Rassling fenders

[Royal Ryser]

I'm working on fenders, off of the car. It's like wrestling hogs!
I'm wondering if any of you has invented some kind of frame to fasten the fenders to while you work on them. At this point, I am doing the metal work. A frame would be good for the painting, too. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Royal

[Barry-ct]

Most body shops have a "X" frame that has webbing to hold it open, Kind of like a folding chair design. Has foam padding on the pipe to prevent marring of your bodywork and they can paint on them. Look on Craigslist or even Harbor freight for it.

[V12Bill]

I use an old folding picnic table. The fender lays flat and doesn't walk off like it would with a rack. Made a rack once and it wasn't a good idea. Use welding "C" clamps to hold it in one place on the table.

[41PICUP]

I use a couple of pieces of wood mounts to the fender and then mount the whole thing to an engine stand. Then you can roll it over.

[Lawson Cox]

I do fender repair work on the vehicle. That way you know you are getting everything lined up as it should be.

[john worden]

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After years of working on a wide variety of fenders, hoods, doors, deck lids and other panels I settled years ago on sets of plain old wood saw horses made of 2x4s and in 2 or 3 heights. I can cut em up, drive nails or screws in them, stack them or build a unique set of 2 or 3 quickly depending on the job. Clamp wood on for extensions etc. I use them for mounting parts in the paint booth as well. They work great for supporting sheets of plywood for table tops too.
Low tech all the way.

[B-O-B]

I'm with John Worden on this one. I have saw horses all over the place & you can stack one on top of the other if they ever get empty. Heh heh he

[rustyrocket]

I dont have pictures but I have seen a jig at a local shop that uses vise grips welded to a length of rod, the rods attach to a base via a machined ball(its been a while since ive seen it) the guy who built it was a machinest that was having his car worked on. I know this is pretty vague.

[34pickup]

Originally Posted by Lawson Cox

I do fender repair work on the vehicle. That way you know you are getting everything lined up as it should be.

I agree. Sometimes you spend hours on end and get the fender looking just right only to find out that it is off just "so much" here and there once you mount it and then have to start over. I gave up and worked on mine on the vehicle.

[Torchie]

Originally Posted by john worden

After years of working on a wide variety of fenders, hoods, doors, deck lids and other panels I settled years ago on sets of plain old wood saw horses made of 2x4s and in 2 or 3 heights. I can cut em up, drive nails or screws in them, stack them or build a unique set of 2 or 3 quickly depending on the job. Clamp wood on for extensions etc. I use them for mounting parts in the paint booth as well. They work great for supporting sheets of plywood for table tops too.
Low tech all the way.

Same for me. Here is a pic of my 41 fenders on saw horses. The wood makes it easy to use decking screws or clamps or whatever you need to hold them in place. Rarely have a problem with fitment once fenders were back on the car.
Torchie.

[john worden]

Trial fitting during repair/straightening is an important step.
It's just that some damage is physically impossible to reach on a car mounted panel.

[Royal Ryser]

Thanks for some really good ideas.
Royal

[jimalabam]

Good advice from several above posts. Re. Rassling with Hogs comment - Reminds me of an old saying - "Arguing With a Parts Man, is like Rassing with a pig in the mud - After awhile, you realize the Pig likes it." ...