autobody tools

[solitaire]

I need some recommendations for some decent bang for my buck autobody tools. I just picked up a 1951 chevy truck that will need some body work. I figure ill probably need a stud welder, slide hammer, good hammer/dollies,. What else do I need ? I have a welder and am pretty decent with it. Any suggestions on tools or ideas ?

 

[ZRX61]

Stud welder kits come with a slide hammer. I have a MotorGuard unit.
Hammers & dollies: Martin if buying new & look out for used Proto/Plomb hammers. (1427, 1425 etc)

www.tptools.com has almost everything, www.autobodytoolmart.com for absolutely EVERYTHING

 

[Pro-Painter]

Eastwood has great body tools for DIY'er on a budget. I highly recommend the following tools from Eastwood
: Professional hammer/dolly set.
: Eastwood contours spray gun, They have a very low CFM requirement perfect for home shop size compressors, Multiple nozzle combos for all types of finishes, they are rebuildable and spray very nice.
: Stud welder.
: 135 mig welder.
: Fender roller (may not be needed)
: Dura-block 7pc sanding block kit.

For sanders, The new 3M orbital palm sanders and super nice, come in many styles and can be picked for about $125 online. I like them better then the Dynabrade models now. Best sander on the market IMO.

 

[solitaire]

is the harbor freight stud welder kit and the hammer/dollies set really horrible. Or are they decent enough to get me by?

 

[Coach James]

Here's another set. Astro stuff is usually decent.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00061SFXW/?tag=atomicindus08-20


Coach

 

[ZRX61]

is the harbor freight stud welder kit and the hammer/dollies set really horrible. Or are they decent enough to get me by?

HF hammers are total junk, but *some* of their dollies are actually quite exceptional (1 or 2).

These dollies are *ok*, no idea about this hammer tho...
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-door-skin-repair-kit-46781.html

I just had a look at their site & the silly bastards appear to have stopped selling the good dollies they had..

 

[ZRX61]

The great one they had is the one in this pic below the post dollies on the left side:

No longer listed..

It's similar to the MT1065 on this page:
http://www.tptools.com/Product.aspx?display_id=1829

 

[humpdawg]

is the harbor freight stud welder kit and the hammer/dollies set really horrible. Or are they decent enough to get me by?

Get quality hammers. I'd get martin or snap on. I take hickory handles over FG all day long.

 

[countryroad82]

Stud welder kits come with a slide hammer. I have a MotorGuard unit.
Hammers & dollies: Martin if buying new & look out for used Proto/Plomb hammers. (1427, 1425 etc)

www.tptools.com has almost everything, www.autobodytoolmart.com for absolutely EVERYTHING

^^^ Good info here, I second or third Martin hammers. I prefer fiberglass handles but alot of guys here prefer hickory, it's just a personal preferance. Get something in the lines of a 4-6 piece set they normally come with the standards. As for the stud gun I have a Uni Spotter, one of my greatest investments for dent removal!!

 

[Steven67fr]

I second on the vintage proto/plomb dollies and hammers. I have both a 1425 and 1427 that get used very frequently... Great balance and the heads hold up well.

 

[tyndall]

is the harbor freight stud welder kit and the hammer/dollies set really horrible. Or are they decent enough to get me by?

The stud welders are ok, the included slide hammer is not. It keeps slipping off the studs. The hammer and dollies are ok too. Buy the set and if anything breaks replace that piece with something better. I've done about half a dozen cars with these tools and nothing broke yet.

 

[CHRIS LUCKYMAN]

All of the above is good, I have mostly Snap On body hammers. Years ago I bought Harbor Freight body hammers and dollies. I still have the dollies, after reshaping and polishing them. The hammers are soft, mine were yellow handled, and the handles were made of steel - sucked using them.
Lots of dollies, the more the better. Find a piece of railroad tie. Lots of blocks. Lots. From big to small. My longest block is a custom aluminum 5' block. Smallest is a "Nib block", but I use it with paper.
No one block will block everything... blocking is the key to a flat panel and high quality paintjob. A trick I use (learned it from an old bodyguy) for odd, intricate panels is to use a contour gauge to measure the tricky area, transfer the pattern to a block, and cut the shape out with a bandsaw. If you use a "donor block", then it is ready to go. You can use wood, plastic or whatever, but glue some kind of interface on the block, so there's no digging into the panel... This is the best bang for the buck you will get - custom blocks.

 

[gauder the goof]

Has anybody used the Gearwrench hammers and dollies yet?

http://www.autobodytoolmart.com/gearwrench-7-pc-body-tool-set-82302-p-18577.aspx

 

[sevt_chevelle]

For a great set of hammers and dollies at a good price, you'll be hard pressed to find something as good as the tools offered by Dagger Tools. They are top notch tools not some cheap junk wanna be tools. WWW.daggertools.com

I make my living using hammers and dollies so they are used daily. My favorite dollies came from Dagger tools, the two on the bottom. The hammers are Martin.



A stud gun is a good tool, but it also gets abused IMO.
A stud puller or slide hammer is not something I'd use on sheet metal, way to violent, I suggest a T -handle instead, it's all I ever use.

http://www.eastwood.com/stud-welder...le&utm_medium=Merchant-Centre&SRCCODE=1SE0756

That gear wrench set looks like the set from Dagger tools, the emblem on the dollies sure does anyways.

 

[MorganKelsey]

Thanks guys for all those resources you provided. I'll add this to my list for future use. It really helped me in finding the right tools I needed for my truck's project.