Body tools |
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Ryan_289
Member Joined: 17 Mar. 2013 Location: Russellville AR Status: Offline Points: 1299 |
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Posted: 29 Apr. 2013 at 2:45am |
I need to purchase some hammers and some dollys before I tackle body repair on my 48. WHere can I pick up some decent body tools that wont break the bank?
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samcj2a
Member Sponsor Member x 5 Joined: 21 Oct. 2006 Location: Arlington, VA Status: Offline Points: 8549 |
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Everything that I have read about current hammers and dollies says to stay away from the inexpensive brands. Martin is consistently stated to be high quality and a rebranded Mac line.
Amazon has a 7 piece set for about $200. You can buy sets for much less, but the rule in tools is that if it is inexpensive, it is likely to be imported and cheaply made. My set is ancient so I do not have any recent purchase to go by. Here's a link to a set of Martin tools at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Martin-647K-Piece-Fender-Repair/dp/B0014DEVUC/ref=pd_sbs_indust_3 |
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Schimms15
Member Joined: 17 Jan. 2011 Location: milwaukee, Wisc Status: Offline Points: 2953 |
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I'd say hit up the flee markets and garage sales and Craigslist. Find some solid old usa stuff. I have the harbor freight kit but haven't used it yet.
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46 2a
51 truck project named Karen |
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otto
Member Joined: 26 Feb. 2012 Location: Orygun Status: Offline Points: 2264 |
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Just to repeat a tired, but true refrain: you get what you pay for. Take it from someone who used to swing body hammers all day for a living, cheap tools are false economy. All my hammers were Snap-On or Proto (which aren't made anymore). I found the Snap-On hammers to have the best balance and feel, the Proto's were a close second. The cheap hammers are good for cracking nuts or putting the lids back on paint cans; most of these have a flat face and will cause more damage than you are trying to fix- stay away.
If you don't do this work for a paycheck you won't need but 2 or 3, and if you spend a little money you'll have a great tool to work with the rest of your life. I have 3 Snap-On hammers and 2 Proto's, that's all I used during my career. Just buy versatile profiles that work for a lot of situations. I suggest a cross peen style to start with. Dollies are another matter, you can skimp a little on these. You are just looking for shapes and contours that suit what you're trying to repair.
Edited by otto - 29 Apr. 2013 at 3:56am |
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47 CJ2A w/fuel injected boat engine
48 CJ2A 64 Ford Econoline Travelwagon If you can't get there in a Jeep, get a motorcycle! |
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Ryan_289
Member Joined: 17 Mar. 2013 Location: Russellville AR Status: Offline Points: 1299 |
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Thanks for the info. I figured that the "you get what you pay for" statement would apply to these tools as well. Ill start looking around for some used ones at the flea market. If not ill bite the bullet and spring for new. |
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WRMorrison
Member Joined: 28 Jan. 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ Status: Offline Points: 421 |
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I guess I'll be the one that goes against the grain here, but I'm no body man either. I have the set from HF and they've always worked as well as my abilities allow. I'm also a proponent of buying good tools (most of my stuff is either Snap-On or Craftsman), but these seem to do the job well enough for me.
-WRM
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If you're a SolidWorks user, here's a link to my publicly available models: My Models (click on "projects")
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athawk11
Member Joined: 18 Jan. 2012 Location: Arvada,Colorado Status: Offline Points: 4151 |
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I'm going to go completely against the grain... I do have an inexpensive hammer/dolly set, but the majority of the panels on the Willys Jeeps are flat. If your primary intention is the work the sheet metal on a Willys, then I don't think I would buy a nice Hammer Dolly set. You won't ever use the majority of the dollies.
I made my own dollies from a chunk of 5/8" x 2" flat steel bar stock. I cut them to a manageable size. I took a grinder to some of them to make specific shapes needed for a Willys, like the ribs in the cargo area and wheel houses. I do use some of the hammers in my set, but my 'go to' hammer is an old rock hammer my Dad gave me when I was a kid. The combination of the rock hammer and my homemade flat bar stock dollies have made Willys Jeep sheet metal work a breeze. This is a chunk of bar stock before I cut it to size... This is a dolly I made to work the ribs... Good luck. Tim
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otto
Member Joined: 26 Feb. 2012 Location: Orygun Status: Offline Points: 2264 |
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That dolly is exactly what I was describing to another poster as to what he might use to repair wheelhouse ribs. Nice work!
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47 CJ2A w/fuel injected boat engine
48 CJ2A 64 Ford Econoline Travelwagon If you can't get there in a Jeep, get a motorcycle! |
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compyellow
Member Joined: 17 June 2009 Location: Sioux City Iowa Status: Offline Points: 176 |
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I have been looking at the martins for awhile. They seem like a great hammer with a great reputation. You could just get a hammer or two and not spend too much. You can take a look at summit, auto body tool mart, or eastwood. Myself I like wooden handles.
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bkreutz
Member Sponsor Member Joined: 17 Oct. 2006 Location: Fruitland Idaho Status: Offline Points: 7037 |
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Same with me, I've got a 10' box filled with Snap On, Matco, and Cornwell tools but I used the HF body kit (hammers and dollys) when I rebuilt my 2A. I figure that being a professional technician I use professional tools but I'm definitely an amateur bodyman so I got amateur tools. |
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Mike S
Member Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: West Coast Status: Offline Points: 2318 |
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I am certainly not a body man, but I straightened the hood, fenders, and a few other spots with a ball peen and a dead blow hammer and a 25 lb. bag of lead shot.
I am currently quite challenged by my wavy, but intact, tailgate - particularly the dented top tube. Any workable ideas on a tool/method that would help to get this right?
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'47 CJ2A -- #114542
Warn FF D41 rear Lock-Right locker 11" drum brakes Dual master cylinder T90C Transmission 16 X 6 Jeep truck wheels Cooper STT Pro tires |
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mullen46cj2a
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 19 July 2005 Location: Harrisville, WV Status: Offline Points: 1185 |
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Mike S. - I have a tailgate with same issue. I plan to make a rod that will fit snug in the tube with a rounded tip. As it is forced through the tube, hammer to original form. I don't know if this will work until I try it, which could be a while.
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Bruce Mullen Harrisville, WV
46 CJ2A column shift SOLD 07-15 48 CJ2A with Newgren lift 55 CJ5 |
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Mike S
Member Joined: 20 May 2006 Location: West Coast Status: Offline Points: 2318 |
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Bruce
I was thinking that a graduated series of hardwood dowels with rounded ends and a BFH might gradually bring the edge back. Of course, Bubba didn't have the correct length loops, so he drilled out the pads for shorter loops, then drilled holes for the license plate. However, it is the original tailgate in unrusted (but not unmolested) condition with the correct number hinges. Worth repairing, I think.
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'47 CJ2A -- #114542
Warn FF D41 rear Lock-Right locker 11" drum brakes Dual master cylinder T90C Transmission 16 X 6 Jeep truck wheels Cooper STT Pro tires |
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Schimms15
Member Joined: 17 Jan. 2011 Location: milwaukee, Wisc Status: Offline Points: 2953 |
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Oilleaker did something like this for his trucks bed rails. They were dented so he put a rod in and hammered back to shape. Not sure if he smashed the rod in with a hammer.
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46 2a
51 truck project named Karen |
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ralf
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 06 May 2008 Location: Fayetteville WV Status: Offline Points: 4861 |
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I like the Martin hammers with the blue fiberglass handles. You can get by with one flat face/pointed pick face or flat face/rectangular pointed pick face and a mufti-sided dolly. The harmers are in the 30 to 40 dollar range.
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1947 CJ2A
1948 CJ2A 1953 Ford NAA Golden Jubilee Tractor 1941 J-3 Cub 1957 Farmall Cub Low Boy tractor 1942 Clarktor WW2 tug |
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F Bill
Member Sponsor Member x 2 Joined: 05 Dec. 2005 Location: central Texas Status: Offline Points: 7752 |
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Don't be fooled by Eastwood's Fairmount line... They are Chinese... Decent hammers but not real USA made Fairmounts, and you have to look pretty closely to see they are not USA made in the catalog.If you do not mind the origin of them, the ones I got were acceptable hammers for the money. A very little tweaking would make them as nice as the originals.
Once you have done some dinging with a quality body hammer and dolly set you will no longer want to use the cheap ones.. I purchased the HF set to do a review of them, they are not worth the selling price and barely worth the sale price when they put them on sale. Why HF chose to hollow out their heel dolly other than to save shipping weight escapes reason. That said, a few minutes with a grinder and some gradually finer grits of sandpaper flap wheels and you can make any cheapo hammer have the profile of a good one. You won't have the balance and feel of a good quality Snap On or a real Martin or Plomb or Fairmount, but you can get close. The key is to get a fully convex surface with a nice even gradual curve in all directions, not a flat surface or even worse, a concave surface. Same can be done with dollys, and custom make dollys are excellent ideas for specialty areas like the floor ribs. Blocks of steel, aluminum, and hardwood also do some good metal forming.
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If you haven't checked out the tech FAQ section, go to:
http://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/tech-faq_forum57.html for a lot of great stuff you need to know!! |
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athawk11
Member Joined: 18 Jan. 2012 Location: Arvada,Colorado Status: Offline Points: 4151 |
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Mike, Mullen,
For the tailgate tube, I used a 'D-Shaft'. This is from the garage door world. Specifically, Raynor Garage Doors. This shaft is already shaped very close to the size and shape of the tailgate tube. The shortest length they have is 7'8". Google http://www.raynor.com/locator.cfm to find the dealer closest to you.
I had to grind down one of the hard edges for a perfect fit. Took about 10 minutes of grinding and trial fitting to get it right. Once the shape was right, I started driving it in with a 3lb sledge. It took some effort. Especially when I came to a very dented/crushed area, but slowly and surely, the dents gave way and I was able to drive the shaft all the way in. Once it was in, I worked the remaining minor imperfections and creases with a hammer. Turned out perfect.
I was going to remove it, but decided to leave it in. I cut it to the correct length and there is stayed. I will never have to worry about a dented tailgate tube again.
Tim
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Schimms15
Member Joined: 17 Jan. 2011 Location: milwaukee, Wisc Status: Offline Points: 2953 |
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Tim nice fix. is the d shaft roughly the price of just buying the proper size steel tubing? And did you use any lube?
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46 2a
51 truck project named Karen |
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