Seeing as how I've been busting a lot of spot welds lately and I've had some success and some failure with tools aiding me in the task, I thought I'd share some of the information with anybody interested on here. All of this stuff is from Eastwood. I know there are other places to get this stuff but I like to buy from Eastwood because they really go out of their way to make sure random, odd tools stay available and they are based out of Pottstown PA so I can go there if I need help or to pick anything up.
Disclaimer- I'm not a pro, nor do I play one on TV. These are just one guy's perception of spot weld and panel seperating tools.
1.)
Eastwood Double Ended spot weld cutter:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT
This cutter was easy to use, cut great, and was pretty cheap at $19.99, but the teeth wore out and broke a little on the quick side. I'd say this is a great fit for someone who only has to cut a few spot welds. Replacement bits are available.
2.)
Eastwood Spot Weld Drill
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT
This held up great for a while since it's a solid piece, but after it got dull and the brad point got rounded it was ineffective at much of anything. Also, it is easier to blow completely through a spot weld and the panel below it as there is no spring mechanism in this cutter. I'd say this is perfect for somebody cutting a lot of spot welds in an area where damaging the underlying panel is not as much of an issue. $19.99 a bit.
3.)
Eastwood Skip Proof Spotweld Cutter
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT
The Cadillac of the drill based spot weld cutters that I've used so far. Cuts very fast, the teeth held up great to 25+ cuts in a row, it is built very solid and you can buy new bits for about $6 a piece. Nothing short of kick ass for cutting welds in my opinion. The downside is that it's pricey- $34.99, but totally worth it for the performance.
4.)
Spot Weld Busting Chisel
http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=PRODUCT
I was not too pleased with this thing. I tried it on a number of different welds and it doesn't really "bust" them like I expected it to. I actually think my regular air chisel bit cuts the welds better but just makes a little more mess. Given what I know now, I'd pass on this.
5.)
Panel Seperating Knife
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/p...ProductID=1688
If you are seperating panels, buy this. It's really that simple. I use the hell out of this thing to the point where I have have bench-ground the tip (to make it sharp again) 3 times already. This thing works great at splitting panels once you have cut the spot welds and it also works well at opening up a seam if you need to get a sawzall in to cut a weld. The only downside is that the handle is not very padded. If you hold it in your bare hand and hit the struck end of the knife into a weld you will get an uncomfortable vibration in your hand, kind of like if you took an aluminum baseball bat with no padding and hit concrete with it. To solve this problem I wrapped the handle with duct tape and it works fine. Looks like a prison shank, but is effective nonetheless.