Ford truck body shop
#16
01-01-2015, 09:27 PM
There are three pieces. I needed compounds curves in all three pieces. The way I was able to make the compound curves I used a ballpeen hammer to basically make a dished dent in the metal, I then used my body hammer and a curved body dolly clamped in my bench vice to refine the dish and smooth out the hammer marks left by the ballpeen hammer. Sort of a very basic planishing hammer and English wheel. Very basic to achieve a moderate compound curve.
#17
01-01-2015, 09:53 PM
Bob, the fenders are coming along nicely, great work!
#18
01-01-2015, 10:52 PM
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I do have a really nice shop but it's costing me a small fortune. The building is from my business which because of a bad economy I had to pretty much close and find work somewhere else. I bought the building just before everything hit the fan. At the time things were good and had inherited a little money so I figured I'd invest it in my business. Well five years later I'm stuck with a building worth 2/3 of what I paid for it. So far I have had enough small jobs from my now very small business to pay for the building. I would sell it in a minute if I could and not lose all the money I have stuck into it.
That all being said, I spent 20 years crawling around on gravel under anything I had to work on. I then got a pole building to work in without heat. It's better than having to crawl around on gravel in the open but in the middle of winter it doesn't help too much when it's hovering around 0°. I will admit I have it made now, my shop is big, it's heated, I have a 2 post lift and most of the tools anyone could need but it's been a long time in getting.
That all being said, I spent 20 years crawling around on gravel under anything I had to work on. I then got a pole building to work in without heat. It's better than having to crawl around on gravel in the open but in the middle of winter it doesn't help too much when it's hovering around 0°. I will admit I have it made now, my shop is big, it's heated, I have a 2 post lift and most of the tools anyone could need but it's been a long time in getting.
#19
01-02-2015, 08:09 PM
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#20
01-02-2015, 09:44 PM
Bob It is a nice shop and having your son their with the same interests is priceless. Thats the stuff money just cant buy. As for me I am waiting for the house next door to Tinman to come up for sale where the trucks have little rust and i can get some neighborly fabrication advise. Thats where i'll buid my dream shop.
He and Bob both do awesome work.
#24
01-04-2015, 08:51 PM
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lol Those patches look great.
#25
01-04-2015, 11:32 PM
#26
01-05-2015, 01:44 PM
I'm glad Gary's fenders were not that far gone! We completed metal finishing the one we have been working on yesterday. Just need to go over it with 80 grit on the DA and apply a skim of filler over the whole thing. Biggest issue was that the whole fender looked like someone had taken a ball peen to it, so we (he worked, I supervised) spent a lot of time working it smooth with a round robin of hammer and dolly, shrinking disk, bullseye pick and slap hammer.
#27
01-05-2015, 02:13 PM
#28
01-05-2015, 04:14 PM
and since the tooling might take a little while to get perfect, you could send out some to all your buddies on FTE, just to make sure they fit right and everything..
#29
01-05-2015, 05:16 PM
Ax what i meant was although i have few years of industrial fabrication experience it was all angles or rolls. None of it being auto body work or complex curves. I am just amazed at most of the talent here. Bob ball pein streching then planishing it back. You and Scott posting your fab work. I stand here looking at flat sheets of steel and my sons thinking can i learn that or should i at least try to get them working with it now so they may be good
#30
01-05-2015, 11:25 PM
I'm kind of self taught. I worked in the auto body field for about 5 years but before I got in the profession I did amateurish work on my cars and a few other people's cars. I haven't worked in that field in over 25 years but I still work on my vehicle and a few side jobs.
I have learned a lot buy watching TV shows, reading online discussion boards, watching videos on line and also a lot of experimentation. I really like working with metal and playing with and seeing what I can make it do. I look at rust repair as a magic trick, or an illusion. Taking something must people would think is junk and making it look like new.
I have learned a lot buy watching TV shows, reading online discussion boards, watching videos on line and also a lot of experimentation. I really like working with metal and playing with and seeing what I can make it do. I look at rust repair as a magic trick, or an illusion. Taking something must people would think is junk and making it look like new.