The three slap files in the middle are a body man's must have tool.
Here's another part of my lot. Haven't got much done the past few days because of work but here's a few files(one new in box, all soaked in oil but loose ones could use a few drags across a sacrificial board or something to clear up gunk) and a Snap On A159 door handle tool and Bluepoint YA 811 windshield wiper arm remover.
Vintage & home made auto body tools
- Thread starter Camerl2009
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Beautiful. I wonder if that's the original handle. I've never seen a body hammer with a 24" handle. It was probably to give the bodyman a long reach of roof skins or for larger vehicles.Blue Point HB258 with a 24" snap on handle
Chris_Hamilton
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It was for picking and filing. In the days before body filler it was the quick way to work a dent. After bumping, use the pick end to raise the low spots. Use a body file to shave off the highs spots on the top of the panel. Quick but ugly on the backside, and would thin the metal significantly. This is not a technique that is considered craftsmanship. It was practiced at the collision shops of the day. A true metal guy wouldn't use this technique.
Chris_Hamilton
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Here are a couple of old ones I have. Don't use them very much. Occasionally use the ball end of the old Plvmb (pre Proto), but not often. Threw a handle on the other one just in case.
thehorse13
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The first thing I was ever handed in a shop was a box of dollies and slap files. I was told that the moment I reach for a body file, I failed the lesson. lol
yhprum
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Paintless dent repair techs have long hammers of similar length for blending and tapping down dents
Same here. My first day I was shown how to use a slap file and a dolly to fix a dent on the driver's side fender on a maroon late 90's Buick LeSabre. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Yes I've seen. I wonder if the 24" handle was put on because it was available or was done out of necessity, ie: long reach.
@Chris_Hamilton I love that ball head hammer.
don long
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I used to call that my teardrop dollyNot sure what that is, never seen one like that before. Here is what a classic comma dolly looks like.
This:
Or this:
Here's a bit more. Think I'm through most of the body tools in the lot but I have to clear out some sockets before I can get down to the other totes.
K-D Battery carrier, OEM mystery tool, fancy two wood(rosewood grip) plunger, Atlast screw remover tool(seen Bluepoint sold it for fender screws or something)
Lead Dolly(didn't think lead was used but if it works well enough I have 100lbs of 97% lead in the shop from an old(1930-1950) fishing weight kit, Bluepoint window trim remover tool, K-M window seal remover, Rotobroach kit (missing one bit, one extra bit), Mac branded Spot-Eze set(missing vial of bits if it's the same as currently available sets, couldn't find any Mac online).
Also in background is a Powercraft contour gauge(was messed up so I broke it down and now a few pins won't go back in, have to hammer the pins down because it clamps them down so it's probably not worth messing with), small C-clamp, some type of air gun(trigger currently seized in), and a hefty slide hammer. All still currently being cleaned up.
K-D Battery carrier, OEM mystery tool, fancy two wood(rosewood grip) plunger, Atlast screw remover tool(seen Bluepoint sold it for fender screws or something)
Lead Dolly(didn't think lead was used but if it works well enough I have 100lbs of 97% lead in the shop from an old(1930-1950) fishing weight kit, Bluepoint window trim remover tool, K-M window seal remover, Rotobroach kit (missing one bit, one extra bit), Mac branded Spot-Eze set(missing vial of bits if it's the same as currently available sets, couldn't find any Mac online).
Also in background is a Powercraft contour gauge(was messed up so I broke it down and now a few pins won't go back in, have to hammer the pins down because it clamps them down so it's probably not worth messing with), small C-clamp, some type of air gun(trigger currently seized in), and a hefty slide hammer. All still currently being cleaned up.
Chris_Hamilton
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I can't stand Blair cutters for removing spot welds. Grinder for panels I'm not saving and a spot weld bit like this for panels I am saving.
Some interesting stuff. Nothing really rare there though IMO. Looks like a collision guys box from the 70's. The slap files are useful though most people don't have a clue how to use them.
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www.ebay.com
Here's a bit more. Think I'm through most of the body tools in the lot but I have to clear out some sockets before I can get down to the other totes.
K-D Battery carrier, OEM mystery tool, fancy two wood(rosewood grip) plunger, Atlast screw remover tool(seen Bluepoint sold it for fender screws or something)
Lead Dolly(didn't think lead was used but if it works well enough I have 100lbs of 97% lead in the shop from an old(1930-1950) fishing weight kit, Bluepoint window trim remover tool, K-M window seal remover, Rotobroach kit (missing one bit, one extra bit), Mac branded Spot-Eze set(missing vial of bits if it's the same as currently available sets, couldn't find any Mac online).
Also in background is a Powercraft contour gauge(was messed up so I broke it down and now a few pins won't go back in, have to hammer the pins down because it clamps them down so it's probably not worth messing with), small C-clamp, some type of air gun(trigger currently seized in), and a hefty slide hammer. All still currently being cleaned up.
Some interesting stuff. Nothing really rare there though IMO. Looks like a collision guys box from the 70's. The slap files are useful though most people don't have a clue how to use them.
Only things I'd imagine are rare in my body tools lot so far would be the Mac Spot-Eze pouch and Mac cold chisel(if that's original configuration, can't find a match and haven't heard of a cold chisel being used for body work) because there's no matches so far.Some interesting stuff. Nothing really rare there though IMO. Looks like a collision guys box from the 70's. The slap files are useful though most people don't have a clue how to use them.
Rest seems like basic common stuff(a lot I don't know anything about though) although some is hard to find info on like the odd dolly in first post and the OEM tool in second to last pic.
It was a body guys box from probably the 60s to late 80s but some of the stuff is older. Would've been more to get a better guess on age(plus more interesting stuff) but the estate let the local high school body teacher have anything out of the box for free before they sold it. Don't know what all left before I got it but I do know he took all the body rasp bodies, 30+ Mac air tools, all the Snap On pearl handle drivers, and all the Snap On 1/2 drive sockets(SAE & metric shallow and deep well).
Showed a local mech(went through school for body work) the files when he came by my shop and he didn't know what they were so it might be harder to find someone who knows how to use them around here.
Ricky Joe
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Chris_Hamilton
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I can post a short tutorial on how to use the slap files at some point if there is interest.
I have a dislike for Blair bits as well. I used to break those thing on a daily basis, especially on Saturn's which I worked on A LOT unfortunately. Those space frames ate them right up. I eventually bought a very expensive Snap On spot weld drill (like a Spitzenagle) and that works well. Now I believe all the guys are using the air belt sanders to grind the welds down. My how times have changed.I can't stand Blair cutters for removing spot welds. Grinder for panels I'm not saving and a spot weld bit like this for panels I am saving.
Mueller Kueps 244805 Spot Welding Drill Bits, 5-pack | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mueller Kueps 244805 Spot Welding Drill Bits, 5-pack at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Some interesting stuff. Nothing really rare there though IMO. Looks like a collision guys box from the 70's. The slap files are useful though most people don't have a clue how to use them.
Chris_Hamilton
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I still use a die grinder and a 3" weld grinding wheel. For me at least I have more control with it than a belt sander, and when I was working for "the man" they would never buy belts but they always would buy weld grinding wheels. Wasn't going to pay for belts to make another guy money.
The blair cutters are so slow, you gotta punch the center of each spot weld, then drill. Slow slow slow. Plus all the stuff wears out, like the center point and the cutter itself if you are not careful. And after you separate the panel you still gotta grind all the center holes left by the cutter. There are better ways. Bits I linked to cut like crazy and last, provided you don't abuse them.
The blair cutters are so slow, you gotta punch the center of each spot weld, then drill. Slow slow slow. Plus all the stuff wears out, like the center point and the cutter itself if you are not careful. And after you separate the panel you still gotta grind all the center holes left by the cutter. There are better ways. Bits I linked to cut like crazy and last, provided you don't abuse them.
Agreed it's a slow process. Start with the 1/8" bit, then the Blair bit, then chisel away, then clean up the weld nugget. Good thing I was hourly!
Here's some pull rods and the Snap On instructions(plus a bluepoint spot weld drill bit above the instructions).
Don't know which rods are Snap On but the one clean red rod looks like it'd probably be the only one. The rest didn't come out too well unfortunately, looks like they were forgotten out in the rain for a few years, but on the bright side the local body guy did know what these are and gave a short instructional on using them, "Don't".
Don't know which rods are Snap On but the one clean red rod looks like it'd probably be the only one. The rest didn't come out too well unfortunately, looks like they were forgotten out in the rain for a few years, but on the bright side the local body guy did know what these are and gave a short instructional on using them, "Don't".
Chris_Hamilton
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Here's some pull rods and the Snap On instructions(plus a bluepoint spot weld drill bit above the instructions).
Don't know which rods are Snap On but the one clean red rod looks like it'd probably be the only one. The rest didn't come out too well unfortunately, looks like they were forgotten out in the rain for a few years, but on the bright side the local body guy did know what these are and gave a short instructional on using them, "Don't".
They work good for certain things. Originally they were designed to pull out dents by drilling a hole or multiple holes. Drilling holes to pull out dents is not how you want to do it. You can use them for pulling an edge, pulling in an existing hole etc. I don't use them often but they are handy when needed.
Sounds kinda like the primitive version of the little rods that spot weld on and clamp in a slide hammer(if I'm remembering right).
Local guy said he had issues with slipping every time he used them(leading to his instructional above) but realistically it was probably less the tool than the technique used. See alot of unanchored full strength methods around here with the accompanying injuries.
Here's the last of the body tools in the lot, Steck door removal kit. Fortunately I actually needed it so I can replace a broken hinge on the work van(coworker managed to shear the pin somehow).
Missing a few of the rods and nuts but I think the rest is there(instructions aren't too helpful, parts list leaves out stuff involved elsewhere in the instructions). Also bolt with barrel nut and double female end rod on the left aren't part of the kit but aren't part of anything else I have.
This is the only thing I ever used them for. Pulling out pre-existing holes. They are seldom used but come in handy when needed.
They're not that primitive in my opinion. While a lot of shops have switched to dent pulling set ups vs. the stud welder gun, the stud welder is still a good usable tool. I would like to have a new modern machine but the cost does not make sense for me since I am now a hobbyist with body work.
I remember doing a lot of GM door pins and bushings. Easy job once you've done a few.
I meant more like a precursor like Snap On ratchets from the old L710 to the current S80A, same job but innovated to do the job easier/better(debatable usually). Seems like they'd be the first iteration of dent pulling leading to newer tools for the same purpose like the stud welder.
Hopefully it ends up being easy. Last time I messed with doors was the side doors on a van from the late 80s that hadn't been opened probably since it was outfitted as a work van(20+ years) and those hinges were welded shut from rust. Granted that van was probably 30% rust while my work van is still somehow rust free.
I get what you're saying.
What year/make of vehicle are you doing? Of course it's easier if you can take the door completely off but you can also use a floor jack to hold it up and have someone else hold the door while you change the pins and bushings,
It's a 2011 Ford E-350. Thought they had the same style hinges as GM but looks like I was wrong. Hinge that broke has a little roller that acts as a stop so I might be able to fix it with just a new hinge set and a jack to hold the door up quick and easy.
Smokeshow69
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Is this the fairmount board ?
Smokeshow69
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Hi Smoke. Yeah, I don't actually have those 1928 Plomb body tools mounted on it. I just did that for the pic.
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Smokeshow69
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Hey! Those tools are pretty cool. Not easy to come by!
Smokeshow69
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You know there are a bunch in old rusty tool boxes in the corners of peoples garages for sure. Most folks just don’t know what they are, especially the old part numbers
ZRX61
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I have a set of those green Craftsman dollies, I think they're unused too.
Drill Sergeant Arc
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Hello folks, I have some old general sheet metal and auto body tools that were my grandad's, then my dad's and now mine. Eventually they will be passed down to the next generation. I made a post earlier in the week on the Show your Vintage Toolboxes thread. https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...oolboxes-of-garage-journal.49743/post-9942187
and https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...oolboxes-of-garage-journal.49743/post-9949066
I'm just going to repost that first part of those posts for the background of these items.
These were my granddad's, he was a sheet metal worker starting around 1900. My dad was also an iron and sheet metal worker starting in 1936 when he was a 16 year old apprentice. At some point he started using his dad's boxes and tools, I remember seeing these sitting on the workbenches when I went to his workplace in the sixties as a kid. When I started working with him in the mid-seventies we used them together. They are now in my home shop next to my dad's sheet metal brake and his other sheet metal tools. My granddad had done general sheet metal work in the beginning and by the 1920's was repairing automobile bodies at various dealerships in Portland Or.
(That white stuff is spider egg sacks)
My Grandad's name was Eskil Byron Linquist, in 1910 he was 23 and was listed as a sheet metal installer of roofs and gutter with his brothers. They were all union members at that time, he had followed his older brothers into the trade and may have started as early 1903 when he was 16 but more likely closer to 1905. They would have been hired out of the labor hall. The body shops were also manned by union tin men and Eskil at some point ended up doing auto body repair at various shops around town. He became in time a highly sought after craftsman of autobody repair and customization. My grandmother recounted how he "walked out" of a new car dealer's shop onetime (he did it many times) and the owner came to their house worried that he wasn't coming back. And was anxious to find out what the details were to his returning.
Eskil died in 1951 and my dad brought this box home and probably removed some tools like wrenches, clamps and screwdrivers that he could use at home and put it in his attached garage. Then later, when we moved in 1966, he built his dream shop, where it sat unopened until he gave it to me in 1987 and I put it away in the loft of my shop. After posting those other pics the other day I thought this post wouldn't be complete until we all got a look at that other box that was never taken to work by my dad like those other two were. I was surprised by how heavy it was, I remember it being lighter and almost empty.
I was also surprised by the amount of wood working tools in it, although I shouldn't be because the cars of that era all had wooden body frames without which the sheet metal body structure would be too flimsy to stay properly rigid.
and https://www.garagejournal.com/forum...oolboxes-of-garage-journal.49743/post-9949066
I'm just going to repost that first part of those posts for the background of these items.
These were my granddad's, he was a sheet metal worker starting around 1900. My dad was also an iron and sheet metal worker starting in 1936 when he was a 16 year old apprentice. At some point he started using his dad's boxes and tools, I remember seeing these sitting on the workbenches when I went to his workplace in the sixties as a kid. When I started working with him in the mid-seventies we used them together. They are now in my home shop next to my dad's sheet metal brake and his other sheet metal tools. My granddad had done general sheet metal work in the beginning and by the 1920's was repairing automobile bodies at various dealerships in Portland Or.
(That white stuff is spider egg sacks)
My Grandad's name was Eskil Byron Linquist, in 1910 he was 23 and was listed as a sheet metal installer of roofs and gutter with his brothers. They were all union members at that time, he had followed his older brothers into the trade and may have started as early 1903 when he was 16 but more likely closer to 1905. They would have been hired out of the labor hall. The body shops were also manned by union tin men and Eskil at some point ended up doing auto body repair at various shops around town. He became in time a highly sought after craftsman of autobody repair and customization. My grandmother recounted how he "walked out" of a new car dealer's shop onetime (he did it many times) and the owner came to their house worried that he wasn't coming back. And was anxious to find out what the details were to his returning.
Eskil died in 1951 and my dad brought this box home and probably removed some tools like wrenches, clamps and screwdrivers that he could use at home and put it in his attached garage. Then later, when we moved in 1966, he built his dream shop, where it sat unopened until he gave it to me in 1987 and I put it away in the loft of my shop. After posting those other pics the other day I thought this post wouldn't be complete until we all got a look at that other box that was never taken to work by my dad like those other two were. I was surprised by how heavy it was, I remember it being lighter and almost empty.
I was also surprised by the amount of wood working tools in it, although I shouldn't be because the cars of that era all had wooden body frames without which the sheet metal body structure would be too flimsy to stay properly rigid.
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Well yeah, but there's a lot of old tool guys who don't post on the GJ. Umpteen dozen "stories" about some relatively common thrift store socket "find" with accompanying before and after evaporust pics doesn't really do it for some peopleYou know there are a bunch in old rusty tool boxes in the corners of peoples garages for sure. Most folks just don’t know what they are, especially the old part numbers
Smokeshow69
Well-known member
Agreed. The ubiquitous hinge handle only goes so far for most folks
Oh yeah, that's not even the first one that comes to mind but holy chit was a that never ending mountain out of a molehill......Bro, it wasn't even the hinge handle, it was the "PIN" ( crossbar) to the hinge handle that launched a thousand posts and had me playing Russian roulette at my kitchen table.Agreed. The ubiquitous hinge handle only goes so far for most folks