A good friend that is retired has always wanted to do an AD truck so we gave him a 52 that should keep him REALLY busy for a while. His floor pans/toe board went alright as did the kick panels but he cut the cab corners a tad short. The mig would eventually fill the gap but would be ugly and slow so I showed him how to hammer weld. It's also slow but leaves an almost invisible seam that many times doesn't need filler, just a couple of coats of urethane or polyester primer. Hammer welding is probably nearly a lost art anymore and I'd forgotten what a great result it gives. I hope it doesn't have to be done again till winter is here as it's a hot job.
Evan~ If I had your talent I'd be dangerous. But in a good way, as opposed to how I am now... When I was reading that, I thought, "Hey! Get some of the calking stuff that is stronger than welding and scab in a piece on the back side and bondo in the face side! Guess that's one of MANY reasons why I don't have a shop~
Hammer welding! Evan I`ll hoped you could show it to us by making a thread "How to hammer weld" I am very intrested and i am shore many others are to. Pas it on pas it on Martinius.
Hammer welding skills will be lost with the passing of the 50 plus generation, I believe. I know of only three men in this area who can do it well, and by "area", I mean 50 mile radius. Also, the guys who can hammer weld are generally the ones who are willing and able to fill with lead. I'm finding the young males are not as interested in cars and welding and gaining "wrench saavy" as we (50 plus) older guys were when we were teens. Working on cars, trucks, semis, airplanes, farm equip. is hard blue-collar work and maybe the youngsters have bought into the "work smarter-not harder" idea so prevalent in modern culture. I personally respect those who can do REAL things. I also believe this country is in big trouble in the near future because of this, among many other things.
Still A Few Left I can't do any body works nor weld but , I still like to tinker and repair things ~ I was picking up some vintage Honda Moto wiring harnesses for parts to - day and my buddy's '65 Plymouth Fury's AC fan switch crapped out , he'd removed it and handed it to me saying " you're the only guy I ever met who repairs old switches & electric motors , give this a whirl " . I agree that's it's a low down shame that to - day's kiddies don't get the opportunity to try working with their hands ~ one never knows what'll happen : might like woodworks , painting , plumbing or whatever . Me , I was born to this .
Martinius, I'll give a short discription but if you google "hammer welding" it comes up with 117 million hits and those people know how to put text with their pictures---I don't. You use an oxyacetylene torch and mild rod to run a very small 5/8 (16mm) to 3/4 (19mm) inch long bead on two pieces butted together. Once welded you reheat the bead to a dull red color and then quickly hammer it flat and blend into the surrounding metal using a VERY smooth hammer which is backed up on the other side with an equally smooth dolly. I have an ancient two inch round face forged hammer that is very slightly crowned in the center and polished to a chrome like finish. A novice may be better off with a flat faced hammer as the convex face can cause stretching if applied with too much enthusiasm.
You?re right here, most younger ones didn?t grow up, in the need of actually repairing anything. If it?s broke, just buy it new I?m in my low forties, but when i grew up, my parents weren?t rich, so most of my toys or bicycles were second hand or stuff other parents tossed away. That?s probably why i started wrenching pretty early, to try and keep my toys going Hopefully not all old trades or methods get lost, the internet at least can be used to look stuff up or spread it around to those who are interested... Have to try this one day, as this hammer welding is new to me
