Well, i'm starting to work out minor dents from my 54's body and my pops gave me a hammer and dolly. Now seeing as how I have hardly any experience, I thought I should hit up all the HAMBros for some much needed tips, advice, kicks in the ass, etc. etc. My dad gave me some basic how-to but I'd greatly appreciate it if you guys would help me out. Thanks in advance guys!
Did your dad give ya an old fender to pratice on? That way ya can make all the mistakes you are going to make and not ruin the metal on your 54. Good luck.
You are asking what can take years to learn but quickly I will try and explain a couple of things. Hammering on the dolly, and Hammering off the dolly are two ways to use them. Hammering off the dolly will move the metal. By putting the dolly under the low spot and hammering the edge of the dent (witch is actually raised up slightly) You are trying to even out the area. You will see the low spot go up and the raised area go down if you are doing it correctly. Hammering on the dolly is done to strech the metal. Mostly after you have butt welded a panel and relive the stress in the welded area. Try and think of the metal as putty...the more you pound it out the flatter and larger the area will get. Thats what happens when you hammer "ON" the dolly. so be very carefull doing this, you can very easily cause a "Oil can" situation. Then you will need to know how to "Shrink" metal. I'm sure this sounds confusing if you have never seen it done. So my best advise is to have someone that knows what they are doing actually show you to give you abetter idea to get you going. Good luck
Here's the biggest thing you need to know. It's one of the first things I tell all my students. Do NOT under any circumstances hit your thumb. It really really hurts. If you do hit your thumb, your hands are in the wrong positions. Hope that helps. Good luck -Bugman Jeff
roadstar pretty basically explained it. Practice and patience bro. No one eats a whole pig in one setting. A tip I got from an old guy about 35 years ago (give or take a decade ). Make sure that the face of the hammer and the dolly are basically smooth. IE no big lumps or burs. There will be less finish work when you're done. And if you decide to use the pic end of the hammer don't (or at least be gentle)
You can use it that way. Dont pop the dent all the way out. But you'll probably end up streching it before your done. You can use it to knock a highspot down (after a lot of practice?) or ding a trim hole in just a tad prior to welding and filling. Not a lot of people do it that way, it works for me. Probably a part of the hammer that should have been left off. I've seen a lot of damage done by someone thinking they can use it to hurry it along. Unless you're doing comercial bodywork, the best bet is take your time. Slow is good. oops once again too much info. Go back to roadstar's original post, that's the starting place.
every problem has a different solution. it would be easier to tell you what not to do than how to do. don't use the dolly for an anvil don't over work the metal don't rough out a big dent with too light a hammer don't wail on a pannel without backing it up don't grip the handle, don't choke up on the handle, hold it losely, ballanced in your hand and let it bounce, working the metal into (back into) shape. and on and on like that
Some good advice so far from roadstar porknbeaner and others. If you don't have a Bro handy to watch that has some tallent you might consider a body coarse at a local collage. Evening classes are useally short, basic and cheep. Time well spent. I've been at it 40 years (Holly Shit!) and things still happen that make me go Hmmm. For every person with a hammer there is a little different technik. What I'll add here is to make sure the pannel your working on is free of paint, rust and undercoat. In other words, clean. Also don't force it with hard blows, take your time. If your going to be any good at pannell shapeing it will begome a tallent not a job. The Wizzard
"oilcan" is my middle name anybody know of where i can get a good shrinking hammer? gotta find my eastwoods catalog! i didn't do too bad a job, i'd say fixable when i do the rest of the front end's body work and eventually forgettable with flat paint
[ QUOTE ] anybody know of where i can get a good shrinking hammer? [/ QUOTE ] I don't think anyone serious uses a "Shrinking hammer". Get a shrinking disc,they work without marking the Shit out of your panel.
This seems to work for me on certain dents, the most common ones around really. Working off dolly is the best way to go at first. I hold the dolly tight against a low spot and hammer around the dent. It sounds weird to hammer down instead of up, but it really works. Then you can hammer on dolly around the perifery of the dent. A clean smooth hammer and dolly are essential. Every once on a while I'll use my low speed disc grinder to smooth down their surfaces. Also a dolly used by itself in big dent situations can work wonders too, it distributes the blow to minimize further damage. Sound is also a good way to judge how things are going. A loose handled approach with the hammer coupled with a dolly held tightly against the metal works. If you're getting a nice pinging sound the metal is flattening, loud thunks mean there's damage being done.
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