looking at attempting body work, need some input on tools

So I ordered a few books, read them a few times and I think soon ill be trying out some body work on my truck. The back left side of the bed got backed into and needs to be hammer and dollied, filled and then sanded. so this brings up the question. What hammer and dolly set should I buy? Im a complete new guy at this, so I dont need top of the line stuff, but I dont want cheap quality ****.

then the next question is what block and board kit should I get? I looked at eastwood and found a few things. Will all this work for me or should I look else where.

http://www.eastwood.com/7-piece-body-and-fender-set.html
http://www.eastwood.com/7-piece-sanding-block-kit.html
http://www.eastwood.com/body-file-rasp-kit.html

I figure this is going to open up a can of worms, but I hope to get some good response from here. I know everyone wasnt born a body man, we all have to start somewhere.

 

http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/abdsanders.aspx

check out product line and pricing at TCP. They carry just about everything you need.
Remember that special sanding blocks are kind of a new thing. Wood works pretty well if youre just getting started.

Id be more concerned with Good Compressor to support DA sanders, and a straight line (air board), good air filter for clean air to shoot your own paint, decent guns.

The body hammer set you chose looks good, Ive seen guys do amazing things with ball peens and a piece of flat steel stock, you want a pick hammer, flat, convex curve horizontal to handle, convex curve vertical to handle, several shapes of dollies are nice, you can always grind one to shape if you get into a difficult area. Knowing what to do with them is the real trick.

Shrinking Disc (search HAMB) Ive never used one but many people here love them, Ive been thinking of buying one.

Got any pics of the truck, if you post close up pics of the trouble areas people can give specific advice on how to handle certain areas.

 

Hey Shocker,

The short answer is none of the above- The body -and-fender-set would probably be good for fishing weights, but little else! You don't need any damned sanding block ''kit'' or any damn ''kit'' for that matter!
Hit up ebay for a good general purpose bumping hammer, or a pick hammer, and a general purpose a.k.a. rail road dolly, and maybe a heel dolly to start with. Sanding boards a.k.a. idiot sticks, can be made from paint sticks or wooden trim pieces- it ain't the tool, it's the metalman that produces the result! As far as the body file.rasp- a 1/2 round "Surf Form " blade works well for shaping filler, again, no kit is necessary. Save your money for paint, you'll need it!

" Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

pimping paint, you commented on the other post I had about cheap paint, paint wise im going to use "gasp" rustoelum. Ill start searching on ebay for the tools though.

indy- compressor wise, tax returns are going to get me an 80 gal 19 cfm compressor from TP. I forgot they made body tools, ill look at them too.

 

so im looking through ebay, what would be good to buy? snap on and mac are out of my price range for me being a first timer. Im still looking though

 

You should not really need the rasp kit if you buy the right metal working tools. You may want to get a shrinking disc, the hammers and anvils will be ok, I think I would get a ******* dolly. They have some long blocks for sanding, you may want a few of those.

 

Hey,

I'd love ta tell ya to look for Porter Fergson, Plomb, Proto, Snap Off, Mac, Fairmount, but these all carry a heavy price tag. Truth is early Crafsman and Streamline made good, cheap dollys and hammers.
The Martin brand being sold are made on some of the old Fairmount patterns, but not to the same standards of drop forged hardness!

" Don't drink the Kool-Aid "

 

I work about 15 mins from TP tools they have a good ***ortment of Martin hammers. I have a few and really like them good balance and comfortable to the hand. They run about $30 each. Keep that in mind when your shopping eBay hard to beat the price when they can ship them with your compressor. Keith

 

i am an old school metal man who own's over 40 body hammer's many have started out as the same but have been modified to fit certain need's. go to your local body shop supply store and buy a top quality dinging hamer { flat face, short pick} and a universal " t******* dolly" { multipal crown's yet you can grip it and thump up a panel from the back side. a good vixen file and holder would be nice but in the early day's i would use a flat board and 80 grit to highlite the high and low spot's on a panel and then hammered and dollyed up the panel as needed. i am an avid collector of old body tool's and ebay and swap meet's are great source's but by the time you buy and pay shipping for basic readiley available tool's, you might as well buy new localey and know what you are getting. and once you get the tool's practice on and off dolly hammering on something else than your truck or you may cause more damage than you already have!!!!! good luck and welcome to the brotherhood of metal men!!!! larry { P.S. if you have other question's regarding body and paint , send me a message and i will try to help. oh an just say no to rustoleum , it has fish oil in it and you will have to strip it and all your bodywork and start over if you ever realy want to finish paint it. if you want the primer look for now go with ppg's dp 90 or something simalar!

 

I've got a bunch of ancient stuff that I got from old guys at garage sales/ If it's cheap and well worn I know it must have worked. Bought a cheese grater and long board new about 35 yrs. ago, and they're both still giving me great service. Don't use the long board as often anymore since I got an air board, but sometimes I still like doing some areas the old fashioned way.
I'm still an amateur too!

 

I use one hammer and two dollies, I have half a dozen or more of each, the rest sit in the drawer. The first ones I got are the ones I always use. I wonder how that works....

If you want to get it straight, then you need a long sanding board (unless you have magic talent).

I'm a rank amateur too, I did a camaro that came out pretty nice, my 55 is so-so. You can't buy patience, and patience is what makes good bodywork (that and magic talent, which I dont have)

 

Hey, Nothin wrong with a long board, I've seen serious/expensive damage done with a DA or an air file if the metalman ain't on his game! Nail a piece of chrome or gl*** with the tool, or drop the tool in the middle of a hood or roof= repair time /replacement, sand off too much filler =more material/time=lost money.
Power tools only speed that which can be done by hand, not better, jus quicker. Time ain't the issue when you're learning metalwork, learning is the issue. Speed will come with pratice.

 

Sign up for a alliance membership and checkout dagger tools.They are an alliance vendor and offer a discount.I picked up their set at btt50's and have used it for a few months and really like it.It seams to be really good quality for the price.I also picked up a shrinking disc and have been happy with results.

 

so whats the big problem with the eastwood hammer and dolly kit compared to other stuff?

I figured id need a cheese grader and a long board since its a long flat bed side, it just has a crease in it that I think would need to be hammered as flat as I could get it. Lay on the filler, cheese grade it and then long board it. Ill guessing ill have to repeat the last too things a few times untill I get the hang of it.

I looked at the tp hammer and dolly set, and its a bit pricy at 130$

http://www.tptools.com/p/3152,171_TP-Tools®-Pro-Series-7-Pc-Hammer-and-Dolly-Kit.html

 

Get the "Key to Metal Bumping" book before buyng any hammers....

 

I tried to find hammers and dollies online for years, and only ever found **** or stuff that was waaay too expensive. The best stuff I have came from swapmeets and secondhand tool shops. You can at least pick up the tool and see if it feels right. Even as an amateur, you'll know if it feels wrong

 

Get good quality dollies, they will cost you but they won't dent like the cheap chinese dollies. Martin or Snap On or some name brand.
General purpose, heel and toe dollies should be a good starter.
Same goes for hammers, although I don't generally care for craftsmen tools the ball peen hammers are fairly nice and reasonably priced. Ball peen, Pick, Cross peen or Cross chisel hammer would make for a good starter kit.
The Snap On body kit is a great starter kit. The Shrinking hammer is almost useless but some guys like them.

 

Keep an eye on craigslist. Every now and again an old retired bodyman is getting rid of his tools. Check into this. It might be a start..................

http://fredericksburg.craigslist.org/tls/2185875416.html

 

Hate to say this but if $130 is way to expensive for a good set of tools that will last you your entire life, might want to rethink this, what are you gonna say when you see what a gallon of good paint, hardner,reducer costs? How about $45 for a gallon of rage? Most of that is gonna get swept up off the floor. Then sand paper the cheap junk at HF is gonna load up and make your life miserable, and the good stuff (norton 3m) ain't cheap, I still get pissed when the local body supply hits me for damn near $5 for a roll of 3/4 tape. I have that dura block kit, I like it feels good in your and, and it better, it's gonna spend a LOT of time there.

What I'm saying is cheap tools and materials will make the job take 2x as long, 2x as hard, and look 1/2 as good. I did it the way your thinking, I'm just as cheap as the next rodder, however there are places to save money, cheap tools are not one of them, like said before rusteolum paint, if you ever want to do it right later, you gotta strip it all. How much that gonna cost ya? This is your truck do what you will, but please take some pride in your ride. It's an extension of you, Treat it how you want to be treated. Keith

 

honestly, If I was buying new for what your doing. I would buy martin because theyre affordable and worth buying. Just a simple cross pein hammer and toe dolly probably gonna be around 70 or so but they are of decent quality. I try to pick mine up used at swapmeets and such. Why buy junk it doesnt make sense. as far as a cheese grader you shouldnt need one with good plastic and good body work. I use evercoat chroma-lite and I feel its very similar to rage gold which is top shelf stuff. as far as a DA goes I dont know who makes a decent one. I have an old hutchins and its awesome but theyre hard to find. If you are dead set on a kit martin does make a small kit forget the price but if 130 is too much I bet its out of you price range.good tools arent cheap. cheap tools arent very good 9 times out 10. pay the price and have them for a lifetime.

 

there are a number of rods on the HAMB done with Rustoleum and they look pretty good. Do a search for Rustoleum and see what you get.

 

Fairmont a.k.a (Martin Tools) have around since the 1950's maybe even earlier. They are still made here in the USA and are top quality!

 

Whatever you do remove all paint first ,Going over old paint takes twice as long ,big areas spread with spackle knives and work thin ,Thats the easiest method and sand In between coats ,Spread filler like your ****ering toast ,Evenly ,Dont ever glob it on to fill in one coat ,Never works anyway .Deep dents ,Are for tiger hair ,Fill them and grind flat ,Then start skimming ..............Sorry I didnt chime in on tools ,I started with 3 dollies .****py dent puller ,And sanding block and a hand long board and a cheap hammer that I filed the flat and has a pick on one end ,Still use the cheap hammer and dollies.Also paint gun and compressor ,I started with a one hp compressor ,There only good for painting ...................Buy a quality gun ,I like sharpes

 

if you can get to charlotte sometime I will show you what you need to get to start and also give you some pointers on how to use the tools. My shop number is 704-509-6397 I am there most saturdays just for this type of stuff and alittle bs. Hope I can help RED

 

I'm a retired body man / fabricator with over 50 yrs in the business. I have probably purchased every body tool known to man at one time or another. I find that I used 2-3 hammers and 3-4 dollies most of the time. I wouldn't buy any kits. Most of them have stuff you won't use anyways and are a waste of money. Basic tools,short pick hammer,curved chisel hammer,bumping hammer. Heel dolly,toe dolly,general body dolly. I never used any rasp (cheese grater) handles...just grab the ends. They do make little loops for the ends that are great if you can find them. Short rubber sanding block,a long sanding block. Probably should get a pull rod kit. You don't have to buy the most expensive tools, but I would suggest not buying the cheapest either. I always tell people, the right tool makes the job go so much easier. Here is a link to a site that I came across....it may help.

http://www.minitruckinweb.com/tech/body/0706mt_body_work_tools_supplies/photo_06.html

good luck with your project.....

 

A lot of great info for you on tools so far but since you have never bumped metal or iced a panel, what you really need is a bit of "training". The tools ya buy as they don't come with instructions!!! If your local community college doesn't offer anything, look into DVD's. There is a truck load of them out there. Magazine articles are a great source of instruction, as are body work forums.


And as for Rustoleum, well, it looks good on patio furniture, and if one really has no other option, on the frame, but it is not an automotive finishing paint as it wasn't made for that purpose. I'd rather drive around in epoxy primer and save my dollars until I could afford a good quality refinishing paint before I will finish a car in Rustoleum.

 

Some of the Kent White - TinMan info is helpful. Bought a set of his VHS tapes, covers methods on metal working techniques.

 

Nobody has mentioned fillers yet:

You will get better on each dent, and will end up using less filler on every job. You can save tons of time and sanding supplies if you stay away from cheap fillers. The well known cheap brand that starts with a "B" will have a sticky surface and ruin your sandpaper almost instantly, which leads to frustration. Get a good filler, and it will go much easier.

If you get a chance to be able to see a body guy do just one dent, from bumping, to filler and sanding, that will help in a huge way.

 

We are having a shop gathering the 20th of Feb at my shop and will cover metal working, if you are in the area you should come on by. I stay away from most eastwood stuff, they prey on ammetuers. Go to your local body shop supply, they'll have Martin tools. Ebay will have old Snapon, Fairmont others that are made by martin, when you feel one in your hand you won't regret it. A couple small ball peen to use when you are afraid to use the martin hammers, a couple small plastic nobounce malletts. A heel dolley and lots of chunks of stuff. The book 'metal bumping' by Frank Sargent. There is a guy on here that teaches metal shaping at a university in ottawa (i think) and he has written a great book, you'll have to get creative with the 'search function' but he has offered that book to many hambrs. You might want to go to 'All Metalshaping' website, it is devoted to shaping metal and they have a section for automotive projects.