Hammer and Dolly Road test.
The hammer and dolly are the first tools you think about when buying tools for auto body work. There have been little choice when it comes to buying them. Either you bought the unadulterated junk kits of hammers and dollies for ten or twenty bucks or you spent twenty-five or more for each hammer or dolly. There wasn’t an in between that I know of until now. A co-worker of mine came in one day with a super set of dollies, a spoon and a door skin hammer from Harbor Freight that are really nice at only $25.00! (part number 46781) And they have another set with a “Fender dolly” and rubber heal dolly #03496 (as I describe in the “Basics” of door skins) for I would imagine fifteen bucks or so (couldn’t find the price when I found them at the store). I am also told there is a set of similar quality by the same manufacturer that includes a pick hammer (your basic body hammer and the first one you should buy) and the same “fender dolly” available in the twin dolly kit with the rubber one. The maker is US General in China of course like most tools at Harbor Freight.
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If you have read my posts or my “Basics of Basics” to buying tools you will know I loath the cheapie tools. They are usually not worth the package they come in. This set of hammer and dollies is an exception in a big way. It is really a nice set of tools. You will see them in the photo on the left. On the right are my tools of similar design, but not cost. My tools cost me about $165.00, quite a difference. And honestly the door skin hammer is possibly better than mine. It has a fiberglass handle (my wood one has broken before) and one thing that I like is that the actual hammer head surface is flat unlike mine which is curved (see photo). You most often use the door skin hammer along the bottom of the door and it is usually flat long that area, the curve in the face of my hammer isn’t the best for that flat area. At the bottom of the photo you will see the “fender dolly” and rubber dolly of mine that are similar to the ones found at Harbor Freight.
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The spoon and the dollies are very nice with large well dressed surfaces. The only thing I don’t like is they cast the word “Forged” in one of the faces! I have no idea why they did that, this face is commonly used for hammer work. With that darn “Forged” there you can’t do very fine work.
I have to stress, the big difference between these hammers and dollies and the cheapies I loath is the normal size first off, and the fact that they ARE forged and not “cast” iron. The cheap 8 pc sets like the 46779 for $22.00 are first off, tiny little hammers and dollies looking more like children’s toys than tools for adults but most of them are very brittle cast iron. The 46779 happens to be forged but most of these cheapies are cast.
DO NOT buy this cheapie set #46779! Do not get them mixed up with the others I mention in this tool review, they are
JUNK. I tested the hammer and dollies out and found them to be very nice tools for the money. If you were to pick up these two sets and find the one with the pick hammer you would have a heck of a nice set of hammers and dollies for around 75 bucks, such a DEAL.
