Let's see some sheet metal shaping

I have been dreading the fender lips and flanges for some time now.I have been scared to screw up and trash the whole project.

I cut out a panel some time back and tried to use a tipping wheel to get the initial bend of the fender lip.It didn't go so well,looked like I had been drinking.It was so bad I didn't even take a picture.

That scared me off for a while.

I shaped a quick practice fender so I could try plan B.This will give me the opportunity to see what happens exactly.




I made a tipping tool out of a hitch pin I had laying around.I rounded of the edges and smoothed the inside of the cut,to keep the galling of the metal to a minimum.



This was easier then I expected.I used the tool to get the initial bend of the fender lip.





One thing I did notice is your wheel cut out has to be perfect,or it will show.

The next thing I did was some hammer dolly work on the lip and folded the lip over.I did this on my stump and it really worked out well.The fender had a good surface to support it's self and the dish left me enough room for hammering.



Here's how it came out,not bad but I hope to do better on the real one.







Still Practicing<!-- / message --><!-- attachments -->

 

Johnny
All measurements taken from a 1940 Pontiac 2dr sedan Deluxe, measurements taken from the door not the jamb.
Door Length
@ beltline trim 46.0"
@ rocker 46.750"

Hope these are helpful

 

Wow that's quite a bit larger.Might be able to eliminate the fifth window all together.Has any body done that here?

You don't have the measurements off of a 39 do you?

 

Great thread Johnny!!!
Although you are way too modest!
Anyone who needs inspiration to learn metalshaping should read back some of the old posts on metalmeet, following his progress. He hasn't been doing it for very long either, all the more to prove what hard work and dedication can achieve!
Kudos!!

Barry

 

Thanks Barry

I have worked with some real metal shaper's and they make me look like a fool.I still have a long way's to go.

The only thing that gets me by is that I'm hard headed and I don't like to be beaten.I'm not afraid to mess up a piece that took some time to shape and scrap it and start all over again.Don't get me wrong it hearts but it just makes it more rewarding when you finally do get it.

All of the information I received was given to me...I'm just given it back.

 

Here is a little metal shaping I have done.

Here I added a sweetheart dip
here i made some skirts


I will add some more when I get to work. I dont have much on my laptop.

 

Thanks

That's one bad ass ford!

Did you add some length to the rear fenders?

 

sweet

 

Sure don't I just happen to have a 40 in the shop

 

Here is a mark I did some more sheet metal work on.

 

33 chevy

 

1940 Ford

















All aluminum lower dash and console.

 

I knew there was some metal shaping going on over here.

Thanks for showing your work.

Also thanks for the door measurements,I bet the 40 is the same as the 39 anyways.At least now I know they are bigger,I thought they were.

Keith we need to get together,beautiful work!

 

Damn

My mouth is watering over here.

 

Nice work guys. Keith, I'm pretty sure that gal on your logo likes me, cause her chest keeps staring at me!

 

I have an Australian Holden bodied 4 door. I'll measure it up when I get home.

 

I did this a couple years ago. I'll throw it up to keep the thread alive. This is a 1937 Desoto rear pan I did.
Started out stretching. You notice the outside forming ruffles and getting wavy? I did a little tuck shrinking as necesary to get the shape.

Tucks....

This was before I had my stump. It would have been easier with a stump.
I dont have pictures of the panel after using a steel upper in the wheel. Here I'm forming the shape using my rubber top wheel.

More shrinking.... Notice how it is curled up? The rubber top makes the panel straighter the long way and adds more contour the other way with more crown. Hard to explain....

Once I had the shape I tipped the edge to form the edge I would be plug welding to the trunk floor. I just use a solid round die on the bottom and hold up on the panel to make a kink. Then hammer and dolly it to fine tune it.

I used this set of dies to form the bead.

I made multiple passes to get the shape






Welding it in...


Here is one trick I learned doing this project. I found using a pointer makes it easier for me to follow a line.

 

hi johnny,

i really enjoy seeing your work, its been amazing to see how quick you have progressed.

i know you have seen this, but others here haven`t.

gary

 

You know, if there's one thing i really dig more than a well shaped piece of metal..........it's the progress shots!
The "after" shot is the money shot, but the learning I get from the "dos & donts" is where I get the buzz from.

 

I like this thread.

 

In these parts we don`t have any old timers to learn this from so much of what I have learned is from you guys and the other sites out there. You might not think what your post is a big deal but to people like me that don`t have anybody to learn from these posts are gold. Keep them coming.

 

Amazing.

 

that thing is tits...

 

Johnny may be a new guy, but his determination and mind blowing stamina sure has brought him a long way.

He is growing to be one of my best friends. This guy is great. He has helped me build my e-wheel,and we bounce ideas off of one another on a daily or at least weekly basis.

He is an ispiration and shows that if your heart and mind are in it, you too can do it.

I second the note Johnny made on here earlier "you only need a couple hundred dollars or less worth of tools to get started. That and some thought you can get there.

I probably have ten times the tools John does,and he smokes me. I can probably shrink a panel faster (power tools), but he can finish it,and get another going faster and better than I can, THAT IS FORE SURE!

Great post as usual Johnny.

Good luck with what you started today. Hope to see you soon.

Your friend.

Bill

 

anvilfire.com helps to, with tools and such.

 

Lower panel for a 1947 ford coupe.

 

This is a transmission cover in a 1940 ford.










bellhousing part


















I also made the floor,toeboards,driveshaft tunnel

 

Amazing. Keep this thread going!

 

i know this isn't exactly new, but don't forget about the coleboy hat:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=44152

 

I have a question that has been baffling me:
When I was in High School metal shop class, I made a metal bowl by stretching the middle using a crowned hammer and a flat dolly. I just carefully tap tap tapped at it in concentric circles. My finished product was not as nice as your steel bowl, but it was the same basic process but in reverse.
Last year I used the same technique to form an aluminum fan shroud for my Chevy.
Here's my naive question:
Why shrink the edges rather than stretching the middle?
Is it because you can't get that much crown before the metal gets too thin? (My bowl was more shallow than yours). If you put a flat piece of metal into an english wheel or planishing hammer you are stretching the center, right?
Is this just a difference of technique, or is there a specific reason to engage in the whole bashing and shrinking process??