body hammers

[70staged]

So last week at the local estate auction I picked up some new hammers. The auction announcement didn't state any body tools, only new tires, tire tools, and a couple old trucks (1966 Chevy C20 Camper with 28,000 miles sold for $13,000 and a 1990 454SS didn't run sold for $6,300). Everything sold a little high. Anyway I knew the guy use to do body work back in the mid 70s and figured some of his tools would be there. Sure enough there was. I bought a box of old body hammers, 13 in total at what I thought was a reasonable price. I was looking thru them and come to find out 9 were Snap On, and it was all the body hammers that Snap On had in the catalog for 1975. I cleaned them up carefully with a wire wheel and had to replace 2 handles. The rest have the original handles. Anyone one what they are worth? Im not looking to sell them as I am going to be using them (body work is my other job)

Now the other 4 hammers I know very little about. One is a heavy duty body hammer brand is MTM, I have never heard of this brand.
The other 3 (one with a handle replacement) is Indestro Super. Are these good body hammers? they cleaned up pretty good

 

[2oolhound]

C'mon man, you're killing us…

 

[Bdgjr215]

I know Martin made alot of body hammers for other companies to rebrand.They might of
Even made the snap-on branded ones. just a guess though.

 

[B_Bimmer]

C'mon man, you're killing us…

It would be difficult for this to be more true.

 

[70staged]

wow tough crowd, I will post photos here in a few minutes

 

[B_Bimmer]

Hey, you didn't share the price so we can't properly congratulate you if it is appropriate, and we can't see what you can.

 

[70staged]

These are the Snap On body hammer, The slapping spoon is also Snap On that I had to buy off a guy that bought a box of other stuff. I seen the 2 other dollies but didn't get a chance to talk with the guy to see if I could buy them off of him. Hammers are BF603,604,606,608,611,614,617,618.

 

[70staged]

the rest of the photos almost

 

[70staged]

more

 

[Mastermind]

Nice haul. Nothing like a well used body hammer. I swear they feel better, warmer.

 

[70staged]

now on to the other hammers
MTM brand and the Indestro Super body hammers

 

[70staged]

so anyone know anything about the last ones?

 

[jakemac]

so anyone know anything about the last ones?

I see cast seams on the first pic of the last bunch. I'm always leery of cast hammers, it leads me to believe that it's a cheap import brand. Some of those were made in the US, but the vast majority come from Asia.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Does MTM have anything to do with Martin Tool? I have seen other hammers with some tool truck names on the handle that also had MTM heads. I wonder if they rebadged them.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

MTM is not Martin. The Indestro hammers are made by Streamline, an American made hammer been around since at least the 50's. Streamline made hammers for Craftsman, Mac, and a few others I can't think of. Streamline makes a darn good hammer and is not some cast iron import junk. You can still buy Streamline hammers.

As for the snappy hammers, you can buy new ones for 85-90 bucks, used market 35-60. The double reverse curve is worth some money since Snap-on stopped production, looking at around 150.

 

[yhprum]

The last lot look like they are cast import tools. They face will probaly dent if you hit something hard against it. Nice haul otherwise!

 

[Hammer1963]

Great find on your tool lot!

The Indestro are not cast hammers. They are forged and what you are seeing is the parting lines of forging. Those hammers were made for many companies that did not produce their own. As previously stated by sevt_chevelle, they are quality USA forged hammers, but they are not finished in detail like the hammers that Snap-on produces. The were much more affordable than Snap-on, Proto, Herbrand and the MAC/Cornwell/MAC hammers that were produced by Martin/Fairmont. They lack the design, balance and harmonics that the higher end hammers posses therefore they were less costly. MTM is a splinter company of S&H like Streamline and was a supplier to Snap-on for many later Blue-point body tools.

On a side note, I have taken many hammers and other forged body tools produced by S&H Industries and modified and refinished them to the level of higher end body tools. The S&H produced forgings are a good platform for making your own custom body tools

 

[sevt_chevelle]

Not to hijack your thread but there are a few pics of a recent Streamline body hammer restoration. More then happy to purchase those cast iron POS hammers!

 

[vssjim]

I know Martin made alot of body hammers for other companies to rebrand.They might of
Even made the snap-on branded ones. just a guess though.

Not that long ago Martin bought the Fairmount Body tools and moved the production from Ohio to Texas in the eighties

 

[d.mcfarland]

^^^^ That's a nice hammer rest!! ^^^^^^

 

[Hammer1963]

Not to hijack your thread but there are a few pics of a recent Streamline body hammer restoration. More then happy to purchase those cast iron POS hammers!

Nice looking restoration! It's good to know that I am not the only weirdo on the GJ that spends time doing such things .......

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I share a shop with my Dad, can't tell you how many times I've heard "thats a lot of work for a hammer".

 

[2oolhound]

I share a shop with my Dad, can't tell you how many times I've heard "thats a lot of work for a hammer".

Much more rewarding than whiling away the hours in front of the tv in the evenings.

I've done a few of mine since seeing these on GJ. When my friends stop by they can't take their hands off them. There are guys at work who latch onto my polished up ball pein over their new ones. They think it's just old quality. Keeps me grinning.