I tried using the jewelers torch and have improved my situation but I am not yet satisfied. In case anyone follows this I thought I would comment on my experience metal shrinking with this mini torch.
The plus side- the torch is very light, small, and doesn't burn through much gas. It is very easy to control the amount of heat the unit puts out. It fits in the palm of your hand and is easy to hold on to while hammering or quenching with the other hand making it pretty easy to use with just one person.
The down side- it takes a long time to get a spot red hot. There is a very large area of metal that gets quit warm before the small cherry spot. What happened to me was the line of spots I heated became a higher ridgeline rather than shrinking down. The surrounding metal appears to have shrunk because when I knocked this back down everything was flatter and the oil can effect in an adjacent area was gone. I still don't have a perfectly flat panel but it is better than it was.
Overall everything is as flat as I can get it with a slapper and the largest flat dolly I have. There are still very gentle waves in the panels when a straightedge is laid on them. Beyond finessing the area I torched a little more, I do not know what I can do to make the panels flat. If I just use filler there will be less than 1/8" in the thickest places but that means an equal amount in the opposite areas on the other side of the panel. Without better metal working skills is this my best option?
Chuck
