What do most of you use for forming stakes for your copper sheet work? I have bought a few (too much $), found a few (garage,estate sales), and am about to make some from some salvaged railroad rail. Any advice or word to the wise?

I have found that the dolly at Harbor Freight is a bargain at around $10 and a trip to the salvage yard will yield several other interesting shapes that can be turned into stakes.

My dad used to own a body shop, and now we do none to little body work, not to mention it is a different business these days, so I took a lot of the body tools we had and converted them for blacksmithing/sheetmetal work.
The ones to look for are called dolly blocks, but I also use all the hammers that we had in the body shop.
You should be able to find a lot of these tools used, like I said the trade has changed and these tools are not used as often in the modern body shop, however restoration shops still use them on a daily basis, there is not nearly as much panel replacing going on in restoration work, they still reshape panels.

welder19

I have found that the dolly at Harbor Freight is a bargain at around $10 and a trip to the salvage yard will yield several other interesting shapes that can be turned into stakes.

I picked it up from my local HF for $6 on sale. I have seen someone on ebay selling it as a spoon swage( it is the exact same one only they grind down the shaft to fit in a anvil) and it has been going for about $30- $40.


Sean

I have bought a few stakes and I use Balls such as large hitch balls and Ball bearings. Also wood works for quick special stakes.

I've been trying to learn raising. I've made all my tools...including my raising hammer made from steel plate and old spring, one raising stake made from two large bolts, one raising stake from some odd piece of steel picked up from dump and one planishing stake from old acetylene bottle cap. Here's some pics.

Walker, If you weld the holes closed on that cap and fill it with sand it will be a lot quieter and noise frindler on the neighborhood. If you look on the auto restoration sites you will see a lot more ideas for stakes and forming tools. I like your hammer and stake.