave a small space between each piece of metal? or just butt them up against each other?

[@ezEarls]

All butt fit. No gap or overlap.

[@robertspringer4019]

I wish this video had audio and at normal speed. It looks like it could be very helpful. But not at this point.

[@briantanis6298]

Very nice work bro. Love the quality and detail. Is it better to replace a panel on a body line or move the cut above or below the line? I'm about to cut out and replace a lower quarter section. Thanks.

[@ezEarls]

+Brian Tanis Brian, I like to make the joint on a brake in the body line if there is one to work with. Sometimes there is no brake or line to use so the joint has to be in the middle of the panel somewhere. A lot will depend on your skill level also.

[@Enorbs96]

Out of curiosity, why do you do a series of tack welds instead of a single bead? I can see how it would leave less room for error, but it's so much more time consuming.

[@ezEarls]

Enorbs96 Sometimes I just have to account for the time to do things. Its the only way I know how to do it to get the results people expect from me. I'm sure its not the only way, just my way. Do you have any videos of metal finishing panel work? I might learn something by seeing someone's technique. Thanks for the view.

[@Enorbs96]

ez earls After doing a bit of research, I found that your technique is called stitch welding. It's good for avoiding warping in the metal which I now see is perfect for body work. I'm actually a student in welding school getting close to a mig certification, but I haven't done any work on cars, so I guess they haven't had a need to show us those techniques.

[@ezEarls]

Enorbs96 Welding on heavy metal is not so hard, especially if you have good instruction. Two statements of advise. 1) Always use some type of breathing apparatus. The fumes from welding are awful for your body. 2) Learn to weld thin sheet metal without distortion. Tig and Oxyacetylene are useful here. Keep practicing. Always try to get better. Congratulations on learning a skill that will carry you through life.

[@73superglide62]

How many hours ?

[@thesniperofcs]

i heard the mig welding must be used with shielding gas , what is it called ? and does all mig machines are using shielding gas or not all of them ? i see some people recommend the mig weld in many things , is it the easier than oxy-acetylene or not ? i bought the arc to weld front quarter panel but it didn't work good for me , then i used the oxy-acetylene , it works but it is hard for me as a beginner . can you please recommend a mig machine for me from ebay ?

[@ezEarls]

thesniperofcs The shielding gas is a mixture of CO2/argon. Lincoln and Miller make good mig welders, but there are many good welders available.

[@JosephDR]

WOW!

[@pauldhennessey]

purrrfact!

[@EquilibriumAlchemist]

Wow.

[@shawnp8429]

so never run a long bead on panel?

[@ezEarls]

+Shawn P It depends on the gauge.

[@shawnp8429]

+ez earls I'm going to do my 1992 econoline cargo van.im watching your video to get ready for my first time doing this

[@ezEarls]

+Shawn P Might want to practice on some scrap for a bit prior.

[@shawnp8429]

+ez earls will do,I only have a 140 Lincoln flux core welder.as of now my main concern is cutting the old rockers and panels off.I picked up a 1992 ford e250 cargo van for 500 bucks. it has 60k on it and runs flawless,I'm going to try to restore it myself.the only thing I second guess myself on it the body work.

[@shawnp8429]

+ez earls I'm going to spot weld just like you did in the video,

[@highwaystar8310]

what welder did you use?

[@ezEarls]

Dan, I use several welders. The one I use most on sheet metal is an older Lincoln. It is called model SP-170T, but there are comparable models available. It is a 220 unit. I like it because it is fairly versatile. Thanks for asking....eb

[@seanfagan4996]

Ok your hired how much you want an hour?

[@ezEarls]

It really depends on exactly what you want done Sean Fagan.

[@scottChapman25]

what would you set your 80-20 gas up? I've been between 20-15 psi.

[@ezEarls]

+Scott Chapman That should work. Be sure nothing is blowing on or disturbing the shielding gas. Practice a lot.