Hi All,
Hope this isn't a stupid question!!
I've cut the long sill panel off about an inch below where i need to, now i'm ready to do the last part and match the new panel up to the original.
What's the best way to make sure they butt up correctly, should i overlap, mark out where i need to cut and then remove and cut along the line marked out or should i leave in place overlapped and cut through the old and new panel at the same time.
Cheers.

It's always best to remove only the minimum metal from your bus, and then cut the replacement panel down to fit the cut line on the bus. The type of join is up to you. You can butt weld all the way along. The best way in my opinion is to joggle the new panel and fit the rebate behind the existing side panel on your bus. Doing this will give you a thicker joint to weld which will help the heat to disapate.

Whatever you decide...you must take things very slowly, welding a tack at a time to avoid distortion from heat.

From inside


From outside before welding


Trying to show the joggle but not very clear.
Hope this helps

Here is what a joggled edge look like ....Just in case your unsure







You make this with a tool....... not to expensive and easy to use


pop the word Joggler in ebay ....... there loads on there ....... there around £50 ..... best get the one with the head that swivels as it turns around and then you can hole puch with it ...... 2 tools in 1 ..... it's what I use ..... fab peace of kit







Mark

Thanks both.

Split 999 your pic there is exactly what i need to do, did you then drill holes in the joggled edge of the new panel and wled from the inside or did you weld the top edge of the joggled panel, and will you finally weld all the way along from inside or outside.

Cheers.

Hi

Split 999 pic show some tac welds on the inside to hold it in place ...... then he will weld it all the way along from the outside
( if you didn't weld it on the ouside and then spread Filler over the join ... the filler runs a high chance that it will crack so you must weld the outside ..

On new panels you'll rairly drill them misty you;ll hole punch then with the tool I showed you a pic of

Hope this helps dude

Mark

Yep as Mark says....weld all the way along on the outside until you have a continual line of beads with no gaps. When the gaps get to about 3 inches wide, this is where you really slow down. Let the panel cool between EVERY spot weld before doing another. "Cool to touch" is a good guide. If you stick to this you can achieve very little or no distortion. Also make sure the bottom of the new sill panel lines nicely up with the inner sill. When you're happy with alignment, be sure to apply grips to the bottom lip all the way along. If you don't clamp it back it may lift off when you're welding along the line. You don't want that!

On the inside you will see that the joggle presents the perfect water trap for condensation on the inside of the panel. You need to seal this with a good sealant, but prime first then apply the sealant. I used epoxy primer which happily accepts sealants and fillers on top of it. Sikaflex 221 is a good sealant to use.

Hope this helps.

Thanks again both very helpfull, i get it now. Bought a joggler too.

Did my first welding repairs this weekend (first welding ever) to the chassis and outer front top hat, well landed after a couple of months of scraping, sannding cutting etc. Outrigger next, can't wait.

I'll try and get a rides n project thread going as i have a lot more head scratching to come i think.

Cheers.

Sounds like you're well away!

Chassis welding is a good place to start because in most places you can check your penetration and get a feel for the differen tsettings
on your welder.

This is a great site with a wealth of help and topics covering everything in welding. Enjoy!

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/