I bought a set of hammer and dollies awhile ago. I have used them in the past no problem. When i say used them, i mean five times tops! Well i go to show my fatherinlaw what i was doing and damn near took his head off. .The head flies right off. Ok a miss and everyone laughs. we move on to another hammer out of the set and same thing. The handles are made of wood and the had some type of epoxy holding them on. (or lack of) I bought this set cheap, i know you get what you pay for but come on.

Heres the real question wheres a good place to get hammers? I looked at Eastwood but does anyone have an idea where and what i should buy? Im no bodyman just want to learn and fix my fenders and doors. Thanks and sorry for the little rant.

 

I ordered a catalog from these guys: https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/default.aspx
They seem to have everything from the basics up to the professional grade tools and supplies. I haven't ordered anything from them yet.

 

I have a cheap HF set with fiberglass handles. No issues so far. Yes..I know they are cheap and junk, but they are working for me. I have a serious budget problem, so.....

Some people like to buy "martin" brand off of ebay. Autobodytoolmart (website has them), eastwoods has them.

My favorite dolly so far is a hockey puck believe it or not.

 

Martin are excellent, as are snap-on with the octagon wood handles. I bought the majority of my tools used on ebay. Most hammers and steel dollys, even new ones, will need the faces dressed before use. If possible mount a belt sander upside down or use a disk sander with 180 then 400 silicon carbide paper to remove any rust, pits, dings or scratches and to soften the edges of the faces. Hammer and dolly faces are almost never perfectly flat, but should have a slight radius in all directions (1/16" over a 2" face). If you have the funds for several hammers, radius the faces a little more on each one. Use more radius the flatter the area.
The first hammer you get should be a long necked picking or dinging hammer. It should have a 1 1/2 - 2" round face and a nearly pointed bullet shaped head on the other end on a 2" straight or curved shaft. This is the most useful hammer. Next get a slap hammer, looks like a pancake flipper. Add additional hammers as budget allows to get into different areas. The most useful dollys are a heel dolly a toe dolly and a railroad or universal dolly.
You also want some "soft" faced hammers and dollys. A set of HMW plastic torpedo head mallets, a weighted plastic mallet (available at many DIY stores in the tool dept) and a plastic or rubber dolly. A hockey puck makes a good substitute for the rubber dolly, especially if you sand one side into a shallow dome shape.
(more tomorrow)

 

I have read where some of the old body men used to take a piece of a Leaf Spring and make a body hammer out of it. The article said the best Body Tools are home made.

 

You can make a slap hammer out of an old spring leaf, preferably a fairly thin one.

 

Slap Hammer, that is what I was trying to remember thanks AX.

 

I have had my hand tools/body hammers and dollies for 30 yrs and never had a head fly-off like that!!! Bill

 

Here's a good article by Ron Covell on buying and using body hammers/dollys:
Tips

PS: if you are hammering so hard that the hammer head flew off, you are DEFINITELY using too hard a blow! A body hammer is used with a light touch, not like you are driving nails!

 

AX: What is a HMW plastic mallet? Is that a brand name or something?

I would like to find a couple, if they are what I think they are.

I use my shirinking disk a lot as well. AX pointing me to mine on ebay for around $30. It works great!

If you want to make some of your own tools....metalshapers has soom good tutorials online.

Metalshaping Class Room

Here is one for the slap hammers:

Metalshapers Assoc. Community Sites

 

I recently brought my old body tools out of deep retirement, for the truck (probably 20+ years). Old wooden handles. The first thing I noticed is that all the handles were very loose in the heads, as the wood has shrunk over the years. One was so bad, it very may have come off, if I had used it the way it was. You might re-set the wedge in the top of the handle, where it goes through the head. Another fix is to soak the heads in water, so they swell up again, and it would take quite a while to shrink again.

R

 

I've been very happy with the small assortment of Martin tools I have, not the cheapest, but they are quality. Got my from Eastwood company

 

I was not hitting that hard. It was just glue that was holding the head on.

I have tried to put a metal stake to tighten up the hold.

 

Auto body toolmart is a good source, but Martin hammers are available from Sears thru the tool catalog.

 

You would need ax wedges. Thet are steped wedge that is driven into the pre cut slot in the top of the handle. then soke it in water over night,
We use to do this when we would repair fire axes

Jim G











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