I'm hoping to do longer projects, but I won't limit myself to just one project. I like to jump around and let the projects settle and mature. I hope to start working on one of aluminum body go carts my students started on. It will be for my grandson, he will be five in March.
@@proshaper whatever you are working on we learn so much every time If this virus is ever under control i hope to take your course but it is a long way from thailand !
Hi Wray. As all my welding is mild steel and MIG welding , and has been oft 50 years ! The first thing l noticed was your MIG was set up absolutely spot on. But l think l'm going to find a cheap TIG and have a bash ! Thanks Wray .Take care and stay safe.
VIDEO MOST EXCELLENT. I am new to your channel but will be a faithful follower. It is very interesting to note that much of my 27 years working with sheets of plastic incorporates much of the elements used in your sheet metal fabrication. The English wheel on sheets of plastic, I have never tried but I will. Thanks for your educating us.
First class tuition as ever Wray. Thanks for showing us what can be done with steel panels. Until tonight I've been kidding myself that my results aren't as good because you're working Aluminium. Seems I need to up my game. It will be good to see the full welds and finishing.
Nice informative video Wray Thanks for taking the time to make these! You made me chuckle though. I used to do a lot of work for the union welders in B.C. . They call the Mig monkeywire :). That being said 2, of them stopped by the shop, watched me stitch-weld a 62 impala rear quarter on mid panel for the entire 5 1/2 feet with no distortion and gained a little respect for the humble wirefeed after that. I noticed the Tig tipped the weld where you tacked with it, much more so than the Mig. Tack sitting on top and cooling down & tipping the joint. Still a $200 entry into the welding world makes it accessible to a person who wants to learn on a budget.
I want to develop these skills , a tall order perhaps , tig welding is easy i could develop a buck then comes the talented bit of shaping the panel , great video all thc best from the uk
I have a pedal for my tig, but really don't get on with it for bodywork. I spend half the time chasing the pedal around the floor so it's in a spot where I can reach both it and the weld, and that's with the body shell on a rotisserie. What I far prefer is manually pulsing the torch button, as you're doing, but with slope down set somewhere between 1 and 1.5 seconds. That way the arc is continuous, but I still have plenty of control over the average current to cope with the gap or thickness variations. I look forward to the next video, as I an trying to perfect tig butt weld planishing and smoothing the weld distortion before welding GT arches into my 914. I'm considering making a hand held planishing hammer (I have a cheap bench mounted one, so would only need to make a new frame), and practicing on scrap panels which I have cut in half with it first. The idea being to only start on the GT arches when I can planish the joins in the scrap panels to a standard that I am happy with.
Ha small world, I'm actually tig welding GT arches on my 914 right now. I just finished the fronts and am starting the rears tomorrow. I wish I had a planishing hammer but am doing it all by hand, which as you can imagine is taking a while. The top portions where the arch meets the top of the fender are the easiest parts, but as you work around to either side of the arch there won't be enough clearance in there to fit a planishing hammer - there's barely enough to fit a regular hammer.
@@JR-iy7pb A lack of room to swing a hammer under the GT arches is what I'm worried about. On other parts of the car I've managed a reasonable job of hammering distortion out when there is good access so far. However, where access is limited (like welding up the aerial hole) I've struggled. I rather like the look of a planishing hammer like this ruclips.net/video/Jr5YlXcd5mE/видео.html . It's more like an air powered slapper, and quite a bit more compact than the air chisel based one I currently have. It's made from a palm nailer, which is quite a bit more compact. As a hand held tool it looks very useful, just using normal body dollies and not requiring a frame. Rather like 'ironing' bodywork! I've started ordering junk off ebay today to have a go at making one myself. It's very interesting how Wray welds the join in long beads in the next video. I would tend to do 1/2" at a time, allowing time to cool in-between to try to minimise distortion, but I guess distortion is less of an issue when you have lots more experience and confidence in correcting it than I do! I'm using all the rust repairs on the rest of the car as practice before tacking the GT arches last, as they have the most visible butt weld seams. It would be really awesome to see how Wray would planish this weld seam smooth using only hammering, - no English wheel for comparison, especially if it were in a fixed orientation with limited access to the inside, like if fixed to a car. I think he's by far the best teacher of this stuff on RUclips!
@@richardjones38 thanks, that is a very cool little tool. I definitely jump around when welding to minimize the heat distortion - I did an inch between tacks at one end of the flare, then jumped around doing an inch at the other end, and so on and so on until the whole thing was done. I took my first ever metalworking class with Wray 3 years ago - I was a complete beginner before that. He is an excellent teacher - beyond the skills I learned without a doubt the most valuable thing Wray gave me was the confidence that almost everything you do can be corrected. It's served me well, because I've seriously messed stuff up, and rather than just give up I've known I can methodically go back and correct almost anything. That was only one of two classes I've ever taken - Wray's gave me the fundamentals of metalshaping, and the second was a metal finishing workshop with Benjamin Starr, who I believe also used to work for Wray. That was where I learned everything I needed to fix dents and metal finish welds. So, regarding wanting to see Wray finishing the weld by hand, you'll basically be using different hammer and dolly (or a slapper) techniques to raise the low spots, and then a shrinking disc to lower any high spots, or overworked areas. Wray has a number of really good videos about how to use his shrinking disc that also cover most of the techniques you'll need. Here's his most recent one - ruclips.net/video/IGuc06GMwG4/видео.html - but there are a couple of older ones that are really good too. For the areas of the weld on the 914 flare that had very little clearance in behind, I ground as much of the weld as I could and then used a dolly in my hand, and as much swing and force as I could get to hammer it back out. Once I'd got it to a place that was relatively level and corrected for the weld shrinkage I then hammer and dollied it, and used the shrinking disc to get it flat. The trickiest part of the whole thing was getting the transition of the reverse curve of the flare to flow into the compound curve of the existing fender. I hear you on the aerial hole. It's so close to the rear fender support that there's very little room to get in there. I still have to finish mine and am considering buying a stud gun and slide hammer to pull out the low spots. I've posted most of my progress on instagram - my account is johnatron77 - there may be something in there that helps you with your flares, or maybe not.
@@JR-iy7pb I would love to do one (or many!) of Wray’s classes, but I’m in the UK. I have a customer who hand builds Lotus 11 bodies, and while he doesn’t offer classes, he has encouraged me to have a go at things I probably didn’t previously have the confidence to try when it comes to making some panels for the 914. I guess he can see that I have enough enthusiasm, but his encouragement has made a big difference. I think I need to order one of Wray’s shrinking discs. I’d seen other youtubers using shrinking discs before, but I’d not really been convinced. Now I’ve watched an awful lot of his videos though, if Wray says something works and is the best tool for the job, I believe him! In the hands of an expert, I suspect it could get rid of an really annoying dent in the bonnet which ‘oil cans’. Someone has clearly pushed it shut too hard, and too far from the edge, stretching the panel very slightly. Not sure whether I dare to try fixing that yet, but maybe I’ll be more confident once the GT arches are all welded in and smooth.
My spot welder has a stud welding attachment which I’ve never really used. I recently bought a slide hammer and dent pulling accessory kit (‘wiggle wire’, studs, etc) kit which I hope to use to pull a tricky long dent out of the door. Mine is a ’75, and there is no access to the back of the dent because of the ‘late model only’ door reinforcement. My plan is to put a similar dent into a scrap door, and practice pulling that out first before using it on 914 parts. I’ll probably make a lever mechanism to do the pulling though, as that looks a lot more controlled than a slide hammer. I also plan to use the stud welder to get rid of a low spot where I welded up the aerial hole. I’ve given up trying to hammer it out from below, having spent a whole evening on it, and it being no better after than before I started! Thanks for the link. I'm not an instagram user, but the more pics of how other have done their GT arches before attempting mine, the better. This is a favorite of mine so far www.themetalsurgeon.com/category/914/
Richard Jones thanks for that link, super helpful. I remember seeing some of his posts on 914world - amazing work. My 73 has the door reinforcements too, I found a terrible previous repair once I stripped all the filler off and not having the access in behind is a real pain. I’m from Birmingham originally but moved to the U.S. 12 years ago. Was definitely easier to find classes out here, although I’m sure there are some in the UK too. I’d definitely recommend getting a shrinking disc. They’re not that hard to use and are great for correcting any overstretching.
Hi Wray, When you cut the edge or the frame off the formed panel, will there be a change in the the shape of the panel, if so what do you lookout for? Regards from Oz.
Another great video Wray! I’m just starting to get into panel fabrication... mostly just patch panels so far or replacement sections. My question is do you anneal the steel the same way you anneal the aluminum to make softer or more pliable?? Thanks and keep up the great work and videos!🤙
You can anneal sheet steel but to do it effectively you have to use a heat treating oven. It's not practical for automotive panels. The good news is you can work 20 and 19 gauge steel pretty easy. 18 gauge is tougher.
I took your class a few years ago Wray and learned so much. Thank you. Question: Instead of marking the lower panel and then sticking tape on the mark line could you not apply the blue tape directly to the cut line while they are still clamped together?
Hi Steve, Yes, of course I remember you. How do you ever forget the Banana car man who has a rockabilly show? Yes, I think your idea will also work. I'll have to try it.
Wray, sometimes when I'm using the shrinking disc on a weld a really hard crease/ridge will form in the metal - is that normal? Or am I over shrinking it? I'm assuming it has something to do with a change in the thickness of material where the weld is?
Great stuff Wray. Coming along nicely. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on wheeling the mig welded seam vs the tig... Is one softer or harder than the other?
You make the videos as long as you like wray i would watch the master work all day if i could
I'm hoping to do longer projects, but I won't limit myself to just one project. I like to jump around and let the projects settle and mature. I hope to start working on one of aluminum body go carts my students started on. It will be for my grandson, he will be five in March.
@@proshaper whatever you are working on we learn so much every time
If this virus is ever under control i hope to take your course but it is a long way from thailand !
@@proshaper i see you have back problems as i have i hope it will improve soon
You are a great teacher!
Thanks!
I think to most important thing is to take from this is the attention to detail you put into work.
Hi Wray. As all my welding is mild steel and MIG welding , and has been oft 50 years ! The first thing l noticed was your MIG was set up absolutely spot on. But l think l'm going to find a cheap TIG and have a bash ! Thanks Wray .Take care and stay safe.
Great one Wray. This is addictive viewing. Thank-you.
VIDEO MOST EXCELLENT.
I am new to your channel but will be a faithful follower.
It is very interesting to note that much of my 27 years working with sheets of plastic incorporates much of the elements used in your sheet metal fabrication.
The English wheel on sheets of plastic, I have never tried but I will.
Thanks for your educating us.
First class tuition as ever Wray. Thanks for showing us what can be done with steel panels. Until tonight I've been kidding myself that my results aren't as good because you're working Aluminium. Seems I need to up my game. It will be good to see the full welds and finishing.
Nice informative video Wray Thanks for taking the time to make these! You made me chuckle though. I used to do a lot of work for the union welders in B.C. . They call the Mig monkeywire :). That being said 2, of them stopped by the shop, watched me stitch-weld a 62 impala rear quarter on mid panel for the entire 5 1/2 feet with no distortion and gained a little respect for the humble wirefeed after that. I noticed the Tig tipped the weld where you tacked with it, much more so than the Mig. Tack sitting on top and cooling down & tipping the joint. Still a $200 entry into the welding world makes it accessible to a person who wants to learn on a budget.
Fantastic series Wray, just like the other that you do, keep it up from across the pond, Thanks
Nice job 👍
Thanks for another informative video Wray. We appreciate it.
“Area and arrangement” words to live by!
Excellent - thank you!
Thanks Wray these tutorials are excellent.
Looks excellent Wray! Thanks for the video! Cheers, Doug
Awesome job, fella! You make it look so easy.
Excellent content- as usual !!! Thanks, Wray.
I've noticed in several videos that tig seems to take longer to tack, but overall does a nice weld. I'm looking forward to getting a tig.
Great video . Looks like im in the market for a tig
Thanks for your time and skills, we really appreciate it.
I want to develop these skills , a tall order perhaps , tig welding is easy i could develop a buck then comes the talented bit of shaping the panel , great video all thc best from the uk
Great job
Thank you.
I have a pedal for my tig, but really don't get on with it for bodywork. I spend half the time chasing the pedal around the floor so it's in a spot where I can reach both it and the weld, and that's with the body shell on a rotisserie. What I far prefer is manually pulsing the torch button, as you're doing, but with slope down set somewhere between 1 and 1.5 seconds. That way the arc is continuous, but I still have plenty of control over the average current to cope with the gap or thickness variations.
I look forward to the next video, as I an trying to perfect tig butt weld planishing and smoothing the weld distortion before welding GT arches into my 914. I'm considering making a hand held planishing hammer (I have a cheap bench mounted one, so would only need to make a new frame), and practicing on scrap panels which I have cut in half with it first. The idea being to only start on the GT arches when I can planish the joins in the scrap panels to a standard that I am happy with.
Ha small world, I'm actually tig welding GT arches on my 914 right now. I just finished the fronts and am starting the rears tomorrow. I wish I had a planishing hammer but am doing it all by hand, which as you can imagine is taking a while.
The top portions where the arch meets the top of the fender are the easiest parts, but as you work around to either side of the arch there won't be enough clearance in there to fit a planishing hammer - there's barely enough to fit a regular hammer.
@@JR-iy7pb A lack of room to swing a hammer under the GT arches is what I'm worried about. On other parts of the car I've managed a reasonable job of hammering distortion out when there is good access so far. However, where access is limited (like welding up the aerial hole) I've struggled. I rather like the look of a planishing hammer like this ruclips.net/video/Jr5YlXcd5mE/видео.html . It's more like an air powered slapper, and quite a bit more compact than the air chisel based one I currently have. It's made from a palm nailer, which is quite a bit more compact. As a hand held tool it looks very useful, just using normal body dollies and not requiring a frame. Rather like 'ironing' bodywork! I've started ordering junk off ebay today to have a go at making one myself.
It's very interesting how Wray welds the join in long beads in the next video. I would tend to do 1/2" at a time, allowing time to cool in-between to try to minimise distortion, but I guess distortion is less of an issue when you have lots more experience and confidence in correcting it than I do! I'm using all the rust repairs on the rest of the car as practice before tacking the GT arches last, as they have the most visible butt weld seams.
It would be really awesome to see how Wray would planish this weld seam smooth using only hammering, - no English wheel for comparison, especially if it were in a fixed orientation with limited access to the inside, like if fixed to a car. I think he's by far the best teacher of this stuff on RUclips!
@@richardjones38 thanks, that is a very cool little tool. I definitely jump around when welding to minimize the heat distortion - I did an inch between tacks at one end of the flare, then jumped around doing an inch at the other end, and so on and so on until the whole thing was done.
I took my first ever metalworking class with Wray 3 years ago - I was a complete beginner before that. He is an excellent teacher - beyond the skills I learned without a doubt the most valuable thing Wray gave me was the confidence that almost everything you do can be corrected. It's served me well, because I've seriously messed stuff up, and rather than just give up I've known I can methodically go back and correct almost anything.
That was only one of two classes I've ever taken - Wray's gave me the fundamentals of metalshaping, and the second was a metal finishing workshop with Benjamin Starr, who I believe also used to work for Wray. That was where I learned everything I needed to fix dents and metal finish welds.
So, regarding wanting to see Wray finishing the weld by hand, you'll basically be using different hammer and dolly (or a slapper) techniques to raise the low spots, and then a shrinking disc to lower any high spots, or overworked areas. Wray has a number of really good videos about how to use his shrinking disc that also cover most of the techniques you'll need. Here's his most recent one - ruclips.net/video/IGuc06GMwG4/видео.html - but there are a couple of older ones that are really good too.
For the areas of the weld on the 914 flare that had very little clearance in behind, I ground as much of the weld as I could and then used a dolly in my hand, and as much swing and force as I could get to hammer it back out. Once I'd got it to a place that was relatively level and corrected for the weld shrinkage I then hammer and dollied it, and used the shrinking disc to get it flat. The trickiest part of the whole thing was getting the transition of the reverse curve of the flare to flow into the compound curve of the existing fender.
I hear you on the aerial hole. It's so close to the rear fender support that there's very little room to get in there. I still have to finish mine and am considering buying a stud gun and slide hammer to pull out the low spots.
I've posted most of my progress on instagram - my account is johnatron77 - there may be something in there that helps you with your flares, or maybe not.
@@JR-iy7pb I would love to do one (or many!) of Wray’s classes, but I’m in the UK. I have a customer who hand builds Lotus 11 bodies, and while he doesn’t offer classes, he has encouraged me to have a go at things I probably didn’t previously have the confidence to try when it comes to making some panels for the 914. I guess he can see that I have enough enthusiasm, but his encouragement has made a big difference.
I think I need to order one of Wray’s shrinking discs. I’d seen other youtubers using shrinking discs before, but I’d not really been convinced. Now I’ve watched an awful lot of his videos though, if Wray says something works and is the best tool for the job, I believe him! In the hands of an expert, I suspect it could get rid of an really annoying dent in the bonnet which ‘oil cans’. Someone has clearly pushed it shut too hard, and too far from the edge, stretching the panel very slightly. Not sure whether I dare to try fixing that yet, but maybe I’ll be more confident once the GT arches are all welded in and smooth.
My spot welder has a stud welding attachment which I’ve never really used. I recently bought a slide hammer and dent pulling accessory kit (‘wiggle wire’, studs, etc) kit which I hope to use to pull a tricky long dent out of the door. Mine is a ’75, and there is no access to the back of the dent because of the ‘late model only’ door reinforcement. My plan is to put a similar dent into a scrap door, and practice pulling that out first before using it on 914 parts. I’ll probably make a lever mechanism to do the pulling though, as that looks a lot more controlled than a slide hammer. I also plan to use the stud welder to get rid of a low spot where I welded up the aerial hole. I’ve given up trying to hammer it out from below, having spent a whole evening on it, and it being no better after than before I started!
Thanks for the link. I'm not an instagram user, but the more pics of how other have done their GT arches before attempting mine, the better. This is a favorite of mine so far www.themetalsurgeon.com/category/914/
Richard Jones thanks for that link, super helpful. I remember seeing some of his posts on 914world - amazing work. My 73 has the door reinforcements too, I found a terrible previous repair once I stripped all the filler off and not having the access in behind is a real pain.
I’m from Birmingham originally but moved to the U.S. 12 years ago. Was definitely easier to find classes out here, although I’m sure there are some in the UK too.
I’d definitely recommend getting a shrinking disc. They’re not that hard to use and are great for correcting any overstretching.
Hi Wray, When you cut the edge or the frame off the formed panel, will there be a change in the the shape of the panel, if so what do you lookout for? Regards from Oz.
Another great video Wray! I’m just starting to get into panel fabrication... mostly just patch panels so far or replacement sections. My question is do you anneal the steel the same way you anneal the aluminum to make softer or more pliable??
Thanks and keep up the great work and videos!🤙
You can anneal sheet steel but to do it effectively you have to use a heat treating oven. It's not practical for automotive panels. The good news is you can work 20 and 19 gauge steel pretty easy. 18 gauge is tougher.
Ok great, thank you for the helpful tip!
Look forward to the next video
I have a mig. But looking forward to get a tig. Any more info on that $200 one?
Thanks
Thanks Wray, these cheapy welders are alright ,eh? As we say in Canada, eh.
Hi Peter, I can't believe how well this little $300.00 tig works. It is steel only no AC for aluminum.
@@proshaper Thanks I'll try and check em out see if we can get something similar here in Canada
C eh, N eh, D eh?
Thanks
Aluminium ?
I took your class a few years ago Wray and learned so much.
Thank you.
Question:
Instead of marking the lower panel and then sticking tape on the mark line could you not apply the blue tape directly to the cut line while they are still clamped together?
Hi Steve, Yes, of course I remember you. How do you ever forget the Banana car man who has a rockabilly show? Yes, I think your idea will also work. I'll have to try it.
Wray, sometimes when I'm using the shrinking disc on a weld a really hard crease/ridge will form in the metal - is that normal? Or am I over shrinking it? I'm assuming it has something to do with a change in the thickness of material where the weld is?
Change the direction you are working and it will level into the surrounding metal
@@proshaper thanks!
Sorry but what happened to the porsche 550 build series?
I'll get back to it, I like to jump around.😁😁😁
@@proshaper Ahh good to know, thanks for sharing the knowledge.
Great stuff Wray. Coming along nicely. I'm curious to hear your thoughts on wheeling the mig welded seam vs the tig... Is one softer or harder than the other?
As long as you grind the weld correctly, it works like any weld in the English wheel.
Did you use any has with the tiger and the mig??
???? ask again.
@@proshaper is there a shielding gas used with the mig welder or with the tig welder?
@@Yogenh yes, both have shielding gas. The tig has argon. The mig has 75% argon/25%carbon dioxide.
@@proshaper thhanks