Im considering getting a stud gun for my garage. Any recommendations for one thats suitable for the sheet metal on our cars?
The yellow one at Harbor Freight should be plenty for the do it yourselfers. I've had one for several years as a backup in the collision center. If you can't find it I'll take a picture of mine later tonight.
Yep. The Chicago Electric unit is the one I got from the Horror Fright store. Comes with small and large diameter studs, and slide hammer. Was about $80 bucks when I got it (I think I had a koopin)
Had our stinger gun 20 years now,..dropped it more times than I count,..still burns them in perfect,...had a bunch of the cheaper stinger guns at the vocational school 90% were garbage
I prefer the heavy slide hammer also with the tighten collar vs the grooved wheel,...I mostly use the T handle tho
Here's another style which does not rely on welding pins. The copper tip welds directly to the sheetmetal, then you pull out the dent, then twist to break the tip free from the body. I have no idea is this is a good unit, just posting this one as an example: And another one, appears to be more pro-quality:
The lever I use has a little bit larger foot to support the leverage applied. It uses a cam lock to hold the studs.
The Panel Beater is similar to what I had seen in use a dozen years ago. My buddy was getting his '66 Bonneville done.... We stopped in and the guy was showing me the welder/puller in action, he was a real master with it. I eventually bought a conventional stud welder, the H&S Stinger. It's a lot slower than the Panel Beater, but I do this as a hobby, not as a profession. For auto-body related info, the forums at https://autobodystore.com/forum/forum.php are my go-to. Brian Martin (Russ's brother) wrote a bunch of articles which are featured there. Here's a vid of the panel beater in operation. Pretty slick!
Warning to anyone using a magnetic ground as seen above...... Keep the magnetic ground pad clean and make sure it is mounted flat to a very clean metal surface. If not you risk excessive heat at the ground area. Causing burn through or heat warping(oil canning) issues. I take the cable off the magnetic base and clamp it to the panel I'm working on. Also make sure to rust treat the metal behind your work area, as the paint will obviously burn off. Sounds like a no-brainer but I have seen it done wrong as much as done right.