The Ford Barn

Glenn Mott · 12-06-2015, 07:49 AM

I got a 1931 pickup that someone tried to repair the doors, cab corners and across the back of the cab. They did not stitch weld and have some warping how is the best way to handle this problem? Thank you.

Kevin in NJ · 12-06-2015, 08:02 AM

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Cry.

You will have to take some time to learn about how metal moves. There are some videos that you can rent at Smartflix.com. One is shrinking magic and the other is fender arches.

The key is to understand that every weld is a shrink point. To fix the shrink you need to do hammer on dolly work. You can not do this if the metal is too thick because of the weld or if they did overlap welds.

My quick example. Take a normal sheet of paper and along the middle of the long edge tear in about 1 inch. Now make the tear overlap by just a tiny bit. Notice the oil can you just created. What is the fix? You can shrink the bump, but that just moves the bump and if you shrink across the page now the whole panel is too short. That would distort other things connected to it. So the fix is to stretch the overlap.

The other problem comes from putting in a flat patch in a area with a curve or worse a compound curve. Now you have shrinkage and metal that is not right length.

So the fix would be to grind the weld down flat if it is a good weld then do hammer on dolly work along the weld line to try and correct the metal. The truth is the metal is pretty messed up and needs experienced hands to really move it back to position. This means you need to be more careful as you learn. I have been there done that. You may even be better off cutting out the metal, fixing the existing metal, making a better patch and weld it in with corrective techniques.

You will also want to learn about a shrinking disk. With many passes and picking in between that may bring the metal back to level.

Post some pictures and ask questions. We will do what we can to help you figure out what to do.

12-06-2015, 07:49 AM	#1
Glenn Mott Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 24	Steel warpage I got a 1931 pickup that someone tried to repair the doors, cab corners and across the back of the cab. They did not stitch weld and have some warping how is the best way to handle this problem? Thank you.

12-06-2015, 08:02 AM	#2
Kevin in NJ Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: South East NJ Posts: 3,398	Re: Steel warpage Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) Cry. You will have to take some time to learn about how metal moves. There are some videos that you can rent at Smartflix.com. One is shrinking magic and the other is fender arches. The key is to understand that every weld is a shrink point. To fix the shrink you need to do hammer on dolly work. You can not do this if the metal is too thick because of the weld or if they did overlap welds. My quick example. Take a normal sheet of paper and along the middle of the long edge tear in about 1 inch. Now make the tear overlap by just a tiny bit. Notice the oil can you just created. What is the fix? You can shrink the bump, but that just moves the bump and if you shrink across the page now the whole panel is too short. That would distort other things connected to it. So the fix is to stretch the overlap. The other problem comes from putting in a flat patch in a area with a curve or worse a compound curve. Now you have shrinkage and metal that is not right length. So the fix would be to grind the weld down flat if it is a good weld then do hammer on dolly work along the weld line to try and correct the metal. The truth is the metal is pretty messed up and needs experienced hands to really move it back to position. This means you need to be more careful as you learn. I have been there done that. You may even be better off cutting out the metal, fixing the existing metal, making a better patch and weld it in with corrective techniques. You will also want to learn about a shrinking disk. With many passes and picking in between that may bring the metal back to level. Post some pictures and ask questions. We will do what we can to help you figure out what to do.