Tech Month~~Home made metal shaping tools

First off I would like to start with an introduction.I am still pretty new to H.A.M.B,some of you might know me from my Let's see some sheet metal shaping thread.My name is Johnny Arial and I live in Excelsior Springs Mo.

My goal is to get as many people as I can involved into metal shaping.Not only is it a great hobby but it helps save these old cars we all love so much.I hope that my son and then his son's son(edit daughters as well) will have the same opportunity as we have to enjoy these cars.

Some might think you need a ton of money to get started but I want to show most of these tools can be made from the scrap you have laying around your shop.

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A shrinking tool is one of the most important tools needed to get started.There are two tools that you can make yourself, tucking forks or a stump.After learning how to stump shrink I hardly ever use my tucking forks anymore.So let me show you how I made my stump.

I started off by finding a hardwood stump,then I cut off the new growth and bark with a chainsaw.Then I cleaned it up with an electric planer.This is not necessary but I tend to overkill everything.



I made the dish of my stump 8'' around and 2'' deep.To do so I marked it out on the stump then set the depth on my skill saw to 2'' deep and then cut out the dish.Then with a chisel and grinder and sander I cleaned out the dish.



Then I checked it out to see how it was shrinking.


Then I put three coats of boiled linseed oil on it to try to slow down the drying process to prevent cracks.



I added some caster wheels so I could move it around the shop,also some hammer hangers and some straps.The stump will shrink and I have tightened the straps as it was shrinking.



This is one of my most used tools and it only cost me a day's labor and around $30.

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With the stump you will need a good shaping hammer.It takes a pretty good whack to get a tuck into a piece of sheet metal.You can spend up-wards to a hundred dollars on one or you can go to a thrift store a pick up an old wooden bat and make one yourself.


The cost of this hammer is $3.

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Now that we have taken care of the shrinking tools we need a way to stretch the metal.

I do my stretching on a beater bag and it's really nice to have beater bag stand.

So again looking through the scrap pile I gathered up some materials.




I added a post dolly holder and a hammer holder to the stand.


I made my own post dolly's. Here are a few of them.





View attachment 561293





This is another tool that is used with every project and one that was made from scrap.In total a couple of days to build and I only have around $40 invested in the bag itself.

 

Nice work there

 

One of my next favorite tools is my slapper.I used a piece of an old leaf spring.Trued it up with a file and sander then gave it a quick polish.I use this slapper way more then any of the body hammers that I have.





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Another tool that I use alot is this old bicycle stand.


I make different attachments to hold up different projects that I am working on.


It makes it easy because I can turn the part how ever I need for welding or some hammer work






This bicycle stand is kind of flimsy so I plan on building a better one using the same concept.

I found the stand at a garage sale for $10 I think.

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Last but not least is my English Wheel.I am not a English wheel expert but with some fabrication skills they are buildable.

I started off by finding what I would use for the adjuster.I ended up going with a radial arm saw jack.They are pretty big so I cut out 5'' of it.



I then layed it out with some plywood to get the dimensions I needed to cut the metal.I went with a c frame using 22.5 degree angles.



Again this was all made out of scrap that I had laying around and I also looked through all of friends and family's scrap bin also.I had around 160 dollars in it when it was done,I have upgraded the wheels so I have a little more in it now.

Here it is completed.



I didn't document the build of my English wheel very well,but I am making plans for a new one and I will try and do a better job next time.

So there are my tools not counting my welders and hand tools those are all I really have.

There was less then $300 invested.....saving a 32 ford 5 window coupe.........Priceless

 

Nice job........................................

 

Real cool. Excellent job. I might have to steal your stump idea.

 

Please do

and thanks.

 

Great tech! I'm not trying to hijack your thread but do think you could give all the FNG's like myself a brief overview of how you shrink metal with the stump? Never really understood how that worked.

 

I've seen leaf springs made into slappers, and they do work very well...I was just checking out my buddies equipment on Christmas day (hadn't been there in forever, so I stopped by)...no pics, but tons of inspiration for me to get my arse in gear..haha really like the bat idea...


oh yeah, another tool I though was interesting for forming. Andrew Murray (his car is Hot Rod mags hot rod of year- the hand formed all aluminum indy inspired roadster hes raced everywhere including bonneville, etc) uses a snap on piston install hammer for forming...wait until you see what hes coming out with next...holy hell!!!

 

Getting started you need to get a blank cut out first I used electric shears but you can cut it out with some snips.

I cut out two blanks.If someone shows the interest in shaping one bowl and post your progress I will show you how to copy it.Making one is good practice but matching one is where you will start becoming a metal shaper.


The next step will be putting in some tucks into the blank.


Concentrate your blow in the angle that I have shown.You are trying to drive the metal into the side of the bowl.If you do it right it will cause a fold in the metal(tuck).

You can crush them out one at a time.I just lay a bunch of tucks in it all the way around the blank.



Hold your blank back into the dish and just crush the tucks out on the side of your dish.

Should look something like this after the first round of shrinking.



Now start your next set of tucks right on the inside of the first set of tucks.Were going to do this all the way to the bottom of the dish.



This will cause more tucks.


You can see the hammer blow it's just above the right side of the tuck.

Like I said I just hold the blank up to where I can smash out the tucks in the bowl to get as much shrink as I can out of each tuck.



Also..I will rotate the blank in the same angle shown above and hammer it all the way around.to keep the bowl as true as I can on my way down to the bottom of the bowl.

Just keep working it all the way to the bottom.Doing the same as you have been doing.


After you get to the bottom it will look like this.



It's pretty rough so now using the inside of your dish as a dolly.Rotate it around hammering as you go and smooth it out.I use a little dead blow hammer after it starts to get smoothed out.

After I get it smoothed out as best I can I use my slapper and dolly to smooth it out the rest of the way.Earlier I showed a tow ball dolly that is not what I used for the dolly.Use your slapper in a sweeping motion.



Smoothing it out took some time but here's some pictures of it after I sanded it down.Notice in the picture where the bowl is sitting in the dish of the stump.It a lot larger then the dish of the stump,we didn't just smash a piece of metal to the bottom of a bowl.We actually shaped something here.





This was the start of a bad addiction for me.I went to the doctor and they don't have a pill for it.

Good luck and hope this helped.If you do shape a bowl please post your progress.It would thrill me to death


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Well using the same principles as I did shaping the bowl I used to shape this panel and every other panel I have worked on.

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OK heres how I started.






I am using the flex patterns from the other fender and using them in reverse.I started off by cutting a blank and laying the pattern on the blank to get a visual on what needs to happen to the panel.After I see what needs to happen I put a couple of reference lines on to the blank.Then it was time to put it on to the stump.



It might not look like it but there was a lot of hammering to get the panel to this point.




I like to try and get it as close as I can to the pattern before putting it to the wheel.

It's getting close in this picture but it's still a ways out.



After wheeling it for a while I got it fitting the pattern tight.



Here's a picture when it was done.



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Too f***ing cool, gonna have to try that as soon as I get the new shop set up. Thanks!

 

great work

 

I forgot I had these pictures

I helped a friend build his English Wheel and I have a few photos of the build of his wheel.We used the same adjuster but made it a upper adjuster instead of a lower as I did on mine.

 

I love metalshaping. I picked up a few new ideas from this thread. Thanks for sharing... great stuff!

 

I've have to get busy. Thanks for the photos.

 

Nice...makes it almost like anyone can do it! Heck i think i may muster up the energy to go get me a stump because that looked toooo kool.

 

very cool i would like to learn the trade do you give classes

 

No I am just a rookie,I am still taking classes my self.

I would recommend Wray Schelin's class though.You can find his classes for sale on ebay.It's a real hands on class.I haven't taken it yet but I plan to.

If you have any questions I might be able to help you.If I can't I'm sure I can find someone that could.

 

VERY nice,thanks for sharing.

 

excellent post....i need to learn this stuff..

 

hit the www.metalmeet.com site and it will amaze you.

 

Johnny, Nice posts.

Here is a semi up dated picture of the wheel you helped me build.


Bill H.

 

I didnt believe it (sort of).
I found a stump, took some scrap steel and made a dolly stand, made a tucking fork, got some sheet steel and started doing what I saw the other guys do. I was amazed. It worked. I have since made 2 hammers out of baseball bats, developed several dollys for the stand, acquired an english wheel, a bean bag, electric shears, made patch panels for my Fiat and some other stuff.

I'm no expert, but I can now form sheet metal. Its fun too.

 

Could gauge cups be shaped like the "bowl" you formed? With small enough equipment (i.e. hammer) and a deeper and smaller diameter dished stump?
Thanks for the great posting! This is great!

 

best thread i've seen here yet!more please.also, what was the flexible material that you used for making your patern?

 

Thanks Bill

Madddog Isn't it it cool,Great post please share your progress pictures even if they are small.

Ranunculous do you have a picture of gauge cups you want to shape?But the answer is yes.I was just wanting to see them to see if there would be a better way to shape them.

I showed some of my home made tools if you guys have some of your own I would love to see them.

 

jhnarial,
The cups would be for the old black back/white digit SW gauges.Mebbe something like this-sorta?

 

I have more pictures on the shop computer of stuff. Love to post them.

I want to say again, it isnt hard. Simple tools, simple process and results that will blow your mind and open whole new dimensions for all you hotrod builders.

 

Thank you very much check post 35 in my other thread Let's see some sheet metal shaping I tried to explain it.They will give all the information you need to shape a panel.

If you ever have a question please ask I would love to help change your user name to metal-finisher.

 

Give me a second I will show you how I would do it.

 

Please do I would love to see your pictures.I get stoked with stuff like that.