What is this tool for?

[Enigma]

deciding whether to keep it or not. dad's not here anymore to ask him.

 

[Old Man Roger]

No expert, but it looks like a body hammer.

 

[landrover bodger]

it looks like a body hammer .

 

[kaymccampbell]

It looks like what we used to call a one sided dressing hammer. They're handy when working in tight spots or along body lines. IME, usually used in combination with another hammer or pick.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Agree with all above to be on the right track. The other is a ruler you slide into a combination square.

 

[wcp0611]

Yeah, that's a body hammer. Used to help remove dents in vehicles. That and a torch were all you needed for dings back when cars were made of more metal than plastic.

 

[2oolhound]

Agree, body hammer. Are there any makers marks on it?

 

[Damn Yankee]

I believe what you have there is a Wide Dome Dressing hammer. yes, for body work.

John

 

[engineer2]

I like it! I got pretty good at hammer and dolly work back in the day of owning beaters.

 

[Enigma]

Thank you all. For some reason I thought it was for woodworking. Ive never seen a backing dolly on a stick before but I guess it must be.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Thank you all. For some reason I thought it was for woodworking. Ive never seen a backing dolly on a stick before but I guess it must be.

More likely a compact body hammer for getting into tight spaces.

 

[Grokew]

Yeah, that's a body hammer. Used to help remove dents in vehicles. That and a torch were all you needed for dings back when cars were made of more metal than plastic.

Now you use a blower, a heat gun(carefully), or towels soaked in really hot water, and slowly squeeze with your hands or pull with a small suction cup.

 

[Enigma]

Now you use a blower, a heat gun(carefully), or towels soaked in really hot water, and slowly squeeze with your hands or pull with a small suction cup.

maybe plastic body cars arent so bad after all. Sounds much easier.

 

[iamhomeless]

In the industry they call it a scale, but it's really just a steel ruler, the groove is for sliding a square in.

Looks to be about 12" judging by the dolly hammer you put next to it to judge the size.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

Old thread but I thought I'd add that it is probably European (Italian) as the Italians favor that type of hammer for planishing.

Here's a pic of an Italian gent doing some metalshaping on a Factory Custom late model Ferrari. You can see the same style hammer in the pic. That is all handformed BTW. They are hammering into a form made of Rennshape, which is a machinable polyurethane board.

 

[Enigma]

that's pretty good proof thank you. another guy told me the hammer was for seating nails flush without leaving a mark or taking a risk of a punch slipping off and gouging the wood

 

[Drill Sergeant Arc]

. . . guy told me the hammer was for seating nails flush without leaving a mark or taking a risk of a punch slipping off and gouging the wood

How’s that saying go; when you’re dumb as a box of hammers everything looks like a nail.

 

[Enigma]

no it's "when your favorite tool is a hammer everything looks like a nail"

 

[Enigma]

this might look like a nail to you