Sheetmetal Body Dolly type: names and adaptation

[Movin/on]

A friend here in our small town gets paid to clear out storage units.
Not quite storage wars. And as he gets things I may be interested in we swap for what I have. Well he brought me up about 30 dolly's and a number of body hammers with broken off handles, I've got a wood lathe and disc/belt sander so no issue there.
These are the non-common dolly's he brought up. Checked Martin and Eastwood sites and these don't seem available. The interesting part is the 3 on the left and one on the lower right have a Hex that seems to be for an extension handle. Would you help me out with naming these and let me know if a handle for the HEX dolly's are available. I can always figure out how to weld up a handle.
Finally are these forged or cast so i can weld to the dolly?
Movin/on

 

[steaks&anvils]

A friend here in our small town gets paid to clear out storage units.
Not quite storage wars. And as he gets things I may be interested in we swap for what I have. Well he brought me up about 30 dolly's and a number of body hammers with broken off handles, I've got a wood lathe and disc/belt sander so no issue there.
These are the non-common dolly's he brought up. Checked Martin and Eastwood sites and these don't seem available. The interesting part is the 3 on the left and one on the lower right have a Hex that seems to be for an extension handle. Would you help me out with naming these and let me know if a handle for the HEX dolly's are available. I can always figure out how to weld up a handle.
Finally are these forged or cast so i can weld to the dolly?
Movin/on

I don't think those have or need handles? Why do you think they need handles? Doesn't the user just hold them by the hex shank?

Try asking on the General Tool Discussion forum section:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4

 

[don long]

Those dollys look like the tools used back on the 30's and 40's cars when the guys metal finished almost all dents
I know that they are from before my time and I started in the mid 60's
What are your plans for them??

 

[gahrajmahal]

The ones with the hex we just called slappers due to the large flat surface. Many of the ones with a right angle hook to them are just used as a backup dolly held without actually seeing where they are, like up under a fender lip. Some of the ones you have look to be modified by cutting them off. In the old days we would make them from leaf springs. A sand blast and smoothing the flat surfaces on a belt sander will bring them right back to as new and usable condition.

 

[MP&C]

The hex part is the handle on those. Note the copyright on this book, right along the time frame Don mentioned. Those have been around a good while.










Those should be forged, but I wouldn’t go welding on them, it will adversely affect the value...

 

[Movin/on]

Thanks for the insight. I just thought that if I installed a longer handle i could reach farther inside a body panel. I need to bump out a 1959 BMW Isetta body just in front of the engine cowl on the side and with an extension these would be perfect. Figured if I couldn't find an internal 1" hex shaft I could weld a 1" hex nut to it and and use 1" all thread as a longer handle.
Just thinking . Originality value isn't an issue just usefulness.
Movin/on

 

[lilredex]

Rather than welding on them, for a handle I'd find a pipe that slides over them and add set screws to hold them on.

 

[Movin/on]

I'd thought about modifying a square tube to be 6 sided (welding after cutting) and using set screws as well. In that way I could change the extension length.
Is there such a thing as internal hex tubing/pipe?
Searched McMaster-Carr and on the web and nothing came up.
Re-thinking this to get an internal hex, maybe I can use a deep well 6 point socket.
Movin/on

 

[NYBODYMAN]

As previously stated, these are "old school" for when everything was metal finished and/or lead filled. Most of the cars had large curved fenders then and this were used to get into wheel wells and such. Nice heavy duty tools that will never fail you. What's your plans with them? I have a soft spot for vintage body tools. Let me know.

 

[lilredex]

I'd thought about modifying a square tube to be 6 sided (welding after cutting) and using set screws as well. In that way I could change the extension length.
Is there such a thing as internal hex tubing/pipe?
Searched McMaster-Carr and on the web and nothing came up.
Re-thinking this to get an internal hex, maybe I can use a deep well 6 point socket.
Movin/on

You can make that hex by heating a piece of pipe/tubing and jamming a suitable hex bar in to it.

 

[Movin/on]

Had a rainy day yesterday (all day) so worked on Ford FE engines but decided to take a few minutes and clean a couple of the Dolly's that had manufacturers names on them. I realize one is not a body tool but some sort of maul. This was with the box I got.
Is anyone familiar with the manufacturers names?
Attached a better picture of the maul Ken-Tool
Movin/on

 

[don long]

The porta fergeson tools were around in the 60's and fergeson was prior to the porta fergeson merger. There is a thread here on the GJ started by a grandson of the fergeson family. It is all about the body tools made in that time frame.