6 replies to this topic

[wreckitralph]

so ime  at the stage of blue gluing the body work   at the moment everything is tec screwed together   ime contemplating wether to stitch weld  [weld an inch leave a inch]  on every join so the floor pan to inner wing/bulkhead  the a post inner stiffereners   toeboard   ect ect for strength 

 

the lip to lip of the doorstep to inner an outer cill 

the scuttle ect all to be spot welded

my mate used to have and prepare  group 4 mk2 escorts he still has a few and still rallies them   and what he used to do to them and has suggested i do the is stitch weld every panel join

 

i know most doing minis just spot weld all panels   its not going to be a show car ime not worried about originality or anything like that i just want it as strong as possibe  the welds inside  will be left on show  [if nice] and painted with the body but thats about as posh as i get so whats the thoughts

Edited by wreckitralph, 16 November 2019 - 09:08 PM.

[Tupers]

I seems like there might be a slight misunderstanding in which welds and which.

A common spot weld is made is made when two or more layers of metal are clamped between two copper electrodes and a current is passed through them fusing the layers of metal together at that point.

You post reads like you’re referring to a plug weld.
This is when you drill a hole (6-8mm) in one piece of metal and mig welded down onto the second to fill the hole fuse the layer together together.


Plug welds are perfectly strong can look quite attractive when done well and wouldn’t look out of place if left proud in a motorsports type vehicle.
When making a plug weld I like to start in the centre of the hole and spiral around and out of the hole with the weld. This should leave you with a weld maybe slightly shallower than half a smartie with a small dimple in the centre.

[wreckitralph]

sorry ime not good at this computer malarky  i have access to a spot welder as you describe   and also can plug weld   [had to do a few yesterday as it happens]  ime just not sure  regards the stitch welding of the seam and panel joins is it overkill managed to find a pic here of a mini with the kind of thing he has suggested

Attached Files

•  motorsport shell.jpg   65.16K   11 downloads

[sonikk4]

It does add strength and can be a good thing to do but only a daily not really needed.

 

Decent sized plug welds as Tupers has mentioned will be more than enough and probably stronger to boot.

[Tupers]

Stich welding should add strength but it’s worth noting that it would be done in addition to traditional spot welding or plug welding. It’s not a process that suitable to holding panels together on its own.

In a motorsports build you would take your brand new shell from the production line and add stitch welds to the seams before a roll cage is added.


In reality a Mini body shell is quite stiff and compact so stitch welding might not have much effect especially if a cage is being fitted for competition.

[wreckitralph]

thats great thank you for the input

[wreckitralph]

sat at home today and my mate knocks the door with a big box he seems to be going a little red in the face holding it so i ask him in he plants the box down  so as ime sticking the kettle on i ask what the hell you got in there  so  he says well just a few bits i had laying around i knew i had some bits somewhere he opens this big old box and theres 30  dimple died strips of steel most are near 2 ft long and vary between 35-40 mm-125mm wide with varying hole sizes  look to be 1.2 or 1.5 mm thick     he said he has a load of roll cage tubing there too   happy days   

Edited by wreckitralph, 25 November 2019 - 07:36 PM.