lately I have noticed that when the heat bulge/blister pops up .....all is good. but when it pops down the panel is under too much tension and you are about to over shrink. any thoughts? also to my donkey tracks comment . all the hammer blows were directed towards the center as if trying to force the surrounding metal in as well as knocking the heat blister down flat. I just learned the method myself this winter so I'm no expert but after using shrinking discs and meat tenderizing hammer type shit I'm sticking to the torch and air method . that said I can not get the results that the guy who taught me can. so this is something that takes practice.
You are kinda answering your own questions! The entire panel really has to be taken into consideration. If you over-shrink one spot you'll flatten it too much or even bow in inwards in that one spot. If you look closely at my method in the vid, I was also taught to hammer towards the center, thus "pulling" the metal towards the heated spot. But I was also taught to hammer right on the heated spot at the end to fully cool it in the center. Waffle iron hammers (or dolly's) are meant for COLD shrinking metal. They raise and lower the metal thus shrinking it like crumpling paper. You only use the hammer OR the dolly, not both together. It takes WAY longer to do it this way, so heat shrinking is preferred. Maybe if you only need a tiny shrink I could see using a shrinking hammer or dolly. Anyways, you are right in that it definitely takes practice - but then, doesn't everything?
thanks for sharing your insight to moving metal. and if it were easy, then everyone would be doing it. Right? I sure hope this helps encourage more people to get out there and atleast try
the spot I am talking about is the little one created at the center of the hottest part of the shrink, not the stretched part of the panel that you are repairing. hard to explain. normally it pops up. sometimes it pops down. thanks.
Sounds like the voice of experience Kenny. BTW, glad to see you chime in on occasion. We all should hope you continue. Frank
Hey, That's a great video, and a good subject for a tech post! Your son's learning skills he'll have for a life time I do have to take issue with some , as I think chopolds WAS correct with pointing out that welding a panel DOES create shrinkage that must be stretched! If you're gonna hope to repair a stretch with a torch, disc or stud gun, you'd better know this goin' in! I continue to cool my hot shrinks with a wet rag, and have done so for over four decades- I do so for two reasons: Speed, the faster I can feel the repaired area, the sooner I can figger do I need more shrinking, or was the stretch corrected? The second reason is to check heat build up in the panel. If the repair is in an area of previous damage, the panel may have been ground/filed very thin. That could be a big issue in a low/semi crowned area like a door skin or roof panel. The opinions of some arn't the only reason some longtime HAMB members don't post tech " Beware the irrational however seductive ''
Thanks for the kind words - I try to get him involved when I can! No-one is arguing that heat shrinks metal.... I've also been doing this for 40 years and we used to quench our shrinks and although nothing terrible happened, the point is, you don't have to. The metal shrinks upon cooling either way - and since quenching DOES harden the metal, making it harder and harder to work - why bother? Since most of us learn as we go, I'd sooner teach new guys not to quench, but if you're quenching and you like it, please, continue!
When some people weld and there is a whole lot of shrink, some can weld with very little! Your mileage may vary! The metal does expand while welding then shrinks while cooling not the easiest thing to explain! I don't know how many times I've heard "it doesn't shrink when I weld it..... " and they have the nerve to say I don't know what I'm talking about!
Thanks for doing the video, nicely done. I was about the age of your son when my dad taught me to shrink. I would hold the torch after he had adjusted it, and I would apply the heat to the spot he would point to with the pick end of his finishing hammer. When it was hot enough he would say so and I would pull back and continue to hold the torch while he worked the metal. Then it was cooled with water and checked to see if more shrinking was needed. As the years went by and I was doing both the holding and the shrinking I continued to use the water cooling method, however with the HHS introduced in the early 80's, the water does indeed harden the metal and can cause some cracking. Extra care must be taken with the HHS repairs. Thanks again for the video, it sure made me miss my body shop! Dave.
"lately I have noticed that when the heat bulge/blister pops up .....all is good. but when it pops down the panel is under too much tension and you are about to over shrink. any thoughts?" bct: a couple of things I have done when this happens. 1) Start cold. Pull the torch back a few inches and warm a larger spot on the panel moving the torch in a circular motion around the area to be shrunk. This will cause more of the panel to raise and put enough tension on the stretched area to hold it up. Then proceed to heat the dime size area for the shrink. 2) Hold the metal up from the back when cold with the dolly and when the torch is applied it will raise up rather than down. In other words, push it up. Continue with the shrinking procedure. Dave.
Hey Dave, As near as I can remember, from all the ICAR classes I've slept thru over the years, heat shrinking HHS/HSLA is a NO! NO! If you heat a spot up to red hot the size of a dime you've killed the alloy Any heating of the panel must be checked with a heat crayon. HSS/HSLA if overheated WILL fail under impact
I use a knurled faced hammer and work the metal in would towards the centre of the heated area. Stop just as the metal has lost all trace of red (heat). Stop and let it cool enough to rub your bare hand across the area, see if needs some work (hammer and dolly) further out, use light blows. A medium course file with a dog-leg bend used as a slapper with flat dolly works well- the file face grabs the metal and moves it in the direction of the blow. Sometimes I quench with air. 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Ya mean like this? Although we use these tools for the reasons you've explained, I'm sure you know as well as I, that a waffle hammer or slapper file doesn't move metal at all compared to that of a single heat shrink.
???? heat an area about the size of a thumb print, use the slapper file or waffle hammer to move the metal into the center of heated area- have the flat dolly behind, move around the heated print so as to push the metal into the middle, last couple of blows should be straight on to flatten out the heated hill. quench (or not) = heat shrink I have also seen people heat and quench with out working the area with a hammer and dolly. I haven't done this myself.
yes I also use a slapper to shape metal and to work the area around a dint, knock up with the dolly and work the crease out. I have both file and smooth flapper. I have been working with on one made from a short piece of spring to suit the the curve of a panel to shape it.