1981 LeBaron coupe - from the ground up.
- Thread starter Dr.Jass
- Start date
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
It is easier, restoman... but at the same time I could use the practice doing butt joints. Remember, I've got holes to patch that will be in plain sight. The area won't be visible, so I thought this might be a good spot in which I could practice those welds so the quarter patches come out better.
Again, any thoughts or firther suggestions are welcome. I'm not necessarily seeking easy so much as I'm seeking experience.
Oh, and my new Makita angle grinder came in today. I'll be heading out to beat on it shortly! :dance:
Again, any thoughts or firther suggestions are welcome. I'm not necessarily seeking easy so much as I'm seeking experience.
Oh, and my new Makita angle grinder came in today. I'll be heading out to beat on it shortly! :dance:
restoman
The paint fumes have cleared so I'm
Then practice away.
A good way to hold a butt patch in place is to use some old magnets or silver duct tape. Make sure the patch doesn't fit too tight in any opening you cut. Too snug a fit and the heat from welding will expand everything and you're left to deal with raised edges along the patch outline.
As always, the cleaner the metal, the better the weld.
But a word of caution: Butt welded patches are the preferred way to go in most cases, but for a self-confessed noob, overlapping the sheetmetal is MUCH easier. Especially when you're dealing with early 80s thin steel and rust.
With a little extra work on exposed edges, no one will ever know the difference unless you tell them.
A good way to hold a butt patch in place is to use some old magnets or silver duct tape. Make sure the patch doesn't fit too tight in any opening you cut. Too snug a fit and the heat from welding will expand everything and you're left to deal with raised edges along the patch outline.
As always, the cleaner the metal, the better the weld.
But a word of caution: Butt welded patches are the preferred way to go in most cases, but for a self-confessed noob, overlapping the sheetmetal is MUCH easier. Especially when you're dealing with early 80s thin steel and rust.
With a little extra work on exposed edges, no one will ever know the difference unless you tell them.
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Cut it out & practice the welding, worst case you cut it out again & practice on a bigger patch 
Been there done that
But I get the feeling your as bad as me & even though no one will see it YOU will know it's there & it will drive you nuts! :dgt: Rich.
Been there done thatBut I get the feeling your as bad as me & even though no one will see it YOU will know it's there & it will drive you nuts! :dgt: Rich.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Well, the night ended way early. The new angle grinder is certainly a bad sumbitch. Everything was going along swimmingly and paint was flying off in every direction, then the cup brush lost a wire that shot directly into my skull. I'm not kidding--I could not pull the wire out of my head with my fingers. I had to use Vise Grips to get it out, no joke.
Tomorrow, I buy a full face shield. Tonight, I debate whether I should go to the hospital. The injury isn't that bad and it bled like a bastard, but if there was tetanus on that wire and it embedded in bone, I could be in deep shit in short order.
Although my glasses are gone in the pics, you can see I was trying to be safe with an N95 particulate mask as well as safety glasses.
Tomorrow, I buy a full face shield. Tonight, I debate whether I should go to the hospital. The injury isn't that bad and it bled like a bastard, but if there was tetanus on that wire and it embedded in bone, I could be in deep shit in short order.
Although my glasses are gone in the pics, you can see I was trying to be safe with an N95 particulate mask as well as safety glasses.
Attachments
RUSTY Cuda
In over my head!
Aahhhh a patch a duct tape & back to work, startin to look a lot like some of my adventures! not a good direction to be a headin! rich.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I was not the happiest camper at that point. That was seconds after it happened; I'd already had to use Vise Grips to pull a foreign object out of my head. I stopped the bleeding in the garage and came in the house to survey the damage. The camera was in my pocket, so I snapped a few.
At this point I'm just waiting around for someone to return my message/call to take me to the hospital. The swelling has gone up; that can't be good.
The beer helps.
You know, ordinarily I have a hard time concentrating because I'm getting calls and/or texts all night. Tonight? Silence. Where the hell did everyone go?
At this point I'm just waiting around for someone to return my message/call to take me to the hospital. The swelling has gone up; that can't be good.
The beer helps.
You know, ordinarily I have a hard time concentrating because I'm getting calls and/or texts all night. Tonight? Silence. Where the hell did everyone go?
restoman
The paint fumes have cleared so I'm
That shit happens soooo fast it's scary when you think about it.
I've had so many chunks of whatever imbedded in my skin and eyes, I've lost count.
A full face shield is second nature now.
But, a couple years ago, I was cutting some 2 x 8's for a sill plate at the shop. I knew while doing it that I shouldn't be standing in front of the saw the way I was, knew that the little pieces bouncing around between the blade and the table opening could be dangerous, and further knew that the glasses I was wearing didn't cover as much as the shield I usually wore. Sure enough, one of those little chunks rocketed towards me at the speed of light, catching me about an inch above my right eyebrow.
Bleed? Oh my God, I never saw any wound bleed like that, and I've had plenty. For a good twenty minutes it flowed like a volcano. Swelled up like one of Pamela Anderson's boobies. Now I've got a nice Harry Potter-type scar that looks like a bolt of lightening when my face gets tanned.
I've had so many chunks of whatever imbedded in my skin and eyes, I've lost count.
A full face shield is second nature now.
But, a couple years ago, I was cutting some 2 x 8's for a sill plate at the shop. I knew while doing it that I shouldn't be standing in front of the saw the way I was, knew that the little pieces bouncing around between the blade and the table opening could be dangerous, and further knew that the glasses I was wearing didn't cover as much as the shield I usually wore. Sure enough, one of those little chunks rocketed towards me at the speed of light, catching me about an inch above my right eyebrow.
Bleed? Oh my God, I never saw any wound bleed like that, and I've had plenty. For a good twenty minutes it flowed like a volcano. Swelled up like one of Pamela Anderson's boobies. Now I've got a nice Harry Potter-type scar that looks like a bolt of lightening when my face gets tanned.
Not A Duster
Well-known member
Yeah - Doc - hope you are getting that looked at....that kinda stuff can get bad...particularily for someone at your advanced age....body doesn't heal itself like it used to.
Seriously - hope it ain't too bad.
Restoman is correct; It's amazing how quick dangerous shit happens. Someday I'll tell you the story of nodda, the air nailer and a 3" ardox spike sunk to the head through my thumbnail. [smilie=f:
Seriously - hope it ain't too bad.
Restoman is correct; It's amazing how quick dangerous shit happens. Someday I'll tell you the story of nodda, the air nailer and a 3" ardox spike sunk to the head through my thumbnail. [smilie=f:
thrashingcows
Drowning deep in my sea of loathing...so I'm
Ouch!! Definitely get a tetanus shot , if you haven't had one in the last 7 years. I seem to go about 5 and then do something bad and need another one.
I had a piece of metal ricochet and come around my safety glasses and then lodge itself in my eye. Had to get it pulled out, then they had to grind out around where the metal was because of the rust and contaminates that had already started to spread, not a fun night at he emergency.
Good luck!
I had a piece of metal ricochet and come around my safety glasses and then lodge itself in my eye. Had to get it pulled out, then they had to grind out around where the metal was because of the rust and contaminates that had already started to spread, not a fun night at he emergency.
Good luck!
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
no..no its not..especialy when the ER doc cant drill it out and your stuck waiting till the next day for the specilist....and your eys are EXTRA sensitive to the chemicals there using...yet carb clean dont hurt like that
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
doc..what brand cups are you useing?.....some brands hang in there better than others..and if its a cup it better be twisted groupings...they hang on longer.....but they will ALWAYS fly off like that...i was once finding them inbedded in everything ceiling walls all sheetrock...youll be finding them for many years
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I decided to wait and get the shot today during normal business hours. ER trips are usually far more expensive; I got the entire wire out so I'm sure all I need is a shot. The swelling's way down, as is the pain. Once I stopped the bleeding, it never resumed. I did let it bleed for a short time for the wound to be rinsed out, so to speak, but being that it was embedded as far as it was I'm still nervous.
69.5: it's a Forney cup which is a quality piece, and it's knotted. I don't buy dollar-store stuff when it's going to be spinning 10,000RPM a couple of feet from my head.
69.5: it's a Forney cup which is a quality piece, and it's knotted. I don't buy dollar-store stuff when it's going to be spinning 10,000RPM a couple of feet from my head.
GAH! Hope it's okay.
I squirmed just reading the post - never mind looking at the pictures.
Where can I get a riot shield with a headband on it?
I squirmed just reading the post - never mind looking at the pictures.
Where can I get a riot shield with a headband on it?
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
ive had pretty good luck with the dewalt cuts as well....
to be honest tho..asfter wire cupping an entire chevy truck frame..i pretty much REFUSE to use them for that very reason..its probably one of the most unsafe devices ever made...i feather touch with a cut off wheel or a flapper disc has gotten me the same results
as for the bleeding/tetnis...so long as your up to date i wouldnt worry..and the wire itself was likely spotlessly clean..all the ones ive pulled out of various body parts have always been clean..they hurt like hell cause of the twist and needle like design..a lil duct or elect tape and some TP or blue shop towels and ya keep on workin
to be honest tho..asfter wire cupping an entire chevy truck frame..i pretty much REFUSE to use them for that very reason..its probably one of the most unsafe devices ever made...i feather touch with a cut off wheel or a flapper disc has gotten me the same results
as for the bleeding/tetnis...so long as your up to date i wouldnt worry..and the wire itself was likely spotlessly clean..all the ones ive pulled out of various body parts have always been clean..they hurt like hell cause of the twist and needle like design..a lil duct or elect tape and some TP or blue shop towels and ya keep on workin
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
Up until today, my last tetanus shot was 06/06/96, so I was definitely not up to date. And though I did let it bleed out pretty well, that did nothing to rinse the pinhole in my skull, so I was still worried about the possibility of disease. I did not get a picture of the wire itself, but it was in my head pretty damned far. There was a line of blood probably ¼" up the wire that was maybe a sixteenth of an inch in length. The rest of the part that was embedded in my head was free of blood. I've stuck wires in myself before and kept on going, but having one embed in bone was a new one for me. I can tell you this: it hurts a fuck of a lot more than one sticking in your arm or stomach. In fact, it still hurts.
I'm pretty sure the DeWalt cups are repainted Forney units, as are their cutting/grinding wheels.
Flap wheels and grinding discs are way too aggressive for sheetmetal in my opinion. They remove material too quickly, and on an '81 Chrysler it's pretty thin in the first place. I use aircraft remover first, then the paint comes off like buttah.
Damn it, I forgot to grab paint stripper before I left work... :doh: Well, maybe I'll tackle something that doesn't involve whirling wires tonight instead.
I'm pretty sure the DeWalt cups are repainted Forney units, as are their cutting/grinding wheels.
Flap wheels and grinding discs are way too aggressive for sheetmetal in my opinion. They remove material too quickly, and on an '81 Chrysler it's pretty thin in the first place. I use aircraft remover first, then the paint comes off like buttah.
Damn it, I forgot to grab paint stripper before I left work... :doh: Well, maybe I'll tackle something that doesn't involve whirling wires tonight instead.
Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
I started stripping the engine bay tonight... up until I decided to go from Pewter to Inferno Red, this area of the car was done. It sucks to go back and undo what you worked so hard to achieve in the past! :doh: I don't regret my decision, but doing the same work twice sucks.
69.5CUDA
Blah Blah Blah
lol same work twice..yeah...i know that feeling ALL to well......sucks real bad..i had to scrap the first 2 years of work on the lloyd when i changed my mind...but ya know what..its worse when you have to go over your own work twice or 3 times..when its NOT your own car......