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Evening Folks

What tools would I be needing to buy for doing body work and restoration work

I got the mini to restore body wise still and also I brought a mark 1 mx5 aswell so no doubt ill need to weld that at some point

thanks
Stephen

There are tools for every budget, and workspace. Are you more interested in basic hand tools or body tools as suggested in the second part of your post?

For hand tools, as a start you will need the usual assortment of inch size spanners and sockets. The across-the-flat sizes from 3/8" to 5/8" are must-haves with larger sizes being needed for specific tasks. It should go without saying that you may want to supplement those with some adjustable wrenches and vise (mole) grips. Water pump (slip joint) pliers are also very handy. Screwdrivers in various sizes are important. The "cross head" screws are often not the "Phillips" profile but Pozidrive so it is handy to have both of those. You will continue to collect tools as long as you work on cars.

For bodywork there are so many possible tools that what you buy will depend largely on the space you have to work in and your budget. You will need cutting tools that may include air saws, die grinders with cut-off wheels, air chisels, etc. Of course... that means you need an air compressor. You can find some electric tools suitable for cutting as well such as nibblers, grinders, and plasma cutters. I would say that a must-have electric tool is an angle (disk) grinder with various types of stones, wire brushes, flap wheels, and cut-off disks. You can use it for many tasks. When it is time to put the pieces back together, a welder will be handy. Gas-type MIG units are not too expensive and generally the most common in use. You can go with an inverter TIG if you like but they are slower to use and a bit more expensive. On a tight budget, many will choose flux-core MIG welding. It has its place but many people who have started with it and switched to gas MIG will not go back. Along with those cutting and welding tools you will need an assortment of body hammers, dollys, spoons, perhaps a slide hammer, and lots of different sanding tools. As with the mechanics tools, once you start bodywork you will identify a lot of tools you need to complete the task and the longer you do it, the more tools you will acquire.

My current tool box is massive I'm a mechanic anyways

It's generally a list of body working tools I need I see you did list a few at the bottom thank you I'm trying to build another box up with though sorts of tools in at the moment

May see if local college does a course on body work thanks
Stephen

Whats in my body box

*Small air saw
Small air grinder
*narrow air belt sander (for grinding down spotwelds)
large std grinder
***couple of steel dollies and body hammers (couldent be without these)
Joddler and hole punch
Various visegrip clamps
spot weld drills 6 and 10mm
*small air sandblaster
copy of razzle
small chisels
*splitting chisel
air hammer
various wire brushes

erm erm theres loads more shit but ive * the most important things

Is the copy of razzle used for masking purposes or do you have some other cunning use for it, ha ha?

Razzle. Gosh, that's a blast from the past. Finding a copy in the bushes as a lad.

I remember something called the "Razzle Stack".

Hi Stephen

As has been said it depends on your budget, most hand tools and a welder wont be that expensive.
For panel beating kit look out for really old kit, it comes up on ebay from time to time and feels much better in the hand. Nearly all new tools (hammers in particular) are utter crap, mass produced rubbish. Old fashioned hand tools were made with real care and the craftsmen that used them had good working relationships with the blacksmiths who made them. Tools like this will never be made again unless you either learn to make them yourself of commission expensive one offs. Sadly its just not commercially viable to produce best quality as there is very little demand for it now. If you see old tools going cheap snap them up.

A decent 5" angle grinder with variable speed control is a good investment, personally I like the high end Metabo range and the variable speed is very useful for more control. Go for higher wattage whatever brand you choose but stay away from cheapies. I would say Flex or Fein are some of the best, Metabo are good, blue Bosch or Makita are ok.
I am an amateur when it comes to metal work, its just a hobby for me but I use a lot of air tools professionally albeit not for metalwork.

I would NOT suggest air tools, don't get me wrong they are great and safer to use but a decent compressor is very expensive and you'll need a good one to run most of the tools that have been mentioned. Piston compressors are noisy as well so can only be used in industrial areas/middle of nowhere. If you really want to invest then something like a small hydrovane compressor would be quiet and efficient. We have a big screw compressor at work, it will run 8 or 9 high consumption air tools at once and is so quiet a conversation could be had next to it while its running.

Ollie

Thanks for the List currently searching Ebay and asking a few people I know see what they have

and Ill be buying a compressor for home soon but only a 25 liter so do minor jobs


thanks