MP&C Shop Projects
- Thread starter MP&C
- Start date
Monza Harry
Well-known member
I had seriously considered it as that I just haven't seen that shape/mass-combo before I'm clueless as to a search term to investigate with. For your valued opinion Robert Thanx Again! Harry
My body hammer rack has been running out of room, so I've been spending time lately cleaning up some of my extras and selling them through my IG account. One of the guys who just bought one of the hammers had seen my modified tight access hammer and asked if I could make one for him. Since I had a couple extra BF618's, I accepted the challenge. I had bought a hammer a few years ago from a retired body man, who must have needed a shorter handle at some point. Sad, because it was one of the older scripts. But we'll use this to make a new hammer that should last a lifetime.
The hammer head is dissected with a cutoff wheel, and a slight angle is sanded into our mating surface to provide more finger room given the shortened head.
The parts got TIG welded together using ER312 rod...
and cleaned up with a die grinder
Taped off, media blasted, and painted....
I had a replacement hickory handle that didn't have the faceted sides, so flats were sanded, handle fitted to the hammer head, finish sanded, stained and satin finished.
Assembled..
So the main reason for making this hammer is that Snap On does not make it with a crowned face. Their tight access hammer, the BF612 has a flat face, which is counter productive in most cases because you'll need it inside of a quarter panel or door, where typically you have a concave crown inside the panel to contend with. A flat face hammer is going to leave coin marks with every strike, the crowned hammer is more suited. The other issue to address is that with the short hammer head there is little finger room when the head face is parallel to the handle. With a slight angle added, we've increased the finger room..
Ready for shipment to MI.
Now my personal hammer (first picture) looks kind of sad, may have to clean it up as well.
The hammer head is dissected with a cutoff wheel, and a slight angle is sanded into our mating surface to provide more finger room given the shortened head.
The parts got TIG welded together using ER312 rod...
and cleaned up with a die grinder
Taped off, media blasted, and painted....
I had a replacement hickory handle that didn't have the faceted sides, so flats were sanded, handle fitted to the hammer head, finish sanded, stained and satin finished.
Assembled..
So the main reason for making this hammer is that Snap On does not make it with a crowned face. Their tight access hammer, the BF612 has a flat face, which is counter productive in most cases because you'll need it inside of a quarter panel or door, where typically you have a concave crown inside the panel to contend with. A flat face hammer is going to leave coin marks with every strike, the crowned hammer is more suited. The other issue to address is that with the short hammer head there is little finger room when the head face is parallel to the handle. With a slight angle added, we've increased the finger room..
Ready for shipment to MI.
Now my personal hammer (first picture) looks kind of sad, may have to clean it up as well.
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McMaster sells them for small ball peen hammers that don’t fit too bad, most all will need some work to fit the hammer head. I’ve gotten some from Beaver tooth as well. Genuine Snap-On replacement handles are stupid money, but worse yet is they **** for body hammers. This picture shows the comparison over the years. Looks more like they now use ball peen handles for uniformity in inventory. The one on the left hammer is about ideal, note how they USED TO make them thinner through the neck to isolate shock to your wrist. That hammer is also a good 60 years old.
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WoodsTruck
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2013
- Messages
- 1,019
Purdy!
I would weld some shoulders on the remnant hammer head end that was cut off so I could stand it up and clamp in the vise for small anvil tasks.
I would weld some shoulders on the remnant hammer head end that was cut off so I could stand it up and clamp in the vise for small anvil tasks.
Rockable
Well-known member
Hammersource.com has lots of different handles. Most are not for metalworking hammers but they might have something.
Www.hammersource.com
Also, here is a source for Martin replacement handles that are very reasonable.
Www.hammersource.com
Also, here is a source for Martin replacement handles that are very reasonable.
Martin Replacement Wood Hammer Handle HH42B
Fits Various Different Martin Hammers The Martin Replacement Hammer Handle kit contains a mixing cup for resin and a stick. Made in the USA, it is designed to fit different Martin hammers. This replacement handle is suitable for body hammers that require 12 handles. If the hammer head becomes...
www.collisionservices.com
Well in our typical back up and punt fashion, the original battery hold downs that we had already powder coated did not fit the battery, too short. So we ordered some round stock in stainless to fabricate some new ones.
A threaded standoff was modified to provide an angled surface for using as a hammer form to get the bottom "hooks" consistent...
All polished up...
Installed, and no polish job is complete without addressing the ends of the rods..
Assembling our vent windows, the excess rubber is trimmed using a No. 11 scalpel blade for a nice and tidy fit
All the bits assembled
installed...
And more stainless we missed, the parting bands for the front arm rests, complete with a form-fitted sanding/polishing fixture
A threaded standoff was modified to provide an angled surface for using as a hammer form to get the bottom "hooks" consistent...
All polished up...
Installed, and no polish job is complete without addressing the ends of the rods..
Assembling our vent windows, the excess rubber is trimmed using a No. 11 scalpel blade for a nice and tidy fit
All the bits assembled
installed...
And more stainless we missed, the parting bands for the front arm rests, complete with a form-fitted sanding/polishing fixture
Rockable
Well-known member
This is an outstanding build, Robert. The attention to detail is second to none.
Ohmthis
Well-known member
Robert, I’m astounded in the polish of the hammer. I’ve seen you post those for years. I still get wowed when I see it. The wagon is coming along very nicely.
Thanks for all the comments guys. John, much of what I have amassed in knowledge and skill (besides the trial and error thing) has been learned from others passing on knowledge in a similar fashion. I am merely paying it forward as has been done with me. Thanks for the kind words, I can only hope my posts are helping others as I have been helped..
zmotorsports
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Installed, and no polish job is complete without addressing the ends of the rods..
I did something similar on the ends of the axle shafts on my grandson's Radio Flyer project. When I masked off the parts for bead blasting and paint I masked the threads and shoulders but left the ends exposed for blasting, paint and clearcoat to add that little finishing touch. My son picked up on it right away the other night when he came over and commented on it.
I like how you squared off and polished the ends of the hold-down rods Robert. The devil is in the details and you my friend, are a genius when it comes to those devilish little details.
Another BF618 hammer we modified. Using a 1" S2 tool steel round, it got bored with a 3/8 hole, and the chisel end of our 618 was trimmed and turned for a matching "peg" that gets pressed together with the bored ball. Then TIG welded in place using 312 rod and dressed out so it looks like it came this way. And yes, Snap-On should have made this one too. A low crown radius at the bottom and a smaller (1/2") radius at the top.
And here's a sample of the next set that will be finished this week, a set of Bonney with reverse curve faces.
And here's a sample of the next set that will be finished this week, a set of Bonney with reverse curve faces.
stinkity stoink
Well-known member
Those hammers are sweet !!
shortykorte
Well-known member
Is Snap On the go to body hammer or just preference? I assumed Martin was a good brand.
Snap-on, MAC, Martin Tools, etc, all make good hammers. For a more vintage hammer, Plomb, Porter-Ferguson, Herbrand, Bonney, Streamline, Proto, Fairmount (and others) are very good quality hammers that you can normally pick up much cheaper than a new Snap-on. Herbrand makes one with the ball end that was the inspiration for the one I made above from the BF618. I’ve started looking less at the name and more at function. I guess I started with Snap-On hammers because like many I was on the truck once a week. 
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Thanks for the clarification on the polished faces. That was my assumption all along. Most of the vehicles I work on start out pretty rough so I’m usually in the stage of beating the panel back to a shape resembling how it started from factory. I then pass it on to someone that has more metal working skill than myself to bring the panels back to perfection. Hence my hammers are far from polished.
Rockable
Well-known member
For someone wanting a ball end hammer, the Peddinhaus 51.02 is a good one. It's not as nice as the ones you are making but they are a lot better than the pointed hammers. Jesse Harris turned me on to this one.
Rockable
Well-known member
Yes! Exactly! I saw Jesse using one on one of his videos and asked what it was. I bought one immediately. I'm guessing you may have turned him on to it. 
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Latest hammer modification, This one is a fender bumping hammer that I'm told works well on early vintage (20's-40's?) fenders. The barrel end seems to have not enough crown from end to end for such a fender without leaving coin marks on the ends of the strikes. So I thought I’d doctor up the extra hammer I have of these.
A round crowned face was turned out of some tool steel. And a bandsaw didn't want to touch it for the final cut, had to use a 4-1/2" cutoff wheel on this and the hammer.
With the barrel removed and the new face welded in place.....
Belt file makes short work of cleaning up the weld...
Still needs some media blasting and a paint job, but looks like this will do the trick.
A round crowned face was turned out of some tool steel. And a bandsaw didn't want to touch it for the final cut, had to use a 4-1/2" cutoff wheel on this and the hammer.
With the barrel removed and the new face welded in place.....
Belt file makes short work of cleaning up the weld...
Still needs some media blasting and a paint job, but looks like this will do the trick.
This actually looks like a nice, quality ball end hammer. I have been searching for one. How do you like it?
beautiful work.Finishing touches added…
Would you happen to know the model # of the Herbrand ball end body hammer or if not, would you happen to know any other manufacturers who made ball end body hammers (I'm referring to the small ball end one that you made above). Thank you.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Didn't see one on eBay ..
Maybe make a frankenhammer out of an old ball peen and a body hammer?
Robert has certainly perfected the process.
Maybe make a frankenhammer out of an old ball peen and a body hammer?
Robert has certainly perfected the process.
Sorry for the hiatus on the wagon, we've been waiting on some parts for windows and the tail gate, which have just arrived. So we'll be back on wagon progress in short order. Meanwhile, here are some more hammer cleanups. First is a vintage Blue Point "redhead" reverse curve hammer. It started with some nasty nicks in the hammer face and a handle that needed a fresh cleanup.
We start by removing all the nicks and abuse from the hammer faces, as well as removing any sharp edges followed by a polishing, to keep from transferring those defects to your panel. Then media blasted and painted. The handle gets thinned slightly through the neck to help keep the impact shock from traveling to your wrist.
Then the handle gets refinished. The fun part is removing the old stain (and stains) without removing the vintage logo...
finished and ready for shipment
We start by removing all the nicks and abuse from the hammer faces, as well as removing any sharp edges followed by a polishing, to keep from transferring those defects to your panel. Then media blasted and painted. The handle gets thinned slightly through the neck to help keep the impact shock from traveling to your wrist.
Then the handle gets refinished. The fun part is removing the old stain (and stains) without removing the vintage logo...
finished and ready for shipment
We also worked on a Heller 422, the bottom one in the next picture...
We had years of abuse to remove, nicks, surface rust, and casting flaws. When checked on a loose belt sander we found waves in the casting, so the belt sander was used to provide a more consistent radius. Then we followed our sequential sanding techniques, and finished out on the buffer...
Then the polished edges were masked, the remainder media blasted and painted
All complete, this one now resides in Delaware.
We had years of abuse to remove, nicks, surface rust, and casting flaws. When checked on a loose belt sander we found waves in the casting, so the belt sander was used to provide a more consistent radius. Then we followed our sequential sanding techniques, and finished out on the buffer...
Then the polished edges were masked, the remainder media blasted and painted
All complete, this one now resides in Delaware.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Robert, you should stamp your own discrete watermark on these reconditioned tools. They are going to become highly sought after collectibles some day.
Fantastic workmanship.
Fantastic workmanship.
steves_001
Well-known member
Those tools are so beautiful I'd be inclined to frame them and hang on the wall! Very nice, that polished surface is amazing.
GreyOwl
Well-known member
Almost too pretty to use!
Boosted1
Well-known member
Agree those look too nice to use. Lol. Nice work.