Technical How long did it take you to feel confident / get faster with your fabrication skills?

Just remember it took you seconds to look at what they did, maybe a few minutes to read the accompanying words. That timeline is no where near what it took the guy to do the work. And remember that the internet/social media is almost always one side of the story. Peoples pride won't really allow them to show the time, frustration, rework, s**** and thinking it took them. Not only would it make them look not as good as others, but it just takes more time to post that stuff. One up side to just seeing stuff in magazines was it all through a journalists eyes, someone who had no skin in the game of showcasing the journey of the builder, only to show the final outcome and make it appealing for people to buy the magazine.

To answer your question of how long did it take?....It takes until the last day I pick up a tool. The pursuit never ends. But really, its not about the speed. Speed is a by-product of craftsmanship AND is dependent on it. Speed means nothing if the outcome is ****. Keep your aim on getting better than you were, you'll get better and the speed will come.

 

This seems like a Malcom Gladwell type of question. Proficiency and confidence eventually merge. Someone set a threshold for proficiency at 10,000 hours. I can't live long enough to meet that mark so I'll just muddle along between inept and adept.

 

"Fast"....that can be an issue in itself.
When I was a teenager, into my twenties, fast was definitely an issue (repairing/working thru the night to get to work/school in the morning).
I carried this practice even up to now, not from necessity now, but from habit.
I am now making a committed effort to force myself to slow down, have patience. Walk away, give serious time to the thought process.
Trial an error, is my motto...self taught.
Taking on more difficult/unfamiliar tasks builds our skill level and confidence.
We have more information available now then ever before, take advantage of it.

 

I have been at it since 1973. I feel that a hands on person , is always learning and constantly getting better at their skills but always room for improvement .
Vic

 

Watching others do this stuff on the internet has been quite helpful. The standing on the shoulders of giants ****ogy.

 

You don’t get faster/better if you buy replacement parts.

However, common sense needs to be factored in
I spent a lot of hours making parts for the wife’s 56.
Most were available. Putting 6-8 hours in a $100 part.
That’s not good business sense for a pro shop (I’m no longer a pro). I did learn a lot doing it so at least I have that.
Purchasing floor panels that are available makes sense time wise.
Outer patch panels? …… most fit like ****. So I’ll continue making those.
That $100 patch panel isn’t worth a half day to make it fit.

 

Another tip.
Buy the proper steel. Not all sheets of steel are the same.
I “saved” $$$ on some unknown cold rolled “18” gauge. Almost impossible to shape and super hard to bend.

look for ASTM 1008 steel
Some of the others can chime in on preferences.

 

Started back in the 70s. Got out of the Air Force, had my 57 Chevy. Had big plans but funds were low. Besides I found out if I wanted it done right, I had to do it myself! So off I went, still learning, and enjoying every minute!! My 57 Chevy won every local show I entered. I took her apart, sand blasted the belly, eight coats of Corvette white, cut and buffed. All the chrome was replated, all the stainless polished. Built a 331 sbc, Doug Nash 5 speed, and a 12 bolt with 4:88 gears. Cragars and a black interior. Everything was done by me, except the machine work and plating. Installed all new gl***. She looked great and ran at Maple Grove in Reading, Pa. Sold her later in life, got a 63 Split window drag car and started again. Love the build!!!

 

I started watching videos on auto upholstery and decided not to go down that rabbit hole. It is a lot more difficult and time-consuming than I thought. So I’ll have to budget for that I guess.

 

I could probably cut most of my build time in half if I had a ****load more open shop space, a hoist, and if my work time wasn't interrupted constantly.

 

Almost 61 Years And Some Improvement...

 

I hope it happens soon. But, it's only been 50 years...

 

I don't mean to hijack the thread but is the ASTM 1008 steel what I have heard referred to as "aluminum killed". I had a piece of 18 Ga. steel years ago that bent easily and didn't spring back much. I have no idea how it might have come into my possession but I seem to recall it was more shiny without the dark gray mill scale finish.

Lynn

 

From a metal supply site

Ive heard it referred as aluminum killed as well.
It’s easier to form and shape than other steels.
I try to stay away from hot rolled (mill scale) if possible.
on a side note:
Muriatic acid will remove the mill scale.
I hate sanding mill scale

 

Not yet but I’m improving all the time.

Skills development over time and having the right tools helps a lot with speed but there’s no subs***ute for experience.

An old man my dad knew worked his whole life as a machinist. He could come up with a solution and make a part before I even knew what he was doing, but he had a literal lifetime of experience doing it as a career.
the best I could do was watch and try to absorb a little of how he did it.

Also remember that the guys on social media can film and edit until it looks like they are experts. Most won’t post the videos of the first few attempts that didn’t work at all or where they cut it too short.

 

You can do a fair amount of shaping with Electro-Galvanized steel, just grind the areas to be welded clean before welding. It takes primer very well.

 

I've been doing this hot rod thing since the mid 60's and to be totally honest sometimes I feel like I have forgot a lot.

At 75 I feel confident in my work but if I have reservations about something I am doing I am smart enought to ask for a second opinion, in all these years I know my problem solving has improved and at this stage of my life I still enjoy building, but I have slowed down. HRP

 

Fabrication speed and confidence?
Well at 66 years old my balance is off, my hands hurt and I forget alot what was the question again.

 

I’m a novice at everything automotive I do. But that hasn’t stopped me from doing it. And I FINALLY have learned my limitations, and now after I’ve ****ed up countless things I thought I could do, I know when to call the professionals.

 

I'm just standing by the back wall here, soaking up every word. I pay attention.

I was a draftsman for 25 years. Machine tool design. Back when we still used pencils. 16yrs old, detailing simple angle brackets. Then, lay out man and finally, designer.

But I have very limited fabrication experience. I understand the processes well. I've done some here and there. But I don't have lots of hands-on time.

So when I get rolling on the Plymouth Coupe, you guys will be witnessing a guy who's pretty good with design, but I'm going to have a steep learning curve with the actual metal work.

I'm not afraid.

And I won't mind offering myself as an example. I don't have anything to hide. I'll let you guys see all my mishaps. It'll be entertaining for the more experienced guys and you might be able to give me some good input. And hopefully, I can be an inspiration to those who come after.

 

Or...
Maybe I'll horrify and "inspire" all the new guys to run away and not even try. LOL

 

80 years old and still learning, I just take more time to do something

 

Everyone is faster than me. Replacing a 40”x8” piece of crusting hood along cowl was my biggest external tin work. Amazingly I got the contour correct, no cracking or lines 14 years later. I was fearless as I had a solid spare hood in event of failure

 

The guys who are doing it "fast" and doing a good job of it are usually doing the same thing that they have done many times before.
Agree 100% that as you acquire better tools and equipment you can do many things that you have done before faster than you used to.
A little side hack of mine is making and selling hanging basket holders that attach to a wood post with a couple of lag bolts. There isn't much profit in them per each and I bend everything by hand but a bender that I could bend steel rod with would be more than justified if I wanted to actually produce them in quanities.
For a lot of us, spend the time fabricating a piece as apposed to buying a very similar production part from a vendor. Hobbiest= how much availble time do we have to work on our hot rod. Us older guys who are retired can spend all day making a bracket that we could buy for 20 dollars and call it a fun day and our wives are happy that we were out of their hair all day long. The 35 year old who works 40+ a week, has two kids playing sports and family responsibiities might get 8 honest hours a week to work on their hot rod and having that 20 dollar part sitting in the box on the bench ready to be painted and installed if it needs painted means that you can install it in a few minutes and then use the other 7 + hours that you have that week to do other things that you need to do. Same thing works for a guy in business building hot rods, buying and selling a part and installing it may be far more productive than spending most of the day fabricating the same part just so you can say you fabricated it. I used to have a friend who had a rod shop who would do just that, spend all day fabricating a part that he could buy at wholesale, sell at retail and charge for installation and then wonder why he wasn't making any real profit.

 

As a kid, living with my newly divorced mom, she wanted me to start working full-time at age 17. I had taken drafting in HS, and the mech teacher got me an interview with a local tool & die shop. They were willing to hire me on the spot and offered to pay for my college diploma. I loved drafting and drawing, but decided to go on to Eng school instead. Mom was none too happy. lol!
Watch some vids, do some reading on these forums, and just jump right in. Mistakes will be made, but that’s the point otherwise you’re not doing or learning. Haha!

 

My last complete ground up build took 8-1/2 years. l learned that if I spent time (hours) on a piece or bracket and it didn't turn out exactly as planned, what to do? If I didn't like it now, I wouldn't like it tomorrow. Throw it in the trash and make another, sometimes it would take a third attempt!

Why spend $20 on a part when you can make it for $200!

 

That maybe be the ***iest Corvette I've ever seen. Perfect!

 

Hello,

When we first started with an old Model A Coupe we found in a neighbor lady's backyard, we knew it was going to take a long time to get to where we wanted it to go. It did not make it any easier when the black 1934 Ford coupe with a big Olds motor came rumbling up into our driveway. Our friend had built it the previous year and was driving it to school, plus in the A/Gas cl*** at Lion’s Dragstrip. The sound was pretty cool for a teenage build and daily driver. It was the fastest hot rod in our local high school.

But, seeing it sitting there weekly after he finished it, made us want to do more with the Model A Coupe. So, we got the 4 cylinder motor running and were ready to start the modifications. Within two weeks, the Model A Coupe was gone and so was the 51 Olds sedan that was my brother’s first car. Now, sitting in the driveway was a new 1958 Impala with 3 carbs and 280 hp. Wow!


Jnaki

My brother’s reason was that he did not want to spend time building a hot rod from scratch. He wanted to go fast, now and win some races at the local dragstrip. He actually wanted to be the fastest hot rod sedan/coupe in the school was what I thought when I sat in the 58 Impala. It was fast with lots of horsepower.

After several years of racing at Lion’s Dragstrip, he decided to get an old 1940 Willys Coupe I had found and now it was sitting in our backyard. But, he had a plan. There was no hurry to rush the build. His idea was to get a motor ready to run. Put it in the 58 Impala to see how it would work and then get to the ch***is/body work. We spent hours everyday after school doing small things for the motor. When he was ready with his organized method to build a motor, it was well laid out on white towel on the counters of our workspace. The Willys Coupe was sitting outside and waiting for its turn under our methods.

When the motor was ***embled, now he decided we could not put the motor in the Impala. The Impala was necessary to have daily to go to school and his afterschool job. So, we started on the Willys Coupe body and ch***is. It was like starting from scratch. Yes, we got the motor running and then took it out to sell as a "running 4 cylinder motor."

My skills were not as good as my brother's, but I was learning fast. I even learned to use the gas welder to cut metal for our firewall. The more I used the torch, the better the look and resulting bead showed on the practice metals.

It seemed like everything was taking a long time, but my brother was specific. ***emble the parts as he laid them out and when finished, wait to show me before moving on to the next part to put together. Since he was at work for his afternoon job, I was doing the mechanical ***embly with strict guidance from his instructions. I had to do it “his way.” But, my mechanical skills went from "gorilla" tech to smooth mechanics with added learned skills. The torque wrench click also helped.

I enjoyed the Saturday afternoons and Sundays when we could both work on the ***embly and modifications. Then I could see everything coming together slowly, but in his specific way. The friends came over and he did the talking while I still had my instructions on the ***embly or modifications.

Note:

If and when you are not in a hurry, less mistakes will be the result, which is good. If there is a plan laid out, then the progress goes smoothly. Then, you will not be in hurry and more errors may happen. Eventually, the work will be done and the finish build will come about. So, take your time and plan ahead.

We started in B/gas, then we added some strategic weights welded in place and moved to C/Gas.

On our 1940 Willys Coupe build, we once mentioned the U.S. Nationals. Who wouldn’t want to race at a big national event? But, once we mentioned it and talked about it for an afternoon, the idea was put away until we had a rolling ch***is. With the second version of the modification of the blower spec parts and new SBC motor, now, the road was planned.

Also, at this time we had added a new 671 with an Isky-Gilmer-Edlebrock blower drive. And now, we had a to get newer parts for our spring/summer season race days. YRMV

It was still put away until we got close to the national record for C/Gas in the summer. 12:60 vs 12:40 e.t. showed us that our hard work told us that the goal was within reach. Then we were ready to move to the next level for the goal of the U.S. Nationals in September.