Hammers

Planishing hammer The planishing or panel hammer is used more than any other tool in the body repair trade,and for thisreason the best hammer available should be obtained. The principal purpose of the panel hammer is for the smoothing and finalizing of a panel surface after it has been roughed out to the required shape. The planishing hammer should have a true and unmarked face,and it must be kept polished and free from road tar,underseal and paint,which readily adhere to its working faces during use. This tool is designed solely to be used in conjunction with a dolly block; it must never be used for chiselling or any other work which mightmark or impair the faces of the hammer,for if the face of the hammer became marked the marks would be transferred to the surface of the panel.
These particular hammers are generally made with one face square. This face is usually flat, while the other,round end is slightly domed or crowned. However,hammers are available with the square end domed and the round end flat,or alternatively with both faces flat or both faces crowned. In practice the square end,which is usually flat,is used for planishing on a curved surface of a panel, or in corners,or against swaged recessed sections, and the crowned end for reasonably flat panels. The difference in the faces stops the panel surfacebeing marked with the edge of the hammer when used in conjunction with the dolly block. Theweight of the planishing hammer for general
and new work ranges from 12oz (340g) to 16oz (450g),and the handles,which are usually very thin at the neck of the shaft for balance purposes, are made of hickory or ash to give the hammer a good rebound action when used with a dolly block.

Standard bumping hammer
This hammer (Figure 3.1a,b) is used for initial roughing out of work on damaged panels. It is also used for finalizing and finishing. The round face is in (35mm) in diameter and the square face is in (38mm) square,and the total weight is 14oz (395g). The hammer is made with either flat or crowned faces.
Light bumping hammer
This (Figure 3.1c,d) tool is ideal for work on light gauge materials. It is used in the same manner as the standard bumping hammer. The squared face is1 in (25mm) square and the round face is in (32mm) in diameter,and it has a weight of 12oz balanced and gives a very good finish when used correctly. Hammers can be obtainedfor light orheavy work with weights from 12oz (340g) to18oz (510g).

Shrinking hammers
Shrinking hammers (Figure 3.2c,d,e) are similar in design to a normal planishing hammer but have faces which,instead of being smooth,are serrated, giving a cross-milled effect like a file. The purpose of these serrations is to achieve a shrinking effect when the hammer is used in conjunction with adolly block. This is caused by the fact that the contact area between hammer and metal is greatly reduced by the serrations on the face. This toolisused largely when beating the surface on overstretched panel areas which have to be hot-shrunkin order to return them to their normal contours.Hammers are available for light or heavy shrinking,according to the depth of the serrations.
Pick and finishing hammer
This tool (Figure 3.3a,b) is used in place of,or inconjunction with,the planishing hammer. Its mainuse is to pick up small,low areas on the surface ofa panel which is in the process of being repaired byplanishing. On panels that are reasonably flat,suchas door panels,parts of roof panels and bonnets,this method of raising low areas is quick and,if car-riedout correctly,does not unduly stretch the metal.

To lift a low area with a pick hammer,one or two taps with the pick end of the hammer are directed from underneath the panel under repair to the centre of the low area. The blows stretch the metal sufficiently to raise the surface surrounding the point of the low spots where the blows were struck. This slightly raised area is next tapped down lightly with a planishing hammer or the finishing end of the pick hammer on to a suitably shaped dolly block,and the panel is finished off byfiling with a panel file. When one becomes proficient in using this tool it is possible to raise thesurface with light blows and finish off by filingonly. However,without sufficient experience thereis a danger of over-stretching the metal owing tothe inability to direct the blow accurately on to thelow area under repair.
The pick and finishing hammer has a pointedend which is suitable for removing low spots and isalso a useful finishing hammer,having a crownedsurface on a round face of in (38mm) diameter;it is well balanced and weighs 14oz (395g).

Straight pein and finishing hammers
These hammers (Figure 3.3c,d) are used in a similar manner to the pick and finishing hammer,buta re designed with either a straight or a curvedpeined end which acts like a chisel,and a domedround end which is used for planishing. They aresuitable for roughing out prior to planishing,orinthe finishing stages of planishing for stretchingsmall low areas. These hammers can be usedtodress out sections which are difficult to workonowing to their awkward shape or position,suchas around lamp openings and in recessed andmoulded sections on panels.
Curved pein and finishing hammer
This tool (Figure 3.3e) is identical in use to the straight pein and finishing hammer except that itscurved pein end allows for greater flexibility indressing out sections which are difficult to work onowing to their awkward shape or position.

Fender bumping hammer
This tool (Figure 3.3f) has a long curved head with one face which is circular to reduce the effect of stretching the metal when in use. This hammer is used for roughing out and dressing out damaged sections on panels to restore them to their correct shape and curvature before planishing begins. The heavy weight of this hammer,together with the curve,makes it very effective for hammering out difficult and inaccessible sections.

File hammer or beating file
This tool (Figure 3.4) is designed to be used like ahammer in conjunction with a dolly block, although it is actually a file with a serrated face and is suitably shaped for holding in the hand. The milling on the file blade tends to shrink the panel as well as leaving a regular rough patterned surface ideal for locating low spots on the panel under repair and for finishing with a body file. The toolisused in conjunction with a hand dolly,and withaglancing blow. It is most effective on large flatsections,where it will be found ideal for smoothing and levelling out wavy panels. Two types ofbeating files are available; one is flat for use onlow- and high-crowned surfaces,while the otherishalf-round in shape and is used on convex orreverse-curved panel sections.

Mallets
Mallets can be of the round or pear-shaped type made from boxwood or lignum vitae,or can be rubber,aluminium or plastic faced (Figure 3.5).

Some mallets have interchangeable heads so that the correct head can be used for the material being worked. A mallet is greatly used in the initial stages of smoothing and roughing out of a panel prior to planishing. When hot shrinking,the mallet is the tool to achieve a most successful shrink because a normal planishing hammer would tend to stretch the metal rather than shrink it. Without a mallet,aluminium work would be most difficult as this metal is so easily marked and stretched. The working faces of the mallet must be kept in first-class order,or marks on the surface of the metal will result.