I'm at it again with the welder. . . .

[racedvl]

Now that I am feeling daring with this welder, I took a spot that had some funky squared shaped hole in it, with a dent around it, and filled it all!!! Actually, I think it looks pretty good! Man playing with my 69'er again sure feels good. . .

[71swb4x4]

Looks good to me. What kind of welder do you have?

[LONGHAIR]

You're getting brave.............
Just remember that you are dealing with the top of the tailgate. It is thicker and more supported metal than the bed sides. Beware of heat! When you weld on thinner/less supported areas the cooling after you weld can draw a big warp across the panel. Go slowly, after you weld one hole skip a few and weld a few feet away. When you get to the end of the bed, come back and start with the first one you skipped.

Like this...

1...............2.................3.................4
.....5................6.................7.................8
...........9................10................11...............12

This gives you a dozen holes in three passes.
or in 4 passes.

1.......................2.......................3
.....4.......................5.......................6
...........7........................8......................9
..................10.....................11....................12

Believe me time spent welding is far better then time wasted trying to straighten it out afterward.

[lost wages]

yes, learn to go very slow once you get on bed sides, fenders and such, years ago i shaved my first marker light on a fender, it looked good so i went up to the house to take a break, came back later and it looked like someone had stepped on it, lol.heat is not your friend.

[Jeepster376]

Originally Posted by lost wages

heat is not your friend.

Oh but it can be, if you learn how to control it.