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BODY REPAIR TOOLS
Page 87
Page 88
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REPAIRS to the bodies of typical light vehicles based on car chassis are obviously in a completely different category to repairs of heavy commercial vehicle and bus bodies. The body of a car and many light vans is a component of a body/frame structure, and correct alignment of the structure following serious damage in an accident is an all-important part of the repair exercise, because alignment faults could impair the mechanical functioning of the vehicle when it is later driven on the road, It is therefore essential to employ an appropriate jig or the equivalent when the structure is being straightened and repaired to ensure that it is correctly aligned.
The cab and bodywork of a heavier commercial vehicle are more frequently damaged to a serious extent than the chassis components and repairs to the bodywork have normally to be considered separately. Alignment is important with regard to the fit of the doors or shutters, mating the bodywork and chassis and positioning the headlamps correctly. But misalignment cannot affect the operation of the vehicle mechanically.
Many of the techniques employed in straightening, cutting and aligning car-type bodywork can be used for the repair of the bodywork of heavier vehicles. And some of the tools can also be used for chassis repairs which may be important in the interests of utilization economy, Employing tools that derive their power from a supply that is employed for other purposes is also of obvious advantages economically.
The tools offered by the companies mentioned in this article are indicative of the types of body repair equipment in the category under review that are in common use.
APPLIED POWER (UK) LTD.
Greycaine Road, Watford. Herts.
A NEW METHOD of repairing collision damage has recently been evolved by Applied Power a member of the SABRE consortium) that is known as the Blackhawk Kodek FM-10 body/ frame repair system. It can be applied to light trucks as well as cars.
A flat steel base can be mounted level with the floor or on the floor, and damaged vehicles can be rolled or dollied onto the base from any angle. sour corrective pull-type hook-ups can be operated simultaneously by four automatic air-hydraulic pumps, hand pumping being eliminated. The four rams each have a capacity of 10 tons. Push type set-ups can easily be arranged as the base is completely flat.
Five diagnostic gauges are included in the system and a variety of work-saving attachments. All the components of the system can be stored in a specially designed cabinet.
The Blackhawk AEI(-60-3 Damage Dozer Outfit is designed for frame and body straightening. It comprises a basic frame, hydraulic pump/ram unit, a set of heavy-duty axle stands and a variety of ancillary gear, including a tram-trak gauge. This is used for checking frame dimensions to ascertain the degree of distortion before straightening operations are started.
A frame gauge in the Dozer range is of the self-centring type, is adjustable and is fitted with removable mountings. A diamonddetector gauge fits on the top or bottom of a self-centring gauge and provides additional siting pins to assist in the detection of sway and diamond damage.
Known as the Major Porto-Power Assortment, an outfit is available that is based on a pump/ram unit and incorporates a 10-ton press. The outfit is equipped with a comprehensive range of attachments and accessories.
BROOM AND WADE LTD.,
P.O. Box 7, High Wycombe, Bucks.
THE BroomWade Handicut panel-cutting kit consists of a hand impact tool giving up to 3,000 blows per minute on the end of the cutting bit used with it.
Five types of chisel or cutter are supplied in the kit for use on specific work, one of the most useful being a sheet-metal cutter which allows panels to be cut out from the outside of the body,
ATLAS COPCO (GREAT BRITAIN) LTD. Maylands Ave, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.
A WlDE RANGE of air-operated garage tools is made by Atlas Copco AB, and the company points out that the wide variety of jobs for which compressed air can be used gives it a decisive advantage over other forms of power source. Atlas Copco points out that pneumatic tools should operate at a lower pressure (85 psi.) than that required for operating grease guns and lifts and for tyre pumping, for which a pressure of 140 p.s.i. is required.
Air-operated body-repair tools produced by this firm include a chipping hammer which can be used for removing damaged parts from the main structure. It is claimed that removal of a damaged front wing can be completed in less than a minute.
BLACK AND DECKER LTD.
Cannon Lane, Maidenhead, Berks.
THIS firm, which is a member of the SABRE consortium, produces shears, power chisels and so on in addition to a wide variety of drills, grinders, impact wrenches and finishing tools.
V. L. CHURCHILL AND CO. LTD.
P.O. Box No, 3, London Road, Daventty, Northants.
TWO basic body-repair jigs are produced by this company (also a member of the SABRE consortium) which cater for repairs to body/ frame structures of the car and light van type. One is known as the 700 and costs £195 without chain anchors or risers, while the second jig, the 7-700, is designed specifically for BMC models and costs C375. A set for converting the 700 jig to enable it to be used for repairs to BMC vehicles costs £275.
The 700 system provides for the repair of the damaged section "relative to the undamaged sectionwhich is held in the jig with tolerances corresponding to those of the vehicle manufacturer. The vehicle can therefore be restored to its original condition.
In the process of positioning the vehicle on the jig any distortion is immediately apparent. An alignment check can normally be made with little or no dismantling of the structure.
EPCO LTD.
Star Works, Leeds 7,
HYDRAULICALLY operated repair equipment manufactured by Ego() includes Mendadent adapters which are applied to standard types of Flexi-Force rams to enable "tensiontechniquerepairs to be performed. An adapter is clamped or soldered to the part being repaired on opposite sides of the dent and the ram is employed to "pull outthe indentation which, it is claimed, relieves the stresses in the metal without risk of overstretching. The technique is compared favourably to removal of the dent from the inside, which is normally resisted by adjoining rigid sections and may cause folding or further buckling without correcting the contraction of the panel edges.
The ram force of Flexi-Force equipment is controlled to within fine limits, one stroke of the manually operated pump providing a relatively small movement of the ram. A wide variety of outfits is offered and includes the FF/C push-pull composite outfit. In addition to the standard pump, a 6-ton ram and an 8-ton ram, this outfit is equipped with a 3+-ton puller ram and 39 selected adapters, including the Mendadent type. A universal outfit is suitable for repairing running gear as well as bodies and chassis and is equipped with a 3+-ton midget ram as well as a 6-ton and an 8-ton ram.
A special adapter is included in a number of outfits that is known as the HP/10 Wedgie which incorporates its own ram and is designed for spreading operations in confined spaces. The top jaw is shaped for dallying and is serrated to give maximum grip. It has a length of 6in. and its maximum rated load is 15cwt.
Other equipment in the Plexi-Force range of body-repair tools include a pull post, which incorporates a 3+-ton direct pull ram, and a double pull-post, the two posts of which are connected with a horizontal beam that carries the ram bracket. This outfit can provide correction laterally over a distance of 60in. and vertically from ground level to a height of 48in. without the necessity to reposition the vehicle.
INGERSOLL RAND CO. LTD.
165 Queen Victoria Street, London, E.C.4.
A NUMBER of accessories produced by this firm can be fitted to the company's range of electric, and air-operated impact tools to enable them to be used for bodywork repairs. These include five types of chisel, a punch, crimping tool, spot-weld breaker, edging tool, and body-forming tool. The impactors can, of course, be employed for many other types of work and the range comprises some 19 models with torque ratings up to 1,400 ft.lb.
STENOR LTD.
37 Kew Foot Road, Richmond, Surrey.
THE Model 1500 pneumatic hammer produced by Stenor is designed for panel repair work and is capable of 0/3,840 blows per minute. It operates at a pressure of 90 psi. and its air consumption is 3 cu.ft./min. Holes for Klik rivets can be countersunk by the machine.
The hammer is included in the Quick-Kutter heavy-duty panel repair kit, which also includes a 7in. sheet-metal cutter, a 7in. panel cutter, a 7in. spot-weld breaker, a 4in. punch holder. an fin. countersink punch tip and a quickchange spring.
Net cost of the kit is C42 10s.
SYKES-PICKAVANT LTD.
Warwick Works, Kilnhouse Lane, St. Annes-on-Sea, Lancs.
A PUSH-PULL kit is included in the repair equipment made by Sykes-Pickavant la member of the SABRE consortium) that is of the conventional hydraulic type and is suitable for light body iack work. This company specializes in the production of panel repair hand tools which are offered in kit form. For example, the Sykes Master Set No.580 includes five dollies, three hammers, two spoons, a flange tool and adjustable file holder.