Folks Of Interest Fabricators: How Did You Learn Your Trade?

you won't be learning what you want in any school other than the school of hard knocks. first thing I did when I wanted to learn to weld was buy some books and videos (pre internet for me). second thing was to buy a welder. I actually did sign up for a welding cl*** at the local high school but had to drop it when I got a job working swingshift.

 

Get your ged and join a union... ironworkers pipefitters sheetmetal workers...i was a boilermaker...and then get in their apprenticeship... you will be paid an above average wage and you will learn a craft and that will benefit you greatly

 

I went a little different approach. I did graduate high school and even started college but wasn't a good student, not a cl***room type of guy. When I decided I wanted to be a "custom car builder" I dropped out of college and went for it. Started baby steps, I had learned how to paint in high school shop cl***es so I started doing minor bodywork and painting cars on my Mom's driveway. Went to trade school, took the auto collision course, waste of time but met an old bodyman there teaching part time in his retirement. He had a small shop out behind his house where he did side work. I worked weekends for him for free, in return he taught me skills like hammer welding and lead work they didn't teach at school. So now I did custom bodywork + paint. When I decided I wanted to get into ch***is fab I did the same thing. Met a guy whose Dad had a welding shop and he built race cars there after hours. Worked for him, again for free but he taught me a lot of welding and fabricating skills, same with a master mechanic. Worked a lot of free hours but didn't pay tuition and learned from true craftsmen. By now I'm married so I had a real job but worked many hours after the 40 on the job doing side jobs, side money started buying tools. Wasn't long till I was able to rent a shop and go full time. Learned a lot from my mentors but I still had to learn a lot by trial and error, like when I bought a tig, read a book and self taught myself how to use it, same with the english wheel. I've always had an at***ude to try to do anything I wanted, I never said I couldn't do something because I don't know how. Sometimes it was tough, lot's of failures sometimes before I'd figure it out but I have yet to give up. 40 years later and I'm still at it, pretty accomplished car builder/ fabricator yet I still push myself to learn new skills and to improve on the skills I already have. This year I dived into this new computer stuff, built a ot car with modern technology. For a while I was ready to bolt a carb on the damn thing but got it done and drove it the other day, finally figured it out and now have a new skill to offer my customers.
The only downside it has not been a fast process and now I have ton's of skills but old age is rearing it's head, the body is letting me down. All good thou, it's been a fun ride!
I think all you really need is the p***ion and willing to put in the hours.

 

At least get some education at a fabrication skill. Bust your **** to get sharp in math as it's used everyday in the fab business. Find a shop that will hire you to sweep the floors if nothing else. Pick up what you can by watching and then maybe try some basic fab work. Patience is a virtue. I started over 50 years ago in a dirt floor shop on the farm and taught myself to build ch***is, I read a lot and for a while copied other peoples designs for my own projects. After quitting farming I worked 2 jobs plus the ch***is business. It finally evolved into a full time career about 35 years ago. I settled on basic ch***is designs and have stuck with them. I still do a lot of off the wall ch***is fab work and at 72 I still enjoy it. Hard work and perseverance is what made my business work plus the support of my family. If you want something bad enough you will be a success.

 

I think Chip Foose had a quote on Facebook to the effect that the worst thing that's happened lately is the elimination of shop cl***es from high school, in the educator's wrong headed belief that everybody needs to go to college - but to be a little more specific in reply to your original post, I probably learned my fab skills from my Dad, who used to weld my cobbled up parts together until one day he said "there's the welder - now do it yourself. It was an old Lincoln buzzbox, and I managed to weld together a crossmember for my A roadster pickup, and it actually worked - then you build on small successes - making a steering mount, modifying a 50 Olds rear end and trailing arms to work, etc. Maybe one of the most important thing I have learned (and re-learned) is not being afraid to throw something in the trash and start over again when it's not right, which leads to developing the "eye" for what's right. Don't hang around with clowns unless you're looking for a job in a circus - find guys that are serious about developing their skills beyond the "RR" level - and really look to see what makes their work nicer than others, and practice emulating not just the actual physical work they do but their at***udes about the pursuit of quality.
Best of luck.

 

I agree try and find a shop that you can start at the bottom learning everything possible on other option that hasn't been mentioned is at our local community college you can audit cl***es basically you pay for materials only testing is optional and you do not receive credit for the cl***, but you get the experience of the cl*** that you can take with you. Might be something worth looking into with your limited fiances. Hobo Jim

 

...

 

Lots of stuff looks like fun until you actually have a chance to do them. I suggest you join one of Cornfield Customs metal forming cl***es and get your hands dirty. If you still like it, join in another, learn the very basics. Then add a welding cl*** at your local community college. Community welding cl***es usually start with gas and stick welding because stick and gas welding are better at teaching you how to do the process correctly. From there, Mig is an easy step. After you have learned the basics of welding and metal forming, go home and practice. If your still hanging around after a year or two of practice, take another round of both the metal forming cl***es and the next level of welding. You will figure it out from there. Gene

 

You have a positive at***ude with a disire to learn,placed in the right place you will flourish. Settle you will not.
I will be 50 this year and I have felt the need see accomplishments in what I did like yourself when I was younger. It will never change so use it to push yourself get real good and the money will follow.
I came from a single parent that was disabled,no extras to say the least. So I learned early how to survive on very little. This came in handy as I trying to hone some skills.
Drag racing set me on my path. I found a couple of local guys who drag raced t/f and modified motorcycles, every team needs pit help. Payed my entry and I worked on whatever it took. Learned a lot, worked with them a nights getting ready for the next race picking up welding and machine work in small doses.
One guy had a shop he ran during the week,I would work for free 3-4 hours a night learning engine rebuilding. I have had some real good teachers, helped set records and win a championship in the process. We took it seriously and used our heads more of than our wallets.
Invest in tools and equipment and work for free to gain knowledge and experience. That's how a education costs. Time or money.
It's your choice.
Find a good shop and offer your self as a apprentice part time,get a job to put a little coin in the pocket part time as well. Everyone makes out with this. Don't be lazy and put yourself in the bosses shoes. You will go far.
I have had one guy come my way that has done this and his skill set has become quit impressive. In three years he had become a very good welder and can run and set up a mill and lathe like a pro. He just took on a nypd job but has a p***ion and a craft if he ever had
To fall back on.
I hope to hear that you found a way to achieve your goals.
Good luck

 

Winners do what loser won't do. I read once (don't know if is true) that Larry Bird would stay after practice, by himself, and shoot 200 free throws, and look where that extra effort got him.

 

...

 

Welding is good to know, no doubt.
I can't imagine getting thru life without that skill. A career of welding, behind a hood 8-10 hrs a day, playing spark catcher- no way. Back in high school, 2 yr vocational course "welding" - the shop teacher's advice was to concentrate on fabrication skills not settle on a welding job. Own a hood, know how to use it but don't make a living behind it. Weld good enough to p*** a test and that's just a few months of instruction and practice. I took his advice and it was good. I'm p***ing that on

 

Man I feel like I'm reading something I wrote myself. I can really relate.
Just coming to the realization that you made some mistakes and want to make a change is huge.
Early 20s is nothing. When I think back to what I knew then compared to what I know now (age 29) it blows my mind.
Like age 20 I was doing basic stuff. Engine swaps. Parts changing. No welding or fab work really.
As time went on and I needed to do things I didn't know how to do I would pick the brains of people who have done it already, YouTube, Google, BOoks. Trial and error. Lol.
Couldn't pay people so I had to learn it.
I think back to those days of begging people to come help me do things that are effortless today.
Not trying to pat my own back but now ppl come to me for help.
I can make the curved panels I need to patch up my 50s gm's. Custom suspension. Build rears, engines. Subframe/stub jobs, paint jobs.
Anything I want to do.
I acquired a lathe and a mill.
Not much I have to farm out anymore.

I'm very p***ionate about turning wrenches. It's not my job anymore but still takes up all my spare time.

If your serious it comes down to one thing. Put in the work. It takes 10 years to get 10 years of experience. Good luck to you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I started out by taking a 9 month autobody course right out of high school. The course was around $6000, and based on what I have heard about wyotec and Uti I think I got a much better education for a fraction of the cost. There were only 12 students in my cl*** so it was very hands on. They taught mig welding, using the torch, measuring (extremely important) basic metal shaping, the properties of metal (also very important), metal bumping and metalfinishing using a file. We spent the second half of the course applying that knowledge to several pre 1980 restoration projects. The theory was that if you can fix a rusted out beat up 50 year old vehicle, then collision work will be easy.

After the course I started building my model A. I got a job at a collision shop where I worked for 2 1/2 years. In my spare time I continued doing the metalwork/fabrication on my model A and other projects. Now I have been working at a hot rod shop for the past 3 years. I still do all my learning in my own time on my personal projects, I bought a tig welder a year and a half ago and taught myself how to use it. I believe fabricating/metalshaping is something that you can do for 30 years and still not know everything. For that reason I want to always be expanding my skillset and challenging myself

Without learning the basics of how metal works you are basically ******* in the wind. Since school almost everything I have learned has been self taught through trial and error, but I still utilize the basic theory I learned back then. I found in a work place most people weren't willing to take the time to show me how to do things, and the boss isnt going to let you practice on a customers car. I had to start at the very bottom and work my way up.

 

You need to hook up with someone like metalman. Work for them, and learn from them. As others have said, start at the bottom, sweep floors, get coffee, do parts runs, whatever it takes. While you're learning the craft, go to night school and learn some basics of running a small business.

There have been several threads on here with shops that could be your dream job, bemoaning the lack of people that they can hire that will show up and work their ***es of at doing what you want to do. Look those up, get in touch, see if they're still looking. You'll probably have to move, but that's an adventure too.

Good luck.


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I say if you want the cheep way into mechanics since you really don't know if you would like it or not. Get a job at pepboys or somewhere like that and try it out first. I'd skip throwing your money out the window for a school right off the bat. But the usual car tune up mechanics is on a totally different level then fabrication. If you want to fabricate beautiful parts and pieces, I'd say go back to that machine shop school and learn to take some pride in what you do. Holding tolerances is only a matter of dialing in numbers and a little feel for your machine. Find a project that you might enjoy making and study that, with studying your project you will realize that the mathematics isn't that hard at all, in fact it's very simple when you actually apply it to something.
I started Doing metal work when I was 14, I loved making stuff from hand from a very very young age. I've taught myself everything I know, mainly because no one would show me how. So I just watch and learn. I've taught myself how to shape metal, build machinery, machine, tool and die make , mechanical engineering, welding, mechanics, and much more. I'm only 28 and I pretty much out skill most people twice my age. It ain't hard have fun and go with the flow.

 

I had the privilege to have learned from the best of the best
in the southern cal area early 60's ...
BIG list...

 

...

 

Search on "hiring". There are some good bits in those threads, maybe even some leads.


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Simple, took a project to a hot rod shop, got royally ripped off, told them I could do work that poor. Read my *** off, bought the right tools, ruined a lot of steel, and got it right over time. never paid someone to do stuff I can do since. If you really want to learn it, you can.

 

It wouldn't surprise me. I used to have a neighbor from Germany who was a retired Mechanical Engineer, and he said he had to work in the trades before he could move on to the engineering program.

Check with your local community college or vocational school for metal working programs; there are also some high schools that offer adult ed programs, so if you need some help with math, that's a good place to start.[/QUOTE]

I took a 5-month basic machine shop course when I was coming back after my '78 car accident. There was a test before applicants were accepted since there were about 30 seats per semester. I had a 2-year automotive school degree so my math was good. The instructors... real old school Germans. One fought with Germany in WWII. We started out with files and hacksaws. One project, we had to make a double-ended lathe bit with specific shapes and angles on it. After 35 years, I still see the guy who put the program together. I'm one of the few still working in the trade.

I learned a lot as a kid, just by doing things. I had read a book on the Wright Brothers, I must have been 9 or 10. The book mentioned that they made their own blue prints, if it was right on paper, the finished product would be right. So I saved up for a pad of graph paper. I figured out how to scale things myself, and what I drew fit the paper. Today, my CAD skills are strong.

We took our bikes apart and fixed them, garbage picked lawn mowers and cut gr*** to fund projects. Mowers were the stepping stone to bikes with side-shaft motors on them. Boats followed, then cars.

I'm now 61, worked as a machinist in a good shop for 6 years straight, learned a lot. Bought my own machinery and made parts at home as a side business, which I still do but not as much. I'm a hired gun at other shops for setting up CNC mills and doing tool design for them, also do estimating for bids on jobs. I'm a full time manufacturing engineer for a large defense contractor, same company for 35 years with about 9 name changes on the sign out front. I do a lot of estimating, tool design and break down complex jobs that we do in house.

I'm also a fully apprenticed tool and die maker, recognized by NY State. I can do anything in a flat pattern, but don't ask me to any metal forming whatsoever. My body work skills are rudimentary at best. I just went with what I was comfortable with.

I was 26 before my life turned around for me, really never too late to get yourself going in the right direction. I was fixing cars for a living prior to my big car accident. I saw that my brother who barely graduated HS always had work in the machined parts trade, so that's the way I went. I put in countless years earning 2 additional college degrees, my final one was in 2006. I have never been laid off in the last 35 years and made an excellent buck. My brother skilled as he is, has bounced around the past 10 years with 4 or 5 jobs. He's probably $20k a year behind me. This is what a lack of a college degree with do for you in my field.

 

Since the military is no longer an option, I would suggest attending and graduating from a community college. Enroll in a program that does not require math and pre-engineering skills and that would suit your educational background and interests. YOU will succeed if you make up your mind to do so. Have you ever considered becoming a teacher? Your life's experience would certainly help young folks realize the importance of education and not giving up.

 

I saw a sign today that made me think of this thread. It simply said "The ladder of success can't be climbed with your hands in your pockets".

 

I am not a good fabricator ,I can usually get the job done anyway. I'm going to tell you how I did it .I needed a place to live and a way to raise my family . I wasn't going to be able to do that as a rookie fabricator. I took a ****py job that was union, paid very well, lots of benefits and a good retirement. I then went out to my garage and practiced every night that I could and surprisingly improved. The stable income and ability to take care of my family allowed me the freedom to work at a fun time at night . Best of luck.

 

36-3window said: ↑
get a GED , and learn math and how to read measuring devices like tape measures , calipers and micrometers.....you will not be able to do any serious fabrication without that knowledge

What both of these gents said. Congratulations on deciding to change your life as you are young and have your whole life ahead of you. But objective #1 MUST be getting your GED and taking some math courses while at it. Then tackle welding, etc., etc.. Get that GED and then build your dreams on it. Don't give up. Before you know it, you'll be a fabricator.

 

Wait a few years and start dealing with young adults who learned math under the "core curriculum " plan being thought today.

It's been about the last decade or more that "20" is the new "15". Kids make some stupid mistakes and seems they are likely to do so until 25 now a days. This hurts them because they are likely to pay for those dumb mistakes till age 30. That gets them off on a late start towards career skills. This started happening when everyone got a trophy,,, do t get me started.
Dropping out is one of those mistakes. Doing the work and Getting the GED shows that the individual realized the mistake and did the corrective maneuvers. The 20 is the new 15 concept puts them at 13 is the new 18. How can you judge a 18 year olds potential when they are operating at the same level as when 13 years old was a generation or two ago? You know you can't due to the growth in maturity that happens from 13 to 18. There again 23 is the new 18 and 26 is the new 21. Personally I can not stand to interact with many people on an adult level who are at any age under 25. Generally you'll see folks decide to get with the program at age 23 now a days.

You can blame this phenomenon on what ever you like and you'll likely be more than just partially correct. Parents, family values, food, Florida, high fructose corn strip, educational system, politically correctness, video games, sponge bob, technology, chemtrails, media brainwashing, the millennial mindset and the list goes on and on.

 

Exactly! We all see it around us every day. You just nailed it, well said. 75 years ago 18 year olds were expected to be fully formed adults and take care of everything. If I send a 23 year old ***istant to Home Depot to get some bolts they come back 3 hours later overwhelmed with the task, complaining.

(Florida-hahaha!)

 

Damn... Go out to the shop this weekend to work on my truck and get my *** chewed. I asked for some advice, not to get **** on guess that's just how it goes. Whatever. You don't know why my life went the direction it went. I left school because I had to go to work. I was truant because I didn't have a way to get to school, I dropped out to get my GED as had been suggested to me so I could get my license and go to work part time and go to tech school. I dropped out of tech school in part to join the Army. Btw, my schooling was paid for in cash I worked for. Nowadays they put so many restrictions on getting your license in school in Kentucky, I couldn't get one so I left got my GED immediately and got a license then. It wasn't too hard or anything like that and I don't appreciate the remarks about my intelligence. I scored an 89 and 81 on the asvab, I know very few people who have gotten a score anywhere near that high, there are a lot of people who have trouble getting any higher than the 30s. When I took my GED, my prerequisite scores were higher than they had seen go through there, and couldn't understand why I dropped out. I enlisted to join the infantry, nobody understood why but I felt the need to serve my country, it wasn't my choice to go home. Please don't ***ociate me with the lazy fat *** Pokemon millennial ***** retards of what is unfortunately my generation or there about. My friends are all over 40 because I don't ***ociate with the pussies my age. It was after coming back where I ****ed up. Thought I could make a better life in the city but that was my biggest mistake. Got there and the cost of living was beyond my means, rationed the food I bought and frozen my *** off but I didn't take any ****ing handouts. It was suggested I get government ***istance to go back to school but I told them to go to hell. I worked for what I have. Never thought I'd get criticized for trying to get ahead and go to a rewarding job where I loved what I did. Thought that was just a local thing but I guess the rest of the world is ****ed, too. Me? I try and help people out when I can. Because that's the right thing to do. They need to know how to do something I do it. I've wrenched on several coworkers cars and wouldn't take pay for it because I didn't think it was right. They supplied the parts and I did it after my shift. I've given "friends" parts they needed to finish their projects for free because if I wasn't using something they neede I thought I ought to help them out. Then they act like they're en***led to this and that and boohoo my shoulder is ****ed and I supposedly can't work anymore because driving a forklift was so damn hard. Yeah, right. Rant over. What was I talking about?

 

Whatever you were or are talking about it sounded awfully familiar to me.

I've heard that same long winded rambling type of story before with different variations.

I bet that I'd hear it from almost every guy standing on the corner holding a cardboard sign.

It's always an excuse.

Vicky hit the nail almost on the head.
I've been teaching welding to supposedly young "adults" for 19 years now and at times I am appaled with the at***ude and lack of work ethic they bring with them.
Some not all.

And when they fail,it's someone else's fault never their own.

Of course I could be wrong, I can tell you one time for sure when I was and it involves my ex wife.