'34 Dodge Brothers, double build.

[MercuryMac]

Today went better than I thought it would. I really wasn't looking forward to making that king-pin fit properly in the axle end. Last night I had reached down into that little hole and stick welded the hole back to a smaller size. Then I used my pencil grinder to enlarge and round out the hole. After choosing a slightly bigger king-pin, [3/4" D], I then reamed the hole out with a 3/4" drill bit. [pic one] shows the king-pin tapped into place. The king-pin had worn the hole about a quarter of an inch inwards at the top, and that had to be rebuilt. I learned quite a while ago that I couldn't mig weld a hole smaller or right shut and then attempt to drill out or work with the weld, it is too hard. I can work with stick welds, though.
Then I reamed out the spindle bushings, but never got everything put back together.
The fenders kept beckoning me, so I did some more hammer and dolly work on them. Trying to take out the little wee up and downs. I gained some. Here's a question for you body men, should I take one of my perfectly flat body hammers and put a little convex in it for working inside the fenders and reveals?

 

[23crate]

Here's a question for you body men, should I take one of my perfectly flat body hammers and put a little convex in it for working inside the fenders and reveals?

in a past life i was a body man, can i take it from this you are try to tap dents out from the inside of the fender? ..

custom hammers and dollies are a thing too i have several of each , while specific to Model A's .
if theres a spare one you can use go for it . when fitting a new handle we were taught to put the head in the vice and cross file the face , north south, east west, sw to ne, etc.,, this will ensure the face has a even shape to it .

i have a small ballpeen say around 4 ounce on a ten inch handle , while it may seem too small its really good for a decent whack in a confined space.

another option - ive customized a towball - which is really good for bashing outwards .

let me know if i could be helpful? were gonna be bored down here and my son would love make fun of his old man while on camera duties...

this panel hammer may work for you?

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Mac: I have a round face body hammer and a teeny ball peen I call my "dentist's hammer". I also have a cheap pick hammer I blunted off to replicate the ball pick example attached.

.

 

[MercuryMac]

Thank you, guys. Both of you have shown me hammers with the amount of convex I was thinking of. Crate, I did most of the straightening out of the fender with the dolly on the inside and the hammer on the outside, but once in a while, to get those last very shallow valleys out, I would like to tap from the inside with a convex hammer. I have one body hammer that is as round as a ball peen hammer and that wouldn't work here.

 

[dutch]

I would use a dolly on the inside for bumping out. Weight and no handle so you can move a lot of material in a tight space. Always pick a radius as close as possible to the panel`s curve. Then use a slapper rather than a hammer to smooth it out from the outside. With the larger surface of the slapper you will hit ( off dolly ) and shrink the highs and hit ( on dolly ) and stretch the lows at the same time.
I would not use a small surface hammer on the inside. It will most likely result in sheetmetal youth pimples... just my 2cts...

 

[Old Iron]

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[MercuryMac]

OK, Dutch, I do use the slapper a bit but maybe should use it more. My dolly choice was wrong, with too small of a radius. I don't mind bumping the inside with the dolly but that seems to move bigger amounts of tin, which is alright at first but near the end I just want to move a wee bit. Thank you for the advice.
Doc, I have a hard enough time with a dentist putting any tools in my mouth, but a hammer, I don't care if it's a ball-peen and it's got a cute little handle, no, no, no.

 

[dutch]

I`m not sure what finish you are after but in general, when you want panels to get really straight you must be able to see what happens. Most times I sand the area with a piece of plywood and the draw with a marker along the outlines of the low spots. You need the lows to rise so you want on-dolly hits in that area. You can hear that but when the light is right you can also see small "footprints". That way you will be able chase the low areas and rise them.

Made this pic to help see what happens with a correct radius dolly and slapper.
hope this helps.

 

[MercuryMac]

Thanks Dutch. The picture makes sense, and so does most of the talk. I just never thought of the low places on a curve being shrunk, so I need to stretch them to get them out to the curve surface. It makes sense now.
You are right to ask 'how smooth do you want it'. This is a rough ratrod and I want it to be too smooth where I fixed it. That is 'showing off'. Luckily, I can't get what I want, so the body work is going to be a wee bit rough.

 

[DozerII]

MM, you are not alone, what I find the toughest to figure out is when to shrink and when to stretch. Sometimes I don't think I have enough time left on earth to figure it out.

 

[Torchie]

Good advice ,dutch..
I've made a slapper or two out of junk leaf springs.
Depending on which section of the spring you use you can make then flat or with a bit of curve.
Torchie

 

[MercuryMac]

Dozer, I know what you mean, 'when to shrink' and 'when to stretch'. I thought, and probably correctly, that on flat tin a dent inwards was stretched so it needed to be shrunk to get it back in line. but a dent inwards on a good curve needs to be stretched to get it to line up, and I never thought of it that way.
Today, I just had to try out all of the new tricks before I forgot them. I used the slapper more, used a different dolly that was more the shape of the fender, and I even used the little ball-pick on one hammer, to hammer the low spots 'on dolly' and raise them that way. [pic one] is the fender with two rips welded up and hammered, five bullet holes welded full, and those three small holes where a signal light was mounted, smoothed out. Then I painted it all with red oxide primer and camouflage dark brown.
I finished up reaming the bushings on the spindle and mounted it on the axle. [pic two]. Two other projects took some time; a Ferguson tractor and an '84 Ford truck measuring for my oldest daughter.

 

[Torchie]

Fender is looking good, Mac.[cl
[P [P [P
Torchie

 

[dutch]

looks good from where I sit [cl

 

[BillM]

I'll say - that fender looks great to me.

 

[DozerII]

Looks like you have it figured out MM, gotta remember there is enough metal in that one fender to make a couple Prius'

 

[MercuryMac]

Thank you Guys.
I have to agree with you Dozer, but when I think of trading my old fenders in for a Pruis, I throw up. I'll have to control my dreams, I guess.

 

[DozerII]

Thank you Guys.
I have to agree with you Dozer, but when I think of trading my old fenders in for a Pruis, I throw up. I'll have to control my dreams, I guess.

I think I would call them nightmares not dreams lol.

 

[Old Iron]

Nice job

 

[Tripper]

Wow Mac... that is old skool!!! When I was a boy (way before Bondo), one of my dad's friends owned a body shop & had an old guy that could beat out even the worst fender & make it look just like new! He's get it close & lead the rest in... that's pretty much a dead art! Great work!!!! [cl

BoB