Dagger Tools Hard Wood SlapStix Slapper, our latest addition to the worlds no. 1 selection of wood and steel metal working surface slappers. Ideal for sheet metal radius corners, window frames, hammer forms (inside or outside edge), and difficult to access surfaces in all alloys. Like our plastic SlapStix but in hard maple to allow simple SlapStix surface modifications allowing it to work on most any application. Sometimes called a forming bat. 14” O.A.L, 2” wide, 2” radius at the crown /radius of the SlapStix face, slowly flattening to the handle end. Forming face is 10” long. Weight: 1.1lbs. Proudly, Made in Michigan. For auto body repair & restoration, metal shaping, metal working, sheet metal repair & forming, metal art forming.
Key design features of a Hard Wood Surface Slapper for raising metal:
· Hard Maple has been determined over the last 45 years to have the best grain structure to weight density for this type of a metalworking tool. Hickory grain structures tend to shear/split easily along grain boundaries are not the best choices and will typically have ¼ of the life to a dense grain structured hard wood like hard maple.
· A Positive balance feel is vital, and a handle design that provide work surface position and grip softness that aids in minimizing the effects of acceleration on the hand.
· Length & width of blade should be relative to surface area to be stretched. For over 45 years slappers have been made larger in width and smaller in width, in the last 20 years the 2 ¼” wide slapper has been deemed the most appropriate, both in actual weight to metal raising stretching capacity and for the best all-around access to a surface. In the mid `1980’s leather covers were added to the slapper to even further create a non-marring effect on the material and even more so on aluminum. In 2008 after prolong testing a weighted slapper was created by adding internally and additional ½ pound of weight to increase blow force/inertia which increase slapper capacity or can expedite the forming process even on thinner metals.
· Slapper should be sized to allow best access to surface access of t-dolly’s, sheet metal forming handle dollies, jumbo sheet metal forming heads, and metalworking stake tools so that the get the most out of your edge shaping over dolly work.
· For years short run stamping and or more intricate stampings have utilized wood slappers to pre stretch specific stamping zones prior to pressing, auto body restoration has used slappers to create 2-D/3D , and reverse stretched surfaces and forms in sheet metal, aerospace to put camber in to a wide range of surfaces. Wood Slappers one of the most misunderstood but necessary hand tools in sheet metal fabrication.