Slide hammer dent puller- need DIY or how to mod HF's

Rigmaster · Mar 28, 2009

So I've got a car that has a dent/crease in the rear QTR panel. I don't really have access to the back side of the panel so I thought I'd try one of those HF dent puller stud welder kits.

Picked it up the other day on sale for ~$99 less a 20% coupon. Tried it out today, and the stud welder works just fine. The slide hammer however *****, and not in a good way.....

The slide hammer tip has a slot/hole in the end of it where put the stud (after you weld it to the panel), then there's a round eccentric wheel with ridges on the outside of the wheel that is *supposed* to grip the shaft of the stud when you pull back on it, then once it's got a grip on the stud, you should be able to slide the weight back and pull on the stud to straighten the panel.

Problem is, the ridges on the wheel aren't very sharp, so they don't grip, and the wheel seems to be made of very soft steel, so the ridges on mine are worn flat after trying a few pulls. I tried to sharpen them up a bit with a small triangular file, but that didn't work- the metal is too soft and they just flattened out again.

Without springing $$$ for a professional type slide hammer that I'll use very infrequently, I'm looking for ideas on how to make this one work.

I was thinking maybe drill + tap a hole or a couple of holes in the tip of the slide hammer, and use some screws or bolts to hold the stud until the dent was pulled- kind of like set screws.

Or, if I could find a different tip that worked like the chuck on a Dremel tool- sort of squeezes down on the stud to hold it tight- but that's probably not readily available.

I'd also like to find or make a multi-stud puller..... like the attached pic. I think that would be VERY useful in my situation- the dent has a good crease to it, and it would be nice to pull it out straight with a puller like that.

Vulturej · Mar 28, 2009

I have seen keyless drill chucks attached to slide hammers for that purpose, I never used one so I don't know how well it works.

Rigmaster · Mar 28, 2009

Vulturej said:
I have seen keyless drill chucks attached to slide hammers for that purpose, I never used one so I don't know how well it works.

Hmm, that's a pretty good idea....gotta think about that but it could work, THANKS!!

Here are some pics of the HF slide hammer tip that's included in the stud welder kit:

You can see what I'm talking about (I hope). What I was thinking is I could drill + tap a hole or holes thru the body of the puller tip, perpendicular to the open slot, and use a couple of bolts or set screws to hold the stud. It would add a little time to each pull, but right now it's not working at all, so I figure almost anything is better...... :thumbup:

Danglerb · Mar 28, 2009

The wheel/gear is eccentric, it needs to be rotated so that pulling on the stud increases the gripping force. Should be something like slip it over the stud, pull back slightly as you rotate the wheel with your thumb and it should lock tight.

The block pulling thing just looks like a piece of metal with holes for the studs and tapped holes for screws to grip them.

Rigmaster · Mar 28, 2009

Rigmaster said:
The slide hammer tip has a slot/hole in the end of it where put the stud (after you weld it to the panel), then there's a round eccentric wheel with ridges on the outside of the wheel that is *supposed* to grip the shaft of the stud when you pull back on it, then once it's got a grip on the stud, you should be able to slide the weight back and pull on the stud to straighten the panel.

Problem is, the ridges on the wheel aren't very sharp, so they don't grip, and the wheel seems to be made of very soft steel, so the ridges on mine are worn flat after trying a few pulls. I tried to sharpen them up a bit with a small triangular file, but that didn't work- the metal is too soft and they just flattened out again.

Danglerb said:
The wheel/gear is eccentric, it needs to be rotated so that pulling on the stud increases the gripping force. Should be something like slip it over the stud, pull back slightly as you rotate the wheel with your thumb and it should lock tight.

The block pulling thing just looks like a piece of metal with holes for the studs and tapped holes for screws to grip them.

Yeah, I know the wheel is eccentric and how it *SHOULD* work, but the ridges don't grip the studs so I'm looking for a way to make it work.

Ditto the block pulling thing- just looking for ideas how to cheaply/easily make something like that.

Thanks. :thumbup:

Stephenw · Mar 28, 2009

...............

Delray · Mar 28, 2009

Would a few light chisel marks in the stud help the wheel to grip it, or maybe file flat spots on the stud?

toadjammer · Mar 28, 2009

Rigmaster said:
You can see what I'm talking about (I hope).

It looks like your gripping wheel is damaged. I have the same type of unit from a non HF manufacturer and mine works very well to the point of breaking off the stud before letting go. Maybe you could inquire with a different company for a replacement wheel.

1320stang · Mar 28, 2009

Well, there is your solution. :bowdown:

Rigmaster · Mar 28, 2009

toadjammer said:
It looks like your gripping wheel is damaged. I have the same type of unit from a non HF manufacturer and mine works very well to the point of breaking off the stud before letting go. Maybe you could inquire with a different company for a replacement wheel.

Yeah, the spot where the wheel is damaged is where it was contacting the studs- I included that pic to show what happened to the wheel.

The wheel is more damaged now, I tried using vise grips to "lock" the wheel on the stud- which works OK, but damages the wheel....

As for the Vise grips on the slide hammer- I've already thought of that after seeing a friend use his to pull a pilot bearing out a couple of weeks ago. I'm gonna try the vise grips next.

Thanks all!!

Danglerb · Mar 29, 2009

Return it. Maybe the wheel was somehow binding so it didn't rotate and clamp down, or the axle portion got bent?

Freely moving even a smooth wheel should have enough holding force.

Rusty Kustoms · Mar 29, 2009

[/IMG]
You may notice I have 2 slide hammers, the good and the bad. The good one is from snap on and twists tight, the bad is similar to yours with the wheel design. I bought the uni spotter set and it came with the junk one, after getting hit in the chest a few times when it let go, I bought the better slide hammer through snap on. If you ever plan to pull dents again than spend a little extra now and throw that thing in the garbage. Here is a few that I found with a quick search.

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/hsa1016.html

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/p-10095-3329-uni-spotter-slide-hammer.aspx

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=3280&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

JeepsAreBuilt · Mar 29, 2009

Couldnt you take your slide hammer back to HF and exchange it ? Other than that.. you could rig a vise grip to a slide hammer.. perhaps a cheap 3 ponder from HF or an auto parts store.

For that pulling block.. the concept is good. Pulling by multiple studs work good.. but I wouldnt recommend that type of block. You'd have to line up each pin in each hole.. etc. I like to use a clamp like this one: http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/MO-200.html

They are expensive.. but it'll be faster and more versatile. And depending on your dent.. you may need more than a 3 pound slide hammer to work it out. How about posting a pic of the dent ?

Lhorn · Mar 29, 2009

Not to hijack but do people tend to like the HF stud welder? I've been thinking about getting one, but you can get a Unispotter 4500 for $155 at Autobodystore.com. Seems like not much price difference considering Unispotter is a decent brand and HF is sketchy at best. If the HF works well, I might pick one up.

Kona Cruisers · Mar 29, 2009

one question, how much pulling force are you useing... not sayin you are useing to much but you could be. slowly work out the dent...

bugdust · Feb 2, 2011

I just bought the HF stud welder kit and I'm having the same problem. The welder works great but the hammer is junk.

rizwan.shinka · Dec 4, 2017

I need the same setup and couldn't find any info on internet. What do you think of trying drill chuck adapter similar like this
https://m.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-Rotar...MItOeDsdLz1wIVlR0rCh0HVwTFEAQYASABEgLlDfD_BwE

Welded in front of slide hammer adapter which came with it? They are cheap on eBay

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

Ole Slewfoot · Dec 5, 2017

I put probably over 100 studs in the front bulkhead of my pickup box, and the HF slie hammer still works OK but not great.

Billythekid1 · Dec 5, 2017

Mabe try different studs then come with the kit mabe there to hard I have trouble seeing how it wouldn't work as is just trying to come up with something good luck

metaleltr · Dec 5, 2017

I made my own multi stud puller with a nothing more than a drill press and a tap. Started with 1/2x6 cold rolled bar stock. In hindsight a narrower bar would have been fine. Drilled corresponding holes on the face and edge to accept set screws and studs respectively. Tapped holes for 10-32 set screws- due to tight clearances I did have to order a 10-32 bottom cutting tap.

Can't find the pictures will get some tomorrow

metaleltr · Dec 5, 2017

found one picture from my thread on trying to find a screwdriver for this fixture

Slide hammer dent puller- need DIY or how to mod HF's

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