Attn Tin-Knockers.....

[ZRX61]

Just came across these books the other day, first 2 volumes arrived today:
http://www.autofuturist.org/Table_of_Contents.html

vol 3 & 4 for release late feb, 5, 6 & 7 in april

absolutely fantastic books. you won't be disappointed..

[ZRX61]

Forgot to add: Quite a few reprints of ad's from companies that supplied tooling to aircraft manufacturers & photo's of the tooling being used.

[ZRX61]

& in related news....made myself a set of (free) Teak sheetmetal slappers today... 2 are close to finished, the other 3 should be done later in the week. Need to find an old leather belt for the faces. The 2 that just need a bit more work on the handles sure look nice with teak oil on them.
I made 8in, 12 in 16in & (2x) 14in (flat & curved). The 12in is going to be V-shaped, the 16in will have a very slight curve.







I can post more pics showing how I made em if anyone is interested.

[Dan K]

I can post more pics showing how I made em if anyone is interested.

I'd be interested.

[ZRX61]

okee doke:)

Bashed a hole with a large forstner bit:





Roughed the handle shape with a dado blade in the radial arm saw:









Shaped the curved face on a 12in disc sander:



Bit more work on the handle:





Rounded some edges:



Then I finished the handles, sanded them all down & gave them 2 coats of teak oil.

You could do all the steps with just a bandsaw & a belt sander. I only used the bandsaw to rough the shape of the one at the front:



I just happened to have the Teak laying around, but you can use also Maple or Ash etc. I'll be putting leather on the face of them, probably hit the thrift store & grab some old belts

Still need to make a V shaped one (or two)

Edit: just made a stubby V shaped one about the same size as the other stubby No pics yet tho.

[tinbender2]

Very nice work.

I made similar slappers from an old shipping pallet. It was made from oak. A little cutting, planing, screwed/glued a few slabs together, cut out shapes on the bandsaw, finished with a disc sander, glued on some leather scraps, and done.

Cost me maybe $5 in materials, much cheaper than store-bought ones.

[bdk]

Places that sell supplies for horses (tack shop?) often have nice thick pieces of leather at a reasonable price.

[ZRX61]

Good call, I'll drop by the local horse place tomorrow

[ZRX61]

Couple of updates:

Book #3 in the series is now available...

and..

Harbor Freight (Horrible Fright) has the autobody post dollies on clearance for less than $6 each. The steel is good enough quality that they can be machined to different shapes other than the football & teardrop. I cleaned out the entire stock at my local store...

[ZRX61]

There was another blinding deal for the tinknockers last week but it was over before I had a chance to post. Amazon had some unbeatable prices on Nicholson files. I ended up with $375.00 worth of files for about $35.00. I'll never have to buy another file as long as I live