How to straighten minor weld warping?
 

I do have some what I'll call minor weld warping only along the seam length and not full length, just a few areas in the quarter panel skin.

the large panel has none and came out great. so iv'e since read that you do want the gap fit as tight as possible so I did good there after all.

I'm new to working with steel like this, can it be hammer and dolly removed/straightened? should I heat it up then hammer and dolly? do I use the stretching/shrinking hammer?

I'm going to go even slower on the drivers side skin and see if I can achieve no warp. I may have caused it during grinding of the weld and overheated it not paying enough attention. any help is greatly appreciated. thanks

Unfortunately I have never had good results leaving no gap between the panels and having no warping but maybe that's just me. I have had success using a shrinking disk on a grinder and also using a hammer and dolly at times. I have an Eagle stretch/shrinker that works awesome that I picked up from a body shop going out of business.

I purchased one of these shrink disc kits from these guys and it works great after a little practice. You owe me a beer!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt07pLebQwQ

https://www.wolfesmetalfabrication.com/sdisc.html

Smack your welds before you start trying to straighten the sheet metal.

The welds themselves shrink and pull (distort) the sheet metal.

Hammer and dolly directly on the welds is where to start.

As soon as you hammer & dolly (stretch) or use a shrinker on the sheet metal, you may have a hard time recovering.


I don't claim much experience but when I filled in some holes in my fender and didn't understand the weld shrinkage I made a mess that took a long time to correct. I bought one of the shrinking discs and it worked well for me but I think I could have avoided the need for it if I had just planished the welds as I went along.

Here's a good explanation of monitoring shrink along a seam and relieving by planishing (randomly snagged online, I'm sure there are others):

https://www.bangshift.com/forum/foru...hing-mig-welds

X2. Planish your welds.

Don

thank you very much for the tips.

am I to late to planish the already ground down weld seam and should go straight to a shrinking disc?

I have never even heard of a shrinking disc, it appears easy to use. although my warps are only along the seam itself no large areas.

should I use the hammer that looks like a meat tenderizer when using the hammer dolly method?

silly questions to those experienced I know, but if I can get steered in the best direction I can handle it I believe. uncharted territory for me.

You need to stretch, not shrink. Planish your weld line with a hammer and dolly. Regular hammer, not the meat tenderizer shrinking hammer.



Don

Yep, while welding metal expands, but it shrinks to a point smaller than before welding as it cools. You need to planish the welds to expand it again, then see where you are.

Torch and a wet rag

Yep ... I've also heard that people use heat and quenching to shrink metal ... but I'm not sure how much that applies to weld beads which have already gone through the heat induced expand/shrink cycle before. It can work well on mid panel lumps and bumps though.

Torch and a wet rag will shrink and distort it further. Wrong direction. Stretch it with a hammer and dolly.

Plenty of videos on weld planishing on YouTube....

Don

thank you for the replies.

I completed the drivers quarter today and I did it much differently. much slower, moved around even when grinding the welds.

only a couple spots need the hammer and dolly treatment. I have not got into it yet, but did a small spot on the passenger side and it worked.

I'm going to enlist my son to help with holding the dolly before I get after it.

I'm going to get a bag of steel shot to hold while hammering, thinking that will work real well? maybe better than a dolly?

You need to use a dolly when planishing welds, not a shot bag.

Don

LOL! What was I thinking. I have only chopped and sectioned a few cars. YouTubes weren't even around when I did. You?

Hammer & dolly might eventually do it as it thins the metal and probably will oil can it in another spot.

Planishing welds with a hammer and dolly is common and correct practice. Welding shrinks metal, to correct it you stretch it with a hammer and dolly. OP tried it and he said it worked....

Maybe you could find some VHS tapes on basic sheet metal welding etc on eBay since you have an aversion to YouTube. The bangshift link posted below is also an excellent tutorial.

Don

Hehehe ... maybe planish it with a rock too :) Hammers are too modern edgy.

H & D
 

It did work.

wanted to drive on with it but I was not comfortable reaching over in the trunk with the dolly and hammering both, slipped a little and dinged the quarter a little so i'm waiting on getting one of my sons to help.

obvious i'm no expert but I don't think i'll create any canning. the warps are not very big. i'll be taking it very slow and carefull while doing it, i'm proud of my quarter skins! ha

u can see in the pics there are no big warps etc. literally just at the weld. and not full length. just here and there.

wish I could have slowed down like I did on the drivers side. I get all excited and think I can get away with it. (rookie syndrome!)

Sorry, I learned metal finishing back in the 70's from an old Italian off the boat who's 5 favorite tools were a hammer, dolly, torch, wet rag and a body file. To him, it was sacrilegious to use "Bondo" and if need be, no thicker than you can see the metal through it. He also taught me lead work.

Can you skin a door with no filler? That was taught to me by an old black guy.

I did not learn from any "videos" but from old timers who were masters of metal. More people should try it, they could actually learn something this interweb and its village idiots & Super Heros cannot teach. ;)

People today believe everything on the internet. LOL! Good luck in the real world - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bufTna0WArc

Maybe techniques were different back then due to different processes? Everyone pretty much mig welds panels now days but in the 70's I think there was a lot of oxy/acetylene welding or brazing being done?

You are a piece of work. It’s a shame they let you back on the forum. Sad day for many....

I’m guessing you’ve never learned a thing from anyone because you knew it all at birth.

Troll on...

Don