It's a peculiar name for a tool. In case you are wondering what they are and what they do, here is a description lifted from the Stakesys website.
"Slappers are one of the most versatile tools used in metal shaping and no metalshaper should be without one. They can be used to rough out a panel or to add a crown in larger panels such as bonnets and door skins by naturally stretching the panel as you concentrate the large face of the slapper on the sheet in conjunction with a shot bag, staked dolly or former.
They are the correct tool for finishing a return over a former or staked dolly and unlike mallets and hammers the large face of the slapper doesn’t leave any dents, maring or surface roughness whatsoever. They are used in a raking motion over the forming piece rather than like a hammer blow which allows your sheet to be accurately formed with virtually no surface deformation".
I missed out on a few slappers at a local car boot the other week. They are just shaped lumps of wood, plastic or metal, so I thought I'd have a try at making my own to make myself feel better after missing out. A quick bit of googling and I've found a how-to video and a pattern, so most of my thinking and planning is done for me.
Video here.
Pattern here.
I don't have any hardwood, but I do have a big lump of softwood to have a try with.
Roughed out using a jigsaw and handsaw. The wood blank is deeper than the jigsaw blade. I've made the tool a bit deeper to give it a bit more mass, the wood I'm using isn't particularly dense.
I've ground the shape in using a wood carving attachment on the angle grinder.
Electric plane used on the base to ensure it is flat. The handle isn't symmetrical but it fits in the hand nicely. Hands aren't individually symmetrical either. I've watched enough Forged in Fire videos to know not to make a handle too round.
A strip of leather to cover the bottom. This was a little pricey but I have enough material to make a few more. I could end up using the leather on other projects instead. I wasn't sure what I to buy, so I bought the thick 4mm material. It turns out it is good strong stuff. The eye/grommet kits are cheap on Ebay and could come in handy for other projects too.
The leather end wasn't cut straight so a sliver was sliced off to even it up. This produced a practice piece to play with. The punch is sharp and works nicely.
Front. First go. I think there is a balance to be struck between making sure the grommet is knocked together sufficiently and overdoing it and leaving it all misshapen. Not quite there yet.
Back
Leather strip cut to length and "grommeted".
A fun little project.
"Slappers are one of the most versatile tools used in metal shaping and no metalshaper should be without one. They can be used to rough out a panel or to add a crown in larger panels such as bonnets and door skins by naturally stretching the panel as you concentrate the large face of the slapper on the sheet in conjunction with a shot bag, staked dolly or former.
They are the correct tool for finishing a return over a former or staked dolly and unlike mallets and hammers the large face of the slapper doesn’t leave any dents, maring or surface roughness whatsoever. They are used in a raking motion over the forming piece rather than like a hammer blow which allows your sheet to be accurately formed with virtually no surface deformation".
I missed out on a few slappers at a local car boot the other week. They are just shaped lumps of wood, plastic or metal, so I thought I'd have a try at making my own to make myself feel better after missing out. A quick bit of googling and I've found a how-to video and a pattern, so most of my thinking and planning is done for me.
Video here.
Pattern here.
Wooden Slapper Template - Pro Shaper Sheet Metal LLC
Top View of the Wooden Slapper Side view of the Wooden Slapper
www.proshaper.com
I don't have any hardwood, but I do have a big lump of softwood to have a try with.
Roughed out using a jigsaw and handsaw. The wood blank is deeper than the jigsaw blade. I've made the tool a bit deeper to give it a bit more mass, the wood I'm using isn't particularly dense.
I've ground the shape in using a wood carving attachment on the angle grinder.
Electric plane used on the base to ensure it is flat. The handle isn't symmetrical but it fits in the hand nicely. Hands aren't individually symmetrical either. I've watched enough Forged in Fire videos to know not to make a handle too round.
A strip of leather to cover the bottom. This was a little pricey but I have enough material to make a few more. I could end up using the leather on other projects instead. I wasn't sure what I to buy, so I bought the thick 4mm material. It turns out it is good strong stuff. The eye/grommet kits are cheap on Ebay and could come in handy for other projects too.
The leather end wasn't cut straight so a sliver was sliced off to even it up. This produced a practice piece to play with. The punch is sharp and works nicely.
Front. First go. I think there is a balance to be struck between making sure the grommet is knocked together sufficiently and overdoing it and leaving it all misshapen. Not quite there yet.
Back
Leather strip cut to length and "grommeted".
A fun little project.