2000 HYUNDAI ACCENT REPAIR MANUAL

Cars may little resemble those of a century or more ago, but the tools used to shape and repair sheetmetal haven’t changed at all. The tools are so basic as to be essentially identical to those from the carriage building age, and their use reflects their genesis. Anyone can pick them up, as an apprentice would have done, but mastery comes slow indeed.

New and used individual tools and sets are widely available, and we know master metalshapers who can form accurate, intricate panels using a bare handful of them. For the novice, however, you will be better off with the specialized, specific tools for your task, rather than trying to make a slightly different one work.

Hammers are, well, hammers. Spoons and dollies are generally used with them to modify the force of the hammer blow. Spoons are used on top of the sheetmetal surface to distribute and direct the strike; dollies are held behind, so the metal is shaped over them. Spring steel slapping spoons (slappers) and slapping files are also used directly, like a hammer but with a much larger contact area. Simple in theory, a little more complex in execution.

The first task is in determining which tools you need for your particular task. Beyond “heavier dollies for heavier sheetmetal,” that’s one of the places experience enters into it. A fairly complete set might contain a dozen or more hammers; a dozen dollies and half a dozen slappers and spoons. A beginner will be well served by erring on the side of lightness in hammers; conversely, heavier dollies, usually well over two pounds, are very helpful for controlling your work. We’re presuming you’ll be working in steel; tools for aluminum are generally lighter, and many people keep separate dollies for aluminum, but that’s another subject.

There are two basic techniques: Hammer-on-dolly, and hammer-off-dolly. Hammer-on-dolly is exactly that: Squishing the metal between the hammer and dolly. A basic hammer-on task would be flattening out a dent; this also stretches the metal being hammered, so going slow is vital, or it will become too thin, which has the unfortunate side effect of pushing it up around the worked area.

Hammer-off is more complex, and relies on the sheetmetal’s inherent elasticity. The dolly backs up a low spot, while you hammer a high spot immediately next to it, both flattening the high spot and causing the dolly to rebound into the low, ideally flattening them both.

Weekend classes in beginning sheetmetal work are held all over the place, and we can’t recommend them enough. Ring up your local restorer or bodyshop, and they’ll get you started. Metalshapers.org also has extensive online tutorials that will give you a sense of what you’re getting into.

Hammers and dollies are relatively cheap; you can get a large, high quality set for a few hundred dollars, with enough tools to get any routine job done. Don’t skimp, though, and look for forged tools from the US, Germany or England. There aren’t many of us who can’t find free sheetmetal, and you will probably want sandbags, basic woodworking tools and scrap wood, as well. Even if you’re starting from scratch will all of this, it would be nearly impossible to spend more than three figures, which is not a bad investment, considering you’re taking on a craft that will serve you for a lifetime, and pay for itself with the first completed project.