Hey, Another tool you may wanna learn to use is a slapper, slapping iron or flipper as they're known in oz and perhaps blighty. A slapper has a wide flat or semicrowned face that when used to bump or ding out damage spreds out the corrective force over a larger area than the head of a bumping or dinging hammer would. There is less chance of stretching the damaged metal or as you said " spreading the damage '' with the use of a slapper. With some pratice, there usually isn't much danger in stretching metal with a hammer face on a semi or high crowned panel, but if you over hammer a semi flat or flat panel either on or off dolly you will stretch the panel and create more work for yourself. On a flat panel that has been stretched badly, on of those slapper files works well, again with some pratice. You can build your own slapper from an old leaf spring, or an old file, some heat and the use of a grinder and you've got a tool that will last a lifetime. Good luck with your metalwork! " Humpty Dumpty was pushed "
I've been reading this old book from 1949, Automobile Body Rebuilding and Refinishing and I remembered this thread. Thought you guys might enjoy this. Pics of tools recommended in 1949/50: Click to enlarge: Link to some of the text,not great, just took pics of the pages but if you click on the pics they will enlarge some for easier reading. http://s75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/TOMMAY7711/BROCHURES MANUALS LITERATURE/
I bought 1 martin new and 3 snap-ons and I like the Martin feel better. The snap-on seems like the handle is too bulky. Not to hijack but besides the crucial Key To Metal Bumping Book is there any must have books for the amateur just getting started?
The final smoothing was done with a slapper. I'm really going to have to take a pic this week. The memory card was full on the camera with vacation pics. And What chappys' said, what other books are great to have? Someone gave my a chilton's book from the eighty's, and its just full of slide hammer and bondo tips. I nearly cried
This is true... but it's been my experience that really good tools will make up for a lot of shortfall on the guy using them. I've seen great things done with a claw hammer and a blunted Craftsman screwdriver. I'm not that good. But with the right body hammers, I've take beat-to-hell fan shrouds, Nailhead sparkplug and valve covers, etc. and made them perfect. My snap-on cross chisel hammer had sharp edges on it... Those sharp edges absolutely left marks that couldn't be filled by primer. I dressed them down with a file, and now there are no more marks. -Brad
Hey, Keep an eye out for the following books on the subject: "Automobile Sheet Metal Repair " by Robert L. Sargent-who, I'think was the brother of frank Sargent, the guy who wrote " The keys to Metal Bumping". I got my first copy of this one in 1969 and later gave it away, I've since found another on ebay. " Automotive Body and Fender Repairs '' by C.E.Packer printed 1946 '' Automotive body and Frame Service '' by Wetzel Copyright 1947 " Autobody Repairing and repainting '' by Bill Toboldt printed 1972 " Automobile Body rebuilding and Refinishing by International Textbook Company printed 1949 None of the books will make you a metalman, but do show the craft/trade back when it was highly regarded as a skilled trade " Life ain't no Disney movie ''
Does anyone recognize the maker of this hammer I got the other day,,there is a circle and an S within it,,only $3.00 and you can never have too many hammers..
The Jalopy Journal
