Have we talked about auto body hammer/dollies?

In the market for a 'competent' set of hammers/dollies to perform dent removal in the new to me 2003 chevy 2500 hd duramax PU.....go.....calling 'SkinnyG' 'Vigo' 'Frenchy D' 'Curtis73' any and all panel beaters are welcome..

No personal experience with this set, but the price and reviews look good:

https://www.harborfreight.com/body-and-fender-set-7-pc-63259.html

Surface finish matters

You almost need two sets of tools one for beating and bashing and one for fine detail work where surface finish matters.

You cant have too many hammers or dollies if you are really going to get into the game. Or, conversely, you dont need much more than a few hammers and chunks of steel in  various shapes if you are just dabbling. 

In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :

My preference is wooden handled ones that are light enough to gently work metal and have a nice balance to them. 
As I acquired my set I'd try various suppliers and select one from Sears, a different one from Snap On a bargain bin one. Etc. 
These I'm really careful not to ever lend out. 

But  don't forget the spoons.   Working aluminum , I'd have different  size spoons to match a given radius. I found solid silver works best. It's more malleable than stainless.   You kind of slide and roll the spoon as you pull out the dent or achieve the shape you want. Yard sales, moving sales estate sales. Etc.  Few people realize the spoon they sell for 10 cents or 50 cents is solid silver worth many times that in melt value. 
You'll need a really sturdy sand bag. Get a local leather worker to make yours. Different sizes.   
Good selection of dead blow hammers tiny to really big.  They only last about 30 years or so though. 
Air files and pneumatic hammers plus the file boards etc. Shrinkers  and stretchers.  Plus an English wheel.  My old one I sold used to take up a decent chunk of the garage  but rolled so nicely and I felt comfortable working it.  The Harbor freight one I bought to replace the one I sold, works, well sorta. I'd never take on the tasks with that that I did with my old one.  That big wheel on the old one just moved the metal with no effort.  This smaller one,  well, it's better than not having one, I guess. 

I am -not- a good representation of quality autobody skills.

There has been a Chinese kit with three hammers and four or five dollies available from all sorts of places for thirty years or so.  That's as good a place to start as any.

frenchyd said:

In reply to 759NRNG (Forum Partidario) :

My preference is wooden handled ones that are light enough to gently work metal and have a nice balance to them. 
As I acquired my set I'd try various suppliers and select one from Sears, a different one from Snap On a bargain bin one. Etc. 
These I'm really careful not to ever lend out. 

But  don't forget the spoons.   Working aluminum , I'd have different  size spoons to match a given radius. I found solid silver works best. It's more malleable than stainless.   You kind of slide and roll the spoon as you pull out the dent or achieve the shape you want. Yard sales, moving sales estate sales. Etc.  Few people realize the spoon they sell for 10 cents or 50 cents is solid silver worth many times that in melt value. 
You'll need a really sturdy sand bag. Get a local leather worker to make yours. Different sizes.   
Good selection of dead blow hammers tiny to really big.  They only last about 30 years or so though. 
Air files and pneumatic hammers plus the file boards etc. Shrinkers  and stretchers.  Plus an English wheel.  My old one I sold used to take up a decent chunk of the garage  but rolled so nicely and I felt comfortable working it.  The Harbor freight one I bought to replace the one I sold, works, well sorta. I'd never take on the tasks with that that I did with my old one.  That big wheel on the old one just moved the metal with no effort.  This smaller one,  well, it's better than not having one, I guess. 

Thank you for your response....this PU has a few bumps on the drivers side below the 'character' line ...this is not by any means a concours execution....but in fact me trying to eliminate these dings to where it falls under the 'twenty footer rule'.....plus melding with the metal shaping GOD to create inner peace and focus while being in the confines of the'driveway'..............peace out 

NOHOME said:

Surface finish matters

You almost need two sets of tools one for beating and bashing and one for fine detail work where surface finish matters.

You cant have too many hammers or dollies if you are really going to get into the game. Or, conversely, you dont need much more than a few hammers and chunks of steel in  various shapes if you are just dabbling. 

This ^^^. I've got a lot, far more than I need or use. Currently replacing the bottom of '67 Camaro. Trunk pan, drop offs, inner splash pan, torque boxes, rear seat area sheet metal, frame rails, and sectioning in outer wheel wells.  Have 3-4 small hammers, 2 dollys, and a couple hand held 2-3 lb. persuaders out.  Have any pics of the damage you want to fix? Then we could suggest tools you'd probably use.

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/NOTATA/a/4084bbc8-1e50-4486-872e-fbce3ed87549/p/39967714-6105-4990-9dfa-bc7781d2b9cb][/URL]

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/NOTATA/a/4084bbc8-1e50-4486-872e-fbce3ed87549/p/5ee245ea-dd10-4222-a882-8217cc11ca1d][/URL]

[URL=https://app.photobucket.com/u/NOTATA/a/4084bbc8-1e50-4486-872e-fbce3ed87549/p/b5719d28-d8d7-4b85-8656-cba25218ef0b][/URL]

Any one else here use the shrinking disc?

frenchyd said:

But  don't forget the spoons.   Working aluminum , I'd have different  size spoons to match a given radius. I found solid silver works best. It's more malleable than stainless.   You kind of slide and roll the spoon as you pull out the dent or achieve the shape you want. Yard sales, moving sales estate sales. Etc.  Few people realize the spoon they sell for 10 cents or 50 cents is solid silver worth many times that in melt value. 
 

Never heard of silver body work spoons , any pictures ?

and how do you tell if they are silver from a glance :)  We are going to an old guys estate next week and I am sure there is  a lot of this kind of stuff.....

Thanks

californiamilleghia said:

frenchyd said:

But  don't forget the spoons.   Working aluminum , I'd have different  size spoons to match a given radius. I found solid silver works best. It's more malleable than stainless.   You kind of slide and roll the spoon as you pull out the dent or achieve the shape you want. Yard sales, moving sales estate sales. Etc.  Few people realize the spoon they sell for 10 cents or 50 cents is solid silver worth many times that in melt value. 
 

Never heard of silver body work spoons , any pictures ?

and how do you tell if they are silver from a glance :)  We are going to an old guys estate next week and I am sure there is  a lot of this kind of stuff.....

Thanks

Aluminum stretches very easily on an English wheel.  The problem is it also dents very easily from a careless thumb or finger. A Lotus 11 LeMans I restored suffered from several dents after a race.  Since  the car was Already painted rather than put it through the English Wheel and ruining the paint I rolled them out from the underside using spoons.   
 

How to tell silver from plate or stainless steel?  Silver has a different shine and you tell plate from solid by trying ( be subtitle ) to bend it. There is also the stamp on the bottom side but I don't know  how those Hallmarks  work. 

Don't buy whole sets of silverware ( unless you want them) but the odd spoon in the odds and ends drawers is the bargains I pick up. 

In reply to frenchyd :

Ha Ha Ha.......I thought you were talking about a bodywork spoon , something that would be a pound or 2 of silver 

It wouldn't hurt to keep your eye out at swap meets for good used vintage tools - I picked up a couple vintage Plomb dollies and a Plomb hammer that way, they're very nice.

When buying new, I think Martin body hammers are supposed to be decent.  You can find them on Amazon.  https://www.amazon.com/slp/martin-body-hammer/93kz7ky2b52j7u6

I've only known one other person to use actual table spoons on bodywork. The body shop I worked out of had an old school Italian metal guy who had a huge assortment of items he used to work cars back into shape. The panels he brought back to life were unreal. 

NOHOME said:

Any one else here use the shrinking disc?

No, but thanks to you, it is on my list of "must tries".

To pile on another opinion in answer to OP, You can get 75% of the way there with a Harbor Freight "my first bodywork kit". Flapper disc the faces as needed for the required level of smoothness. That said, good tools are always worth it. I want one of these to round out the 3 pos hammers I got at the hammer store.

In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) (Forum Supporter) :

Full disclosure...the shrinking disc does amazing things.BUT  The reality is that learning to use it is like giving the grade schoolers a box of hand grenades; takes a while to figure things out and you can make things worse than when you started. Eventually you figure it out.

While on the subject...one of the biggest challenges in bodywork is getting rid of oilcans. You need to find the spot that stretched and allowed for the dent to happen in the first place.  A trick that I learned is that if you hunt around the perimeter of the oilcan with one finger pushing down on the panel, you will find a magic spot that "Locks" the oilcan in the position you want. THAT spot under your finger  is the spot to shrink.

californiamilleghia said:

In reply to frenchyd :

Ha Ha Ha.......I thought you were talking about a bodywork spoon , something that would be a pound or 2 of silver 

Sorry,  I call those slap hammers.  But with little formal training in the bodywork arts I'm probably wrong.