Hi. Nice video. That method works great. I remember back in the 50's when I went to trade school to learn paint & body repair that we also took leaf springs and made big spoons to work down inside rear quarter panels, doors & such where you could not swing a hammer to use as push tools and tap around from the outside with the hammers. This is all becoming a lost art these days. Even the high dollar shops just go straight to filler now or so it seems if you watch this stuff on the TV shows or visit local shops. Jimmie
Thanks for checking it out... I'm excited to attempt some lead work on my car for the first time as well. I do appreciate these lost arts of fab!
I still use pieces of leaf spring I made years and years ago for slapping and getting down into seams and pressing and shaping. I also use the same spring to pry on fenders and door gaps. Work great for tweaked door gaps. I've had several of the younger body guys ask me "what do you do with that?" True metal working is sadly soon to be a dead art.
I've got a several leaf spring spoons I made back in the 70s, probably the most versatile tool in the box.
I have a number of spoons that I use...never seen a file slapper before. Going to have to make one. Thanks.
Do the file teeth pull metal the direction you want as you slap, or do the file teeth shrink? I see he was using a pulling or pushing motion as he struck the surface. I have a leaf spring I can make some spoons out of, need to watch out for a wide file.
The best thing about using a slap file vs a spoon is the file leaves a visual trail of where you been and where you need to go when raising or flushing low spots One of the best things I learned at a metal shaping class was how much force to apply holding the dolly. It's very light effort on the hammer,slapper spoon and about 30lbs force on the dolly. I had it half ways backwards using too much hammer amd not enough on the dolly
I hear others say it shrinks but its hard for me to see how it could but there's others far more informed that could speak to that better. Finding a few old wide files did take some time....but I was happy to reuse some old stuff.
They work on the same principle that a shrink hammer would work, or a shrink dolly your pulling the metal with in the strike. The only thing I would be concerned with is I would like a more aggressive tooth file.
Yesser, I've struggled with the concept of a shrinking hammer and dolly... I've often found skilled body men discount those waffle faced hammers claiming there more snake oil than anything else but who knows....thanks for the info.
I use the the hammer for pulling metal in a shrink but that's about it I not sure how others use it, I was shown how to use it by an old body man at my first job in a shop 40 years ago. I had to buy a hammer because he would not loan me his. Mine turned up missing one day about six years ago and I think it was ninety dollars to replace.
I would think the cut of the file would deturman how it was used, it seams you would want to cut to be towards you so you pulled the metal or it would be somewhat awkward.
Thanks for the clarification, the way he was striking looked like it was pulling or pushing. I use the hammer face and strike to move the direction Im trying to go. I did say "trying", I was taught by some seriously skilled guys, but that doesnt take the place of years of experience. I do want to try spoons, I think on a flat/ open area or a crease they would spread the strike for nice even movement, may keep me out of trouble.
The Jalopy Journal
