First shrinker/stretcher/sheet metal fab project and question

[MarkG]

OK, it's a small one, but here it is. In the process of extending my truck's useful life as cheaply as possible, while using it as an excuse to purchase more equipment, I decided to try a little sheet metal fab in the form of these manageably-small rust repair patches for the fender wheel arch area that's disappearing on my truck. I bought a shrinker/stretcher set from Eastwood and used some scrap sheet metal to make these (pretty beefy---from old furnace fan cage thing). Didn't have time to weld them up and finish them yet. I was wondering how it would be to bend a curve into an angle in 2 different planes, but it seemed to work well. I'm happy with this purchase-----seems plenty good for a hobbyist like myself. I through-bolted it to the corner of my work table as shown when I was using it.

How do you go about replacing a patch like this where there is an inner fender and don't have access to the back? I'm kind of winging it and learning as I go with the help of the internet.

Just a quick note about the clamps: I found that the clamping surface on the slotted clamping surface was not flat! It was humped up in the middle, which translated into a angle in the two panals being joined. A few whacks with a hammer straightened them out and the panals pull into a nice flat plane when clamped now.

Thanks!

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

Typically you'd use a magnet to span the seam between old and new material which will keep the top surfaces level with each other while you tack weld it.

 

[astroracer]

Looks good Mark! You can see what I meant by the S/S chewing up the surface a bit. This is pretty typical and you will have the oppotunity to learn some metal finishing skills as well.
If you do any experimenting try setting the metal into the jaws at different depths. You will find the metal will move more with a shallower depth.
Mark

 

[MarkG]

Thanks for the help, guys. Much appreciated and needed. I'll get some pics of the rust area today with and without the patch held in place to show what I'm attempting to do. Good tip about the magnets-----it seems obvious, but I hadn't thought of it or heard of it before. This is all new ground for me. I figure a rusty pickup bed is a good place to learn, since, if it's a flop, maybe I'll look for a complete replacement bed.