Somewhere I picked up that there is a special drill for removing spot welds to make it easier to remove panels, (I've always used a normal drill bit) I've asked at a few places only to be greeted with a blank stare. Is there such an animal, if so what's it calledl and where would be the best place to get one.
Thanks
Don

This page shows both.
The black shoud turns round to give 2 cutting edges.
The one with out a shoud I think is better but tries to run a little bit still when you first start.
You can also reduce the angle of a normal drill with a fine grinder blade.

The concept behind them is hey are more shallow cutting so you can take out the spot weld without drilling through the 2nd piece to make rewelding easier.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/BGS-Germany-10-pieces-Spot-Weld-Cutter-Drill-Bit-S...

There is a couple of types i have seen. One is like mini hole saw with a centering point in the middle. The other is a sheet metal drill which is sharpened the reverse to a normal drill ( cuts from the outside first. They are sharpened like this to give a round hole ) Auto stores and auto paint suppliers should have them.

Cool Mr. Bus, I've sent a question to get a bit more info off them.
gordy, thanks, the ones in the link look like what you are describing.

You can get cheaper ones too Donn.
The ones I linked to look to be a good german steel though.

Heard them called Brad drill bits here.

I bought mine from Ebay UK. 6mm and 8mm cobalt for about $10 inc P&P and that was for 5 drill bits.

Only worn one of them out so far and just sharpened it using a 1mm slitting disc on the grinder

Wurth make them

They are great!

Ebay

http://sykes-pickavant.com/Portals/0/PDFs/Bodyshop%20Tools/Body%20Repair%20To...

here ya go. Cheap and good quality

Spot Weld bits Ebay

Bought one at great expense to replace a pan 1/4 and couldn't get into the welds cos the drill was too short.
Persisted with ordinary drills and had no problems.

They are short bits in 6mm and 8mm. They can be used in ordinary drills and also special spot weld drills.

We use $20 Wurth ones

IMO the ones in the link are too fragile and the small drill puts a hole in both panels which is a pain

eBay .... You can get ones which (with practice) will leave only a small divot on the bottom panel. HSS is fine with body panels but be careful not to push too hard and overheat them, they will blunt quickly if you do.

I have found the mini hole saws to be brittle. Like everything you get what you pay for. Wurth products are expensive but you can't buy better. If anyone is having difficulty ( like me ) Hare and Forbes sell sharpeners for sheet metal drills but I don't have a spare $1400.00.

Well, ask and you do receive on this forum, once I knew what I was after I troted off to Gasweld and bought one (the drill type) cost me a bit over $20 for one drill, it had better be worth it at that price. I'll probably get one of those other kits as a back up but I wanted to get started straight off and didn't want to wait for delivery.
Thanks
Don

Could it have been $@) ?

Ho ho, yes $20 (check, yep, typed correctly) looks like I could have waited as the bloody flue has got me and I still haven't started.

Good work donn........now you've got the drill.

hi

Make sure you use some cutting oil on it.

Steve

make your own , I've made them up to 14mm to remove plug welds in ute trays bench grinder is your friend

I agree, Klaus.....you need a good 'square' corner on the grinding wheel, though, particularly for the small drills.

Keep the cutting speed down, and use cutting fluid, as Steve says. Water is good...and cheap.

Yeah, I thought of making my own once I'd seen exactly what they are so I went out and rescued a couple of broken 5mm bits to try out on, hmm, gonna need a bit of practice but I think I'll get it eventualy. I'm having the best result so far cutting the drill square with a slitter disk and then grinding on my wet wheel, once this bloody flue is gone I'll give the "made" ones a go and compare them with the bought one.

Thought I'd add this. Dress a 30 degree bevel on the edge of the grinding wheel (pref 60 grit) which will give you the small 60 degree centre point and you can make as many as you want from a standard twist drill. Just a steady hand and a bit of practice!