Back when cars were made of heavy metal and had lots of beautiful curves guys took the time to repair a fender rather than just replace it. Any good metal worker will tell you that you need to match the hammer and dolly as close as possible with the shape of your panel you’re working on. When you’re working on a curvy car like something from the late 1930’s through the 1950’s you will be hard pressed to find a flat panel on the vehicle. This means that you will need to use tools to match. Back in those days the selection of specialty hammers were vast, some being specifically used for one type of car or type of repair!
Tag: coach building
How to make a Body Panel From Scratch- Rear Quarter Panel Fabrication
If you want to get better at anything you need to practice and push yourself to try things a little out of your skill/comfort level. Metal Shaping is 100% one of those things that you need to practice and work to get better at, even if it means wrecking a […]
Scratch building a Ford Hot Rod to Scale- Building a skeleton
Recently product developer Mark R. decided to build a 30’s Ford Hot Rod to scale. The process would be fun and it’s going to allow him to test a number of the new Eastwood Metal Fabrication tools and accessories we have coming down the pike. We figured we’d document the process and give you some sneak peaks at new products along the way.
Beginners Metal Shaping Project- Making a panel blister.
Metal shaping is one of those things that seems like black magic to beginners. There really is a science behind the process that takes quite some time to learn and understand. The quickest and easiest way to understand how metal shaping works on the granular level is by comparing it to pizza dough. The more you stretch it out, the thinner it gets and the excess material has to go somewhere (in the pizza’s case its the rolled up crust) and the more you shrink the metal the thicker it gets and again it has to “go somewhere”. I decided to demonstrate a great beginner project for gaining experience in metal shaping by making a panel blister out of a 12″x12″x12″ piece of 5053 .035 aluminum. This process is great to help you understand the process and is pretty straight forward.
Sheet Metal Fabrication: Basic Machines & Techniques
Sheet metal fabrication is the act of forming, shaping, and joining metal together to build and or repair a tangible part. There are many techniques and tools. It’s been done since the beginning of time when even the simplest tools were used. In this article we will share the most common and important tools, machines, and techniques for the DIY fabricator.