The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Tools for body work ?

Hello, will be getting some body working tools soon and would like to get some input on what might be needed and your ideas on quality versus get er done.

Have looked online for some body hammers and dollies and found a few kits with 3 hammers and a few general dollies. The prices are extreme from a low of about $10 for a kit and a high of $139.

I do know a little about them as I used them to mess arouund with for about a year back in the day when I would go help out a buddy doing the company trucks and his side projects. I remember showing up with a new hammer I just bought and I asked him how he liked it and he said,"Nothing but junk!"..boy did I feel good.lol.. He did show me the difference and I could see what he was talking about.

Would like to hear from you on what your most used tools are where you buy them and at what point does price overcome quality.

Thanks,

evilstepdad

I use a set I got from Harbor Freight for around $30. The dollies are forged not cast and the hammers have worked well so far. Just beware of the very cheap sets that use cast dollies. They are downright dangerous in terms of breaking and pieces coming off.

If I were to make my living at this I would probably spend more $ for better quality but these get the job done for me. Better to spend the money I saved on a good Lincoln wire feed welder which is also a requirement for fixing up these old trucks it seems.

Thanks for the replies. Love those shorhairs.. We have a Lab now but it dosn't really have the personality of the shorhair.

What model is your Linoln Welder and is it working out on the body work part of your project or can it even be used for the body work?

Will be learning to weld here in just a couple of weeks. Did very little welding back in the day with a stick machine so it will basically be new to me. The doors will need some patching for sure.

Thanks,

evilstepdad

I have a lincoln 135 machine and have been very happy with it. It will weld a beer can back together or weld up to .25 plate. I started with the flux core wire but soon moved to the MIG wire and the welding gas. I bought a large bottle and get it refilled for $20. The gas makes all the difference in the world. It runs of regular 110VAC and works all day. I have had zero issues with the machine. I have seen them at Home Depots for around $450 but got might off Ebay for about 75% of that brand new.

All the welding shown on my project was done with this machine. I never took a class. Just got some metal and found what works and what does not.

I have found that German Shorthair Points (GSP) are a great breed to have. They work all day in the field and never complain. Our latest is almost 3 and has four hunting seasons under him.

Good luck on your project and if there are any questions I can help you with, send me an email.

GO ASTROS!

evilstepdad:

May I suggest a pneumatic seaming tool. I have used mine extensively in replacing the floor pans, inner rocker panels and kick panels on my '66 K-10. I will also be using it to replace the rear half of the fleetside bed panels on my '66 C-10. It is a great tool that creates a 1/2" offset in sheetmetal to back up the piece you are attaching. Avoids the blowout you get if the metal is a little thin for the power setting and/or wire speed of your wire feed welder. Speaking of wire feed welders, I suggest investing in one if you plan to do any extensive amount of panel replacement on your '60. I bought a Miller 175 that runs .030 wire and shielding gas. I think a monkey could weld with one of these machines with a little coaching and a few bananas. Good luck with your '60.

Tony,

Thanks for suggesting the pneumatic seaming tool, now if I only knew what it was. lol Never heard of one before.

I did a search and I got a lot of pneumatic tools but not one for seams. If you could give me a link to check it out I would appreciate it.

Thanks for the info,

evilstepdad

Is it called a flange tool? I think Eastwood has them , I've been thinking of getting one myself.