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More of an art than a science - discuss metalworking and welding here.



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PostPosted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 6:21 pm
Hello everyone,
im new to this forum. im 24 years old and in process of restoring my grandfathers truck as he has recently passed. Its only an 84 ford f250, but has a purpose to me. ive sand blasted the frame and painted it so far and now im on the bed.. the quarter panels are of course rusted around the wheel well. ive looked online and ive seen people buy new panels and line them up with the rusted ones and but weld them.. i want to do it so there is no areas behind the fenders that would collect water or dirt. any ideas pictures or videos are great thank you everyone.



P.s. I know or seen images online were they take a new panel lay it over the old and trace it. Cut the old out and use clamps from Eastwood to hold the panels together and keep a thin gap. But I'm worried about the back side trapping water/dirt



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PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:44 pm
For keeping the butt joints tight, I like to use magnets. There's little or no space between the pieces, which significantly reduces the chance of burn through. TheRock shows good examples in this thread:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=17047

If you could find some old metal cabinets or major appliances being discarded, you'll have plenty of sheetmetal to practice on. Just cut some pieces up, at have at it.
It's a good idea to use scrap pieces to learn how to form sheetmetal. You never know when you might run into a small piece that has to be replaced, and having scrap sheetmetal around will save you money. You'd be amazed at what can be achieved with hammers, dollies, blocks of wood, and angle iron.
When done with any of the scrap, turn it in for cash.



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PostPosted: Mon Nov 21, 2011 5:00 pm
welcome! ONLY an 84 f250? man, those are real trucks! how bout some specs on driveline?



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 12:08 am
go to certi-fit.com and see what complete bed sides cost. sometimes there not that bad. easier job to do and rock solid from front to back. I've used magnets too to hold parts in place. But i prefer cleekos? spelled wrong im sure. check out eastwood.com for options on holding metal right before the first tack.
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