I want to add lightness to my 86 GTi. Would like to hog out the bumper reinforcements and such. I assume a Saws-all (or it's generic equivalent) will work fine for this? And why didn't I think of this before?
I want to add lightness to my 86 GTi. Would like to hog out the bumper reinforcements and such. I assume a Saws-all (or it's generic equivalent) will work fine for this? And why didn't I think of this before?
Yes it will work and hell if I know why you didn't think of it, it's the most commonly used tool for the job 
Also hole saws are handy for making holes to reduce weight without weakening things too much.
it will get the just done, just dont expect it to be precise
turboswede wrote: Also hole saws are handy for making holes to reduce weight without weakening things too much.
Yep hole saws and drills. Don't use a pickaxe. Those are terrible at making Speed Holes.
Wear safety gear. 
In reply to GameboyRMH:
I don't know about that. They do automatically dimple the area around the hole while making the hole. They just aren't terribly accurate :)
That's exactly what I did with the steel bumpers in my 86 GTI. I think I used an ox-acetalyne torch though.
Hole saw looks a little cleaner when done.
turboswede wrote: I don't know about that. They do automatically dimple the area around the hole while making the hole. They just aren't terribly accurate :)
They don't actually remove any material and the dimpling is often kinked and inconsistent 
In reply to GameboyRMH:
Well I did say they were inaccurate
If its plastic or sub 1/8th inch thick steel, sawzall is a good choice. over 1/8th inch steel, I'd chose the hole saw hands down.
sawzall, hole saw, and you will probably find that some kind of rotary cutter will help. Die grinder with a 4" wheel or an angle grinder with a 6" wheel will be very helpful depending on where you are cutting.
I have also had need for a regular jigsaw where I had to cut curves. Sawzall blades are so thick that they won't turn, but a thin sheet metal blade in a jigsaw works well.
"Hole cutters" work so much better then hole saws. McMaster-carr sells them under "High-Speed Steel Hole Saws for Sheet Metal" use them on the end and sawz-all in between.
Much thanks!
If you can get them in there a knockout punch set makes nice clean holes in up to 10ga steel
Cleaner than a hole saw anyway.
That being said you can spend a lot of time and effort and poke a lot of holes in sheet metal and end up with a measly half pound weight savings and if you autocross can be bumped into another class.
Wasn't there a build on here where someone went nuts drilling everything they could and only saved a pound?
Sawzalls can be very precise if you use them well. Not so much for cutting round holes, of course. It was my main cutting implement for the MG build.
Hole saw w/ a hefty drill motor, go slow, keep it cool, they will last a long time if taken care of. Dress it w/ a drum sander, it'll look factory.
At $3-5 each it doesn't take a lot of Sawzall blades to pay for an inverter type plasma torch, especially if you have to buy the sawzall too. Toss in a couple of quality hole saws as well and you are even closer.
fasted58 wrote: Hole saw w/ a hefty drill motor, go slow, keep it cool, they will last a long time if taken care of. Dress it w/ a drum sander, it'll look factory.
This is what I would recommend, a hole saw with a decent drill is always the cleanest way.
I have a plasma cutter and 95% of the time I use a cut off wheel on a hand held grinder instead. That's what I used to gut out the bumpers on our TR7/TR8 and it worked as well as a plasma cutter. Note that I was cutting out large rectangles, not making a bunch of holes. A saws-all can get you in trouble pretty easily, and small spaces and making straight lines can also be an issue.
Make sure you use a swazall with metal gears when cutting metal things. The ones with plastic internals turn into a doorstop pretty quickly.
Ditchdigger wrote: Wasn't there a build on here where someone went nuts drilling everything they could and only saved a pound?
An earlier iteration of loosecannon's "MG." I don't think it was a pound, but I remember it was pretty disappointing for a car that had more holes in it than a Spoon S2k.
spin_out wrote: I have a plasma cutter and 95% of the time I use a cut off wheel on a hand held grinder instead.
^This, it's usually just easier to grab the angle grinder and go to town.
The $25 HF sawsall as served me well, with the Milwaukee blades, would average about 3-4 cuts through the 304 stainless sch40 weld ELs before it the blade needed to be replaced and at $12 for a 5 pack of blades it was a no brainer so I wen though like 3 packs of blades making my turbo manifold. That berkeleying cheap ass saw wont die and will cut though basically anything. But I like using the angle grinder with a cutoff wheel for making precise cuts in body work.
noddaz wrote: I want to add lightness to my 86 GTi. Would like to hog out the bumper reinforcements and such. I assume a Saws-all (or it's generic equivalent) will work fine for this? And why didn't I think of this before?
Big or small bumper? The front small bumper rebar really doesn't have that much material (its like a c channel). There are 1" square holes the entire length (I used those holes to mount my tow bar brackets). I never took the cover off of the rear but I imagine it's similar. If you don't need the crash protection, then I'd replace the whole rebar with a lighter material but remember its integral to the front motor mount.
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