Spot Welder on Pontoon boat

[PBoat]

I need to pull a 3 ft long by 9 in high dent out of the tube of an aluminum Pontoon boat.

See pictures at:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/perryandmelanie/album?.dir=/20ff

Would an H & S AUTOBODY STUD WELDER SPOT Starter Kit 4500 do the trick?

Thanks

[smithboy]

I am not a body man, so, I dont know if this actually works, but I have heard tales of folks pulling dents from hard-to-get-behind panels with epoxy (like jb weld) and roofing nails (nails with large heads). My guess is that you epoxy the nails heads to the metal, allow for good curing time, and strategically pull. I never saw it done or the results of someone doing it, so I cant REALLY say how well it works or IF it works. It may be bodymen's lore.

Can anyone here confirm or refute this technique as a viable one???

Note, my leg may have been pulled also, but it sounds like a cheap way out if it does actually work and the metal may remain relatively undisturbed.

[atrain185]

Ive never heard of that but i would say try something like that first. Its a heck of alot cheaper than going out and buying a stud welder.

Aaron

[ty1295]

Pontoon's aluminum, stud gun made for steel.

Don't think it will work very well.

[Pentawelder]

First off, I'm not suggesting you even think of getting one of these!!
There is a thing called "Dingking"" that you stick to the dent and fit a 'U'
shaped brace over it then by tightening a screw out pops the dent.
You can see how underwhelmed I was by it, didn't really watch tyhe commercial. My point being that the epoxy and pull might be a viable method.
Not even worth 2c !!!

[J.W.]

Hey there PBoat:
You what you have there in that pontoon float is a crease NOT a dent. No matter what you try to pull it out with I do not think will work. even though it is aluminum it is a lot stronger than you think. and trying to use a dent puller would prove futile and you would end up with a crease with a few outward lumps in it.
From my experience with tubing you would have better luck cutting the end cap off the float and using a jack and a die the diameter of the tube to press it out. Either that or cutting the damaged area out and welding a patch over the area.

Good luck:

J.W.

[Sunset Lawn Care]

Do the pontoons have a drain plug? If they do then make a cap with air hose fitting and pressurize the inside of the pontoon then heat the dented area with torch and it may pop out? Just an idea we use on dented 2 stroke head pipe expansion chambers.

Hunter.

[TEK]

Or fill it with O/A. :gunsfirin ...........(just kidding) :waving:

[tessdad]

DO NOT FILL WITH AIR!
At that size/volume, you will have a mega bomb, when it hits it's bursting point. Explosions, shrapnel, lacerations, etc., etc.
When large cylinders get tested, they "hydro" test, water under pressure, simply leaks out, and doesn't have the explosive force of compressed air. Water pressure MAY be an option here.
I would use a hole saw to make a 2' hole right behind the damage, insert a long, heavy, bar with a rounded end, and push from behind as you tap on the front high spots.

Finnish by welding cover over hole.

[rbucc]

Hi pboat,
I am a new member also. At the sign shop I worked at we had a special "stud gun"
spot welder that would weld a special 1/4-20 thread stud to aluminum. We used this method to secure plexiglass push through letters to the back of aluminum signs. The only downfall is the studs have to be kept in a sealed container, and the sheet metal had to be absolutely clean (like in tig welding). Or the studs will lack the pull strength
you need. We had to use studs instead of adhesives because of the different expansion rates of the materials. I know these would work for you. Maybe a local
sign fabrication shop would help you out. Also I have had some luck using strategic
heating and rapid cooling (compressed air/water gun) The only drawback to that is losing some of the temper. When aluminum sheet is heated it rapidly expands right before your eyes in a sort of mound directly under the flame. I used this method to remove a similar dent in the rear wing of a race car. only a few ripples were left.
Has anyone else used heat/quench to bend metals the old school ways? Flame bending was the way ship hulls were formed with one inch plate!

[12,000 Doors]

Some of those pontoon boats have foam in the tanks. If that's the case expect welding closed any holes you make to be an absolute nightmare. If one of those cheep suction cup dent pullers didn't work, I would probably attack the problem by making a long weld on the edge of an aluminum plate afixing it to the length of the crease and then attaching that to a home made oversized dent puller made out of dumbbell weights. I once brought a totaled Toyota back to life, removing a two foot deep oak tree mark from the front using a dumbbell dent puller.

[jmelrntz]

i would bet the epoxy and nail could work. there is a national mobile dent repair company that services car dealerships on their lots. and they use hot glue guns to achieve a similar process.