Power Hammers

Book excerpt: Previously the domain of large factories and certain old-school fabricators, power hammers are now available to hot rodders and collector-car restoration shops. As more and more fabricators consider the purchase of a power hammer there comes the need for a book explaining which hammer to buy and how best to use this fabricator's super tool. If it takes two hours to make a quarter panel for a Ferrari on an English Wheel, the same panel can be crafted on a power hammer in less than 30 minutes by a fabricator with a good working knowledge of this reborn technology. Author Longyard includes detailed step-by-step photos of well-trained and well-known craftsmen working with both steel and aluminum. He takes each project from the first planning session to the finished piece. The projects include both shrinking and stretching, plus the why and how of using a buck to guarantee accuracy.