Hey guys! My names Luke I'm 18 and I was just wondering how I can get started with metal shaping..my grandfather built 3 1949 Mercury's over 30 years but has sadly p***ed away. I just don't think you can go to metal shaping cl***es around here. How did you all get started? And what did you go to school for? Thanks Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
There's tons of videos online showing metal shaping techniques. This guy has a bunch of them on his site. http://www.lazzemetalshaping.com/in...lts/category_id=5/home_id=5/mode=cat/cat5.htm There are others as well, and several online sources for longer tutorials in DVD format that can be ordered for reasonable prices. At the bottom line, any instruction can only show the basics, and its practice, and lots of it, that'll develop your skills. The nice thing about it is that you don't need a quarter million bucks worth of cnc stuff to do the work.
watch the lazze videos... check out http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/index.php for lots of info... there's a wealth of knowledge here on the HAMB... and get a tree stump, mallet and start beating metal. so damn much fun. i'm no professional metal shaper, but have done my fair share. never went to school for it... never took any cl***es. just started banging on **** and reading stuff online. i did go to school for welding & was a fabricator before getting into sheetmetal, but it's really a different world so don't think it helped all that much.
I started on a $30 car my dad bought for us boys to mess around with. Then I did the $250 truck he bought for us several years later. 40 years later I do my own stuff, part time. I don't do top quality work...but I can get them looking ok. Main thing is to get a hammer in your hand and play with metal.
Get hold of David Gardiner's (Mindover) DVD at Metalshapingzone.com Best money I ever spent on metal shaping - the techniques he shows use all hand tools, making it much more accessible (and cheaper to get started). It is a really good idea to work on mastering hand tools first, whether or not you graduate to using machines later. You need to develop an understanding how metal moves, after that it is practice, practice, practice..... Also check out Metalmeet.com and Allmetalshaping.com for guidance as well as regular 'meets' organised all over the world. Nothing like working alongside others to speed up your learning journey....
Lazze always teaches in his videos there's only 4 things you can do with a piece of sheet material...... Cut, bend, shrink and stretch. That's probably the most useful piece of information I've learned about metalshaping. Once you start there you are on your way. Lots of good advice has already been listed above. YouTube of course has lots of material to watch and learn from. I'd also add Ron Covells dvds as pretty good sources for information. The english wheel one specifically.
Check trade/ technical schools in your area. They have many welding cl***es and maybe if you are lucky a bodyshop cl***. Some of them even offer after work cl***es for people already out of school.
Pretty good advice all around. I'd agree with starting out very basic with minimal tools and by watching what videos I could find on the net or buy. Buy quality tools as you go as they just tend to make it a bit easier to do what you want to do with the metal. I've found that this book http://www.amazon.com/Martin-BFB-Bumping-Manual-Instruction/dp/B001GUZP4O is a lot of help as it was originally written when hand tools were all most tin benders had to work with.
You might want to post where you are . There are many folks here that would help you get started if you live in their neighborhood.
Get a few basic body hammers and dolly's. Get a used fender with some curves, something mid 70's or earlier. Watch some you tube videos. Put a dent in the fender then try to work it back to shape, keep doing it. Get some flat steel and try to make a consistent bowl shape. make a sand bag with heavy fabric or leather. I started practicing with a flat access panel from the side of a washing machine, cut into 4 pieces and a ball peen hammer, you don't have to spend a lot on material for practice.
Check your library for some DVDs. I found some to rent/borrow and glad I did before buying them- they were useless. I'd have to stop in to find out what they were again, tho.
In a few short paragraphs, you've shown politeness, good grammer (indicates to me attention to detail), and a respect for your elders...that'll go a long way towards someone taking you under their wing and teaching what they know. Be patient and persitent and it'll come. <-------- btw, the roll pan in my avatar was my first ever outside, gotta-look-good,custom panel. No fancy equiptment..hammer, dolly,welder. It was an unbelievable amount of fun, a great learning experience, and a lot of satisfaction when it was done.
Can you get ahold of your Grandfathers's tools? You will also need a metal file. Get a torch set and or a mig welder for fabrication. I started with a $75 car my father bought me. I learned to arc weld sheetmetal (try it some time!!!!) at 15. 2^ have someone else smash the fender with a pipe, then fix it.
As has already been stated,there are a lot of videos and armed with basic had tools and a junk fender or hood you can start hammering away. HRP
yes! I have got ahold of my grandfathers tools, there is a lot of dollys,hammers, files etc. I also have welders,torches that im familiar with at my dads shop, also I have a 49 ford pickup I was thinking about smashing the fender in on.. tough to think about doing it hahaha!
thanks man, hammer and dollys is all iv got now too.. I want to save up and buy a beadroller, they look super fun.
Check out Chopolds air cleaner tech article he did for a air cleaner for his 61 Dodge custom. I am just finishing mine great article and easy to do with basic hammer, dolly and welder lots of variations to really have fun with like everyone has said start hammering and take your time.
Luke--If Marshall says he wants to show you, I`d get in a car, truck, motorcycle, train, Greyhound, sailboat, whatever you can muster....If he says you are a good learner, maybe you could come a few hours further South and i`ll put my two cents worth in....
Iam going to a Winfield two day cl*** next week.All I can tell you is find someone near you that knows how and hang out with them.Lazze videos are excellant!!There has to be something up your way to attend,even if you have to drive half a day to do it,DO IT!!
Book "the Key to Metal Bumping" is a good start. Originally written for collision repair the basics still apply today for our purposes. Google it and shop around, prices vary widely. At the bottom of the scale the info per buck can't be beat. Ed
thanks for the support, id definitely be interested in setting something like this up! I could bring whatever you guys wanted me too
Luke--Send Marshall a PM and tee up your visit with him first. He has enough going on that I would tie on to whatever he decides to do. Bear in mind that I would be talking about a few days or a week at the most, and we would have to figure out where to have you stay........If you are serious, there may also be some guys in BC that you could go to. B&N Hot Rods comes to mind....
Luke you could really speed up your learning curve by getting to one of Peter Tomm***ini's cl***es - there is one in Vancouver 3-5 October http://allmetalshaping.com/showthread.php?t=11343&highlight=vancouver His DVD set is another one that is well worth the money spent: http://www.handbuilt.net.au/
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