1936 P/U Metalshaping

[OldGold360]

You all have been really great at answering the questions I have asked regarding my ‘36 pickup that I am building. So I thought I would share what I’m working on this weekend. On my cab, the back panel and roof of my pickup is rough. The damage to my back panel comes up higher than the replacement panels would cover so here is my process I used to build a replacement.

I started out by cutting out my panel and adding some compound shape to it with a sheetmetal power hammer that is only 5 years newer than the truck. I used a couple of body sweeps to check the shape to make sure it’s the same shape as the original. The power hammer does a great job of adding a low crown to the panel without leaving any hammer marks.

[OldGold360]

Next I figured out the shape of the lower bead and used modern technology and 3D printed tooling to add the bead to the panel using a pullmax machine.

[OldGold360]

After bending the lower edge in the brake, I 3D printed the shape of the bead in the center to add to a simple hammer form I quickly made to bend the edge at the bump in the bead. I clamped to the table and turned the edge using mallets and corking tools.

There are many other ways to complete this process, but this is the way I did it and I am happy with the results. Thanks for looking.

[36and63]

Impressive metal working skills - Keep the updates coming on your project.


Pat

[deuce5wndw]

You are a very talented metal worker! Keep the progress reports coming!
Dale

[Wehill99]

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I just spent today working on the same section of my 36 truck!
Unfortunately my shop doesn’t have all the tools that yours does. I purchased the lower edge panel and welded in a large patch panel above mimicking what you have.
Your panel will be much easier to keep flat. I’ll send pictures when finished

[Heard]

Ok OldGold, you have the skills and tools I WISH I had. Fess up, I need a little bit about your background. You don't just go buy a power hammer and Pullmax and turn out stuff like this.

BTW....love the mid '30s pickups. I have a '35 I'm working on.

Heard

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by Wehill99

I just spent today working on the same section of my 36 truck!
Unfortunately my shop doesn’t have all the tools that yours does. I purchased the lower edge panel and welded in a large patch panel above mimicking what you have.
Your panel will be much easier to keep flat. I’ll send pictures when finished

I'm fortunate that the rear of my cab was virtually pristine so all I had to do was sand it. I'm SO glad. I couldn't even do THAT now that I am in my 90th year and virtually useless. LOL

[Clem Clement]

Lawson: You are very valuable to us all.
Clem

[OldGold360]

Thanks for the kind words. I’ll post some updates as I progress.

Originally Posted by Heard

Ok OldGold, you have the skills and tools I WISH I had. Fess up, I need a little bit about your background. You don't just go buy a power hammer and Pullmax and turn out stuff like this.

BTW....love the mid '30s pickups. I have a '35 I'm working on.

Heard

Some people probably do, but it’s taken me over 20 years to not only find, but also afford the equipment that I have. I’ve been a full time metalshaper for over 21 years (half my life) and 16 of those years has been self employed. This ‘36 pickup is the first vintage vehicle project I’ve done for myself in 20 years. I figured it was time to build something for myself. Good luck with your ‘35.

[Zeke3]

Very nice, thanks for sharing your work with us.

[flatford8]

Nice work!....I’ve got a ‘37 for the next project and I’m looking forward to your updates....thanks for taking the the time to post them......Mark

[OldGold360]

No problem. Just trying to pitch in around here.

Update: I fit and TIG welded the panel in place this morning. I have some planishing to do on and around the welds, but moving forward nonetheless. If you’re wondering... I did have the cab media blasted and, for the first time, applied Picklex 20 to the cab to prevent flash rust prior to primer. The rear panel of the cab had a strange reaction and almost looks rusted, but don’t worry... I did wire brush the weld seam prior to welding. I don’t know if this is normal for Picklex to do this, but I don’t like what it did. The rest of the cab turned out great. I figured I should use my own personal project as the guinea pig vs testing on a clients project.

[hotcoupe]

Nice clean,accurate work. I'm impressed! Thanx for posting, are you a member @ "allmetalshaping".
Tom
Tom

[OldGold360]

Originally Posted by hotcoupe

Nice clean,accurate work. I'm impressed! Thanx for posting, are you a member @ "allmetalshaping".
Tom
Tom

I am, though I am not active on there.

[Tinker]

nice work!

[corvette8n]

Wow you are very talented, thanks for the pictures, interesting project.

[FlatheadTed]

Looks good .

[Frank Miller]

I'm lucky to have a friend with a metal shaping shop. I hang out and build stuff at my leisure and in return have access to a bunch of tools. I've had the pleasure of meeting some great people as well.

www.proshaper.com

[Frank Miller]

Anyone interested in Wrays youutube channel
Www.youtube.com/c/proshaper
There is an English wheel video i made the frame for. I make a came in the latest shrinking disc video.

[rotorwrench]

Your power hammer did as good a job as a Pullmax. I can't see how it's made but it is certainly working well for you.

[Jeff/Illinois]

Wow that is cool, I admire your skill

[OldGold360]

Thanks for the kind words. I’ll share some more progress as time allows.

[29A]

Just saw this thread, very impressive metal shaping. Your welds are pretty long did you have any trouble with warping? Are you going to make the cab corners also ?

[OldGold360]

Originally Posted by 29A

Just saw this thread, very impressive metal shaping. Your welds are pretty long did you have any trouble with warping? Are you going to make the cab corners also ?

Thank you. Everything is TIG welded and I try to weld as long and fast as possible. Naturally the metal moves and shrinks when heat is applied, but I correct it as I go with hammer and dolly, stretching the weld back out and making sure everything is as it should be before I continue with the next weld. Sometimes I’ll follow up with a planishing hammer if I really want to flatten the weld. I will most likely make the cab corners since they’re not available and what’s left of mine isn’t worth saving.

[Zeke3]

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OldGold, what are you using for filler rod for welding sheet metal? Thanks for all the beautiful work, I am looking forward to the cab corners you come up with.

[OldGold360]

I used .045” ER70s-2 filler rod. Gap between panels is tight. I push the puddle and not much filler rod is used. Being a small TIG weld, this allows me to flatten the weld and stretch the shrunk metal simultaneously. I’ve used smaller filler rod from my 110v mig wire, but the .045” is readily available and I get good results with it.

I’m still hoping to come up with some cab corners. I don’t have much time to work on my pickup so buying some would move me along faster. Thanks

[Zeke3]

I wondered if you might be using some softer wire, like RG45, thanks for the information.

[rotorwrench]

The RG45 is a lot easier to work. The ER70 stuff is pretty hard. It has to be to survive the wire feeders. A tight joint won't need much filler though. A lot depends on the gauge thickness of the metal.

[OldGold360]

I do not like RG45 rod for TIG welding. It is a rod more intended for O/A welding anyways. I have used ER70 for 20+ years. When TIG welded, it is plenty soft enough to flatten the weld by hand and effortless when smoothing the weld via planishing hammer or power hammer. So many people these days are looking for alternative filler rods that result in softer, more malleable welds or welds that grind easier rather than learning better techniques. A good sheetmetal TIG weld will require very little welding, if any at all.

[r_reed]

great post, i enjoy seeing how this work is done. wouldn't tackle it myself, i have great respect for metal shapers.

[vilanar]

I´m using 0,032 Mig wire when Tig-welding sheetmetal and like OldGold said not too much of work after welding . I was wondering what kind of plastic wire did you use when you 3D printed those dies ? How do they hold together with CR steel ? And what kind of program you used ? I'm not familiar with 3D and was thinking is that something worth learning....
well, new skills are always worth learning....

[OldGold360]

Originally Posted by vilanar

I´m using 0,032 Mig wire when Tig-welding sheetmetal and like OldGold said not too much of work after welding . I was wondering what kind of plastic wire did you use when you 3D printed those dies ? How do they hold together with CR steel ? And what kind of program you used ? I'm not familiar with 3D and was thinking is that something worth learning....
well, new skills are always worth learning....

I used PLA filament just because that is all I have but there are better choices that would hold up better, such as ABS. The PLA worked fine but any sharp details are lost after a few pieces are made. Since I just needed one, it worked fine. I have some repairs to make on my fenders and will make the pullmax tooling from steel or aluminum to retain the sharpness present in the outer bead. I got my 3D printer about a year ago and don’t regret it. It’s been great for quick tooling, prototyping, shop organization, toys for the kids, etc. I use SolidWorks or Fusion360 for modeling. Fusion360 is really easy to take from drawing to 3D print. I’ve been looking for foundry that is willing to do lost PLA castings in steel and aluminum. This will really make the printer worthwhile to me.

[vilanar]

Thanks for the response. I thought also that with steel the life of the die will be limited. I work a lot with alu, so with that they should hold better. I have made some dies out of POM
and it works great with alu. Making Pullmax tooling out of steel with milling machine and grinders is time consuming task , but they last long time even without hardening.
That foundry thing would be awesome...

[OldGold360]

Originally Posted by vilanar

Thanks for the response. I thought also that with steel the life of the die will be limited. I work a lot with alu, so with that they should hold better. I have made some dies out of POM
and it works great with alu. Making Pullmax tooling out of steel with milling machine and grinders is time consuming task , but they last long time even without hardening.
That foundry thing would be awesome...

Yeah, I really don’t like to make pullmax tooling out of metal because they do take a bit of time. It’s nice taking 10 minutes and program some dies and then let the 3D printer do all the work. I need to take some time and learn more about filaments because there might be a better choice for die material. I do have a cnc plasma and that saves on time, but profiling the lead in/out and clean up still takes more time than I’d like to spend. I’m always looking for ways to speed things up.