For you guru's, does a shrinking hammer actually work or is it just a gimick? Second, has anyone here used a shrinking disk? Thanks...
Do a freakin search...........been covered here 1234 times. Search words John Kelly, Sunchaser, Shrinking disk,metalwork, IamtoolazytodoasearchsoIwilljuststartanewpost.
Shrinking hammers work great! Ron Covell has explained how to use them and if used properly are an effective tool. The key is to have a good shrinking hammer that has a fairly sharp serrations. You then strike a glancing blow(with dolly behind) to gather up the metal. Don't cool with a wet rag as this work hardens the metal.
Hey, The shrinking hammer is as worthless as mule ***, the disc, in the hands of a skilled metalman-pure magic! Always keep in mind when straighting a panel....all those nicks,scratches & gouges you put in will have to be filed,ground, sanded out, or filled in. Why would you want to use a tool that causes them? S****eyDevils C.C.
I have both....... VERY limited success with the shrinking hammer...... shrinking disc is very good..... but not magic..... it really pays to learn from someone with experience.... I plunked down the $$ for Ken Sakamoto's videos (Sunchaser Tools).....well worth the investment.
good article on shrinking disks in a recent rod and custom..a couple of months ago on my subscription. good info for beginners at least. i've never used one, but if i can figure out how to make one do what they did, i am a fan. all of that said by somebody who absolutely hates fixing dents. ( probably because i **** at it) I'd rather put a patch panel in than fix a door ding....
shrinking disc and video from sunchaser tools should be required viewing for anyone who wants to do good metalwork.
A shrinking hammer can be a great tool but you have to tune it up a little. Once you get all of the serrations ground off and the face polished and round the edges on the face it makes a nice hammer. Joe
I'm with him. Tried both. The hammer seems to build weird stress around the area that was just "shrunk" IMHO.
no offense, but I just did a members search for John Kelly,because I want to buy one of his disks,but he's not listed.Any help on finding more info on his disk and where to get it would be great.(sorry for the highjack)
I have a shrinking hammer I bought a few years ago. Whenever I run across it in my shop I hit myself in the forehead with it to remind me how dumb I was for buying it. That's the only thing it's good for in my opinion. You'll know me when you see me, small brain and a wounded forehead. I really need to throw that damn thing away. How small can a brain get before it doesn't know when to pee?
Hey just doug, Ya can always follow Homemade44's suggestion. Grind the face smooth and pretend ya bought it that way. S****ey Devils C.C.
How about cold shrinking techniques and tools in general?? Soft dollies, serrated dollies, slapping files, old timer's voodoo techniques?? Any secret wisdom out there to supplement the known hot shrinking and disc tech??
you can always use needle nose to twist the edge of a panel then use a wood *******,I made mine out of a hammer handle.You basically pushing metal into metal.Also wooden mallets instead of metal on metal when striking helps to not stretch the metal.I'm just a novice so I'm sure there are much better ways.
Wood,or Raw Hide mallets are not absolutely necessary. Shrinking with a steel hammer isn't a problem. Tucking Forks are easy to make,and use.
It's best to think of shrinking hammers as "non-stretching hammers". They have their place, but it's a very tiny niche.
so with a shrinking hammer the idea is to pull the metal onto itself with a striking/draging motion, you would do this in the middle of a panel and opposed to tuck shrinking on an edge, i have a tuck shrinking anvil in the works made from an old 1" flat file, i cut two 1" chuncks out of the file and will point the cutting edge inwards on both, my hope is this will reduce the outward slippage of the metal when stricking the tuck.
i think the point of the tools like the hammer are to give the metal a place to go. when your shrinking your gathering metal if its a high spot in a panel, when using the normal method with a typical body hammer, you are forcing the metal down into its self and therefore making it thicker when you use these shrinking hammers (i use a file) your allowing the metal to move itsself up into the empty spaces in the face of the tool therefore letting it move faster into the shape you want, hopefully if this is all done correctly your base metal will not be any thinnner then the rest of the piece after you sand the serrations off the surface the the tool made using a file instead of these aggressive hammers just lets the job take shape a little shower and not get out of hand and end up with a track nose that looks like its made from diamond plate i have never used the shrinking disc's but they seem like a great tool from most everyone who's used them basically they are doing the same job...using heat to shrink and pull the metal together....a torch could duplicate the disc but with alot more room for error Zach
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