Planishing

The standard item for freehand panel beating is the leather sandbag. Some of the custom car supply places may have such, maybe Eastwood. Planishing is more of a finishing process, not forming. It's what you do AFTER you finish beating and/or rolling your panel to fit your buck. Takes the ridges out so you don't have so much filing to do. Don't confuse it with stretching and shrinking processes. There's several books out there on custom sheetmetal work for cars and motorcycles that go into great detail on it and also have lists of suppliers. There are also a couple of books on contemporary plate armor making that do basically the same things but are oriented more towards the fellow with hammers and a lot of enthusiasm.

Stan

Ye olde leather shot bag. You can buy them or find a good leather shop and have one made up. I have three.

A hole in the end of a slice of log works well. I cut mine with the end of a chainsaw and smoothed it with a blowtorch and hammer. The metal stretches between the hammer face and the ring of support, it doesn't have to touch the bottom of the depression. You could try a 3" or 4" sewer pipe fitting padded with cardboard.

jsw

On Thu, 4 Mar 2010 08:55:25 -0800, the infamous "Steve B" scrawled the following:

Several old methods include pitch (extremely messy/smelly), leather covered sandbags, wood, and lead (California Prop 65 Warning). ;)

-- An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do. -- W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge, 1943

Maybe you were using the wrong sort of pitch. The stuff I have for repousse work is from trees and smelt wonderful when it was fresh, I used to open the draw it was in and take a whiff on occasions. It still smells good but no longer has the concentrated odour of a pine forest anymore. Quite different to roofing pitch.

One of the simplest I've heard of is to take a 1' long or so section of old blue jeans, stitch most of the ends, fill with sand, then stitch up the rest of the way.

I bet you could make a half decent forming tool out of an el cheapo air hammer by welding a slightly domed plate on the end of an old chisel shank...might save your elbow compared to swinging a forming hammer. --Glenn Lyford

Steve, I thought you were on weight restrictions. I was willing to believe you were endowed as in don't lift any thing heavier than your D*ck. I am not beliving a planishing hammer is in the range of things your doc wants you to swing. :)

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

Actually, I'm getting better. Out of the six angiogram/plasties I have had, this was the worst. Still sore. But getting things together for soon when I feel better, and the weather here gets a little better. Been in Vegas for a few days. Like Gunner, who flees occasionally, I go to Vegas, but have to do some work. The only thing I have to carry is a camera and a tape measure and some paperwork.

Saw some nifty gates and iron work which I will be putting on flickr shortly. Good looking stuff, and very unique.

Steve

Good news on the health side.

Great, I like looking at those.

Wes

"Steve B" wrote

They have gone into my leg so many times, this time, they used a titanium/nickel alloy star shaped closure. I think they may just use it for everyone now, though.

Steve

Jesters pitch is neither messy nor particularly smelly. I have a bowl of it sitting on my bench in front of me right now.

Not particularly useful for planishing (or dishing and raising) however. Its real use is in chasing and reposue of soft metals.

jk

On Sun, 7 Mar 2010 08:40:14 -0800, the infamous "Steve B" scrawled the following:

You'd think they'd start using closable ports nowadays.

-- The blind are not good trailblazers.

-- federal judge Frank Easterbrook

Tupperware? ;-)