How To Shrink Sheet Metal With Hammer And Dolly

Put your dolly behind the metal use your shrinking hammer and smack the metal using the dolly to absorb the impact and accept the rebound.

How to shrink sheet metal with hammer and dolly.

The idea was that if the hammered metal went up it was being stretched and if it went down it had shrunk. Using hand tools and machines. The metal worker finds the dent in the metal then places the dolly on the back side of the damaged area. Then remove the tool and move it over so the fork will roll the metal over the other side of the fork by twisting the metal the other direction.

Use a permanent marker to mark the area you need to shrink this is critical as once you get going you can easily lose the spot. Using a rosebud torch tip heat the center of the metal to be shrunk. Then twist the handle of the tool to twist the metal around one side of the fork. There are many ways to shrink.

The test was to hammer on dolly on one spot and measure what happened. First use your shrinking hammer and see what you can do to tighten up the metal with that. This is where the tuck shrinking fork from a few weeks back comes into play. I have identified 14 distinct ways to shrink.

This will tighten up that specific spot. Start by inserting the fork into the edge of the sheet metal at the desired depth of the shrink you want to make. Using care and finesse he then begins to tap the metal from the other side using the hard steel dolly as a backing plate for the hammer blows. You are looking for a nipple to form in the center.