Hello, MickeyC here, I need some body hammers. Grainger markets a few sets with fiber glass handles "Nupa" brand. About the same price as Martins, but available locally. Any opinions would be appreciated.
Don't buy cheap hammers and dollies, The dollies are too light to be of much use if you have a serious job to do. What work do you want to do? the tools you will need will depend on what you want to do. I would buy a Flipper file (slapper file) and one planishing hammer. I personally don't like fiberglass handles. Buy the dollies individually depending on what you are doing a dolly should have a similar shape to the part you are beating. Buy one or two that you need now then add more later. Dagger tools have a large range of body tools, you might get some ideas about what you need by looking at their website even if you don't buy from them. David
Some of my students buy NAPA hammers and dollies. Not bad, but I think Martin is a little better. I prefer wood handles too. Slapping file is a must.
ive been doin body and paint for almost 30 years ,I would never buy a fiberglass handle, martin hammers are the best there is ,you pay a little more but well worth it. martin also sells dollies . buy the ones for the specific work you are doin. work smart not hard
Fibreglass handles are for the birds. All my body hammers are Martins with wooden handles. Without a doubt Martins is the best there is to be had. I would not have a fibreglass handle on h carpenters hammer. Just my 2 cents worth
No fiberglass handles for me either. I hit the jack pot on this any way. Took my wife to a yard sale some years back, ans she returned to the car and told me to "come look - they have some weird hammers". I bought 11 old Martin hammers, 4 dollies, 4 spoons (slappers), and two Vixen files for $5. The faces were all beautifully dressed. They had been well loved for a long time before I got em
Do Not buy cheap hammers, and I also do not like fiber handles. Martin are good hammers and per my Snap-On man, Snap-On owns Martin.Martin just uses the lighter hickory handles where as SO uses the darker stain. I use both at work and love the feel of my SO's. I also troll the local swap meets for old body dollies and hammers, I also like old Proto hammers when I can find them.I also make my own slappers (smooth and shrinking slappers) Also if you are willing to wait on shipping, look up Sunchaser tools. THey are nice quality hammers(located in Passadena, Ca)
I keep hearing about great finds at yard sales but all they ever have around here is frikin baby clothes, junk china and velvet paintings.
Just picked up a vixen file yesterday at a second hand store. 5.00 made by formost. looks to be 50's 60's. Wall hanger for the shop. I've found several good hammers and such at yard sales. but for some reason I keep finding body files. Must have a half dozen. Proto and old streamline are nice to. One of my guys bought a new streamline....garbage.
another thing I am always on the hunt for(and can never find) are old draw files for dong lead work. I have been learning to do leadwork from an old timer and he has some bad ass files that i need to find lol
They have a different spring from a wood handle, I hate 'em too. Eastwood is another source for Martin tools. DON'T buy cheap hammers, you'll get a crappy soft cast iron head that'll dent faster than the panel you're beating. My favourite is an old Fairmount pick with a Snap On handle. Rings like a bell with every blow. Cheap hammers go 'thud'.
No soul. I HAVE a drawer full of Martin wood hammers. I've had...HAD two of Martins fiberglass hammers. They feel completely different, they chip apart easily if the handle hits anything.
If your not afraid of price, I've got Snap-on hammers. I like the feel of the wood handles better than martins. But I do have both,and use both about the same.
I got some dagger's, and love them, the snap on i have doesnt impress me, but then again the handle is warped
its how you use a hammer,not what manufacturer it has stamped on the head. my weekly metal work blog www.themetalsurgeon.com
Sunchaser is a joke, the owner of the company despises other metal workers and aspiring metal workers, he refuses to sell tools anymore to the public.
Hey, That's great news, given Ken's tood! On the subject of '' body tools ''.............. get some real world experience in working metal and damage analysis before you drop big bucks on tools. A Snap Off hammer & dolly won't make you any better a metalman than a chi-comm POS one will. It's the skill of the metalman, not his tools that produces the result. " Life ain't no Disney movie "
Perhaps not, but if you have to use the cheap junk at least dress the faces properly - couple of cast hammers and dollies I've seen have surfaces that are all over the place. Guaranteed to have you chasing your tail if you are trying to get anything beyond rudimentary metalfinishing...
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