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Old 04-28-2022, 06:24 AM
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idickers idickers is offline
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Default Filler for hammerform

I need to make a simple hammer form. To make construction simple I could make it out of some 2x4 lumber, but I need some epoxy filler that could fill in the gaps between the 2x4's and stand up to flow-forming 18 ga steel with a 5x or 7x rivet gun. Any recommendations for filler?
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Old 04-28-2022, 11:02 AM
rustreapers rustreapers is offline
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Default Filler

I worked in a wood pattern shop in the 60,s and they use bono mix with fiberglass resin + fiberglass hardener. Glue, gap filler and very hard, don't forget the screws.
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Old 04-28-2022, 05:40 PM
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Originally Posted by rustreapers View Post
I worked in a wood pattern shop in the 60,s and they use bono mix with fiberglass resin + fiberglass hardener. Glue, gap filler and very hard, don't forget the screws.
That sounds like quite a concoction, I'll give it a try.
Thanks!
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Old 04-28-2022, 05:45 PM
skintkarter skintkarter is offline
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Ian, are you just wanting to fill the radius between two bits of 4x2?

Would these not just disappear when you carve the shape?

Some clever folk on here re hammerforms. Perhaps a picture of the intended part would spark some comments.
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Old 04-28-2022, 05:50 PM
JimRussell JimRussell is offline
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Ian, I've seen folks use the fiberglass reinforced bondo to line hammerforms. They used a hammer to form, not an air hammer, so I don't know if it would hold up to the air hammer.
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Old 04-28-2022, 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by skintkarter View Post
Ian, are you just wanting to fill the radius between two bits of 4x2?

Would these not just disappear when you carve the shape?

Some clever folk on here re hammerforms. Perhaps a picture of the intended part would spark some comments.
I'm just trying to make a quick hammer form with material I have on hand, and mostly it's filling in gaps between adjacent 2x4's. I could probably make it without the filler, but I thought I'd see if I could learn something while I'm at it.
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Old 04-28-2022, 06:49 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by idickers View Post
I'm just trying to make a quick hammer form with material I have on hand, and mostly it's filling in gaps between adjacent 2x4's. I could probably make it without the filler, but I thought I'd see if I could learn something while I'm at it.
I know "form blocks" pretty well.
In the aviation world, where "form blocks" and "rivet gun forming" got started about 90 years ago, aluminum sheet is the usual metal formed, and is formed in wood, over wood, and around wood. High-production in factories across the USA used this method to make a couple-hundred thousand ++ airplanes in WW2.

I have also made and used them for 18ga steel and used a 5X rivgun to make the shapes I needed.
I learnt that the impact imparted at that level of shaping made my wood forms go splinter-wise rapidly.
Thenceforth I used steel frames and steel bracketry to adequately support / reinforce my forms.
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Old 04-28-2022, 08:17 PM
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I know "form blocks" pretty well.
I have also made and used them for 18ga steel and used a 5X rivgun to make the shapes I needed.
I learnt that the impact imparted at that level of shaping made my wood forms go splinter-wise rapidly.
Thenceforth I used steel frames and steel bracketry to adequately support / reinforce my forms.
Thanks, Kent. You are of course my inspiration for this method. I thought I'd try wood first, but I may end up making a run to the metal store for some drops that fit the shape.
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Old 04-29-2022, 05:48 AM
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Actually Kent, I think you've convinced me to skip the wood and go right to metal for the forming block on this project with 18 ga steel. My problem is that I don't have any woodworking tools to easily make a form out of hardwood. But I do have the metal shaping tools, so I can probably pick up some scraps from the metal yard and weld and grind them into shape faster than I could a wood buck, and it will be strong enough to take a beating from the rivet hammer.
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Old 04-29-2022, 05:26 PM
crystallographic crystallographic is offline
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Actually Kent, I think you've convinced me to skip the wood and go right to metal for the forming block on this project with 18 ga steel. My problem is that I don't have any woodworking tools to easily make a form out of hardwood. But I do have the metal shaping tools, so I can probably pick up some scraps from the metal yard and weld and grind them into shape faster than I could a wood buck, and it will be strong enough to take a beating from the rivet hammer.
Just the way I would recommend for this....
Off cuts, and scraps and bits will weld together.
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