what is the biggest factor in you not taking a metal shaping class?

Here is what I have done in the past with the people who are way more talented then me. Asked to work in their shop part time on the weekends for free and in return they will end up showing you stuff. For me I can learn alot just by watching or being the extra set of hands that a person may need from time to time. Also for me alot has todo with just trial and error and doing stuff over and over again and then going back to that person the next week and see what they have to say about what you did. For example I am trying so hard to learn how to tig weld like some of the greats on here and I get a bunch of sample pieces together go back too the person that is helping me learn and take a beating on what I did wrong or in some cases get the praise for doing it right. These guys that are doing this for a leaving can always use help that does not cost them out of pocket and just a little time in showing you something that for 15 min of their time can change you for a life time. Just my .02's

 

i'm in the same boat as many, lack of funds but not enthusiasm. as i find myself sitting in front this computer a lot lately surfing and lurking, i find that the internet it full of valuable and worthwile information. for the price we pay for internet service why not take a cl*** on some of the metal shaping sites out there. seems like a bargain for the cost of admission. i,ve learned a lot from sites like metal meet, metal shapers and all metal shaping, tons of info and a lot of respectful people willing to share thier knowledge. just spend some time reading and responding and you can come away with enough info to put to practice in your own shop.two years ago i could cut, bend weld and fabricate what i needed but with the help of these sites i can now shape metal into some really good body panels as well as do a much better job of metal finishing parts to reduce the amount of bondo used to finish a project. the cost of making some s**** out of sheet metal is small compared the cost of a hands on cl*** and learning from mistakes is the best education there is. until i can afford to take a cl*** from a master i will still be learning and practicing on my own with the the info available from these sites.

 

I am currently using a guy named 'Buster' as that second set of hands in my shop. He has decent fabrication skills, (is a pipe fitter) so it's definately to my benifit to have him help me in the shop. In return he is exposed to some of my unique perspective on hotrod building. Right now we are doing the structural part of the build, metalshaping should be started next week.

I would have loved to have had this kind of opportunity when I was younger, but at the time there was little to no information available about metalshaping. By all means use the internet for establishing a basis of familiarity with the tools/concepts involved. If you can 'hang-out' with a local shaper, you'll be so much better off! Attending a Metalmeet event where you are exposed to several different shapers, even better!
Taking a cl*** can really open your eyes to the possiblities!

Dan Stevens
dba, Steelsmith

If you are interested, follow my build thread, 'Inspired by Ed Roth, Plowboy and Racerdad'.

 

The dominant time-money conundrum. Gonna' make it down to the Mojave next year, if it kills me.

 

i found i like to read how to's on the interenet and watch youtube videos, then i go practise. Cause i always buy tools first then learn. But im what some would call obsesive and compulsive. I dont know it works for me.

 

the same reason i gave up doing restoration work.... no return on investment. you put time, money, material into learning a new skill or perfecting an old one, and people still want to bend you over when it's time to pay. add to that the factor that the present economy is tanking just as bad as ever (regardless of what the TV news says), people are not spending discretionary funds to GET work done on their cars, so even getting a new skill isn't going to pay off anytime soon.

Locally, Trident Tech is the only game going for trade education, and their tuition rates are outrageous, even for native SC'ers.

this is quickly going to become a political thread and get locked.

i try to glean information from the techs at the shop, customers, anybody willing to tell you or show you how to do it. the internet is useful, if you have patience and can tell **** from shinola, because a great deal of what's out there is ****.

 

Money is a big consideration and the seminars are so short that i don't think i'd get enough out of it to justify going, why sit and watch somebody crank something out on a reciprocating, machine when you don't have one?
I went to a metal meet, at one of them you could spend 3 days doing nothing but running stuff thru an english wheel - when you left you sure enough knew how to use one and what to expect from it. If you got bored you could go over to watch and try out a shrinking disc or pound on some metal.
There is something satisfying about ponding the hell out of a piece of metal against a shot bag.

 

i meant to go on, and say that many employers don't see any benefit to giving their employees training these days. even at our dealership, the mgt is so tight***ed that unless corporate threatens to yank certs, they won't send anyone to training. another case of "you ought to be glad you HAVE a job at all" from management. so trying to build on what you have is hard as hell, and not getting any easier.

so, thank Ryan and the rest for setting up THIS "Community College" of sorts, where education is free for the asking!

 

^^^I couldn't agree more^^^

I wouldn't even consider taking a cl*** unless I had the tools and a project to apply them to. The skills and knowledge tends to fade away if you don't practice them right away (at least for me).

 

cost of the cl***, then cost of all the new tools I'll want to buy, the stuff Im currently working on is mainstream enough that patch panels are available, it would take a long time to break even if I bought everything to make the panels Im buying then make them all - specialty tool cost - expand the shop - time to make the parts vs buy a panel and weld it in.
Ive made a few simple patches by hand, mostly by routering a wood template and hammering away, 6 body hammers, torch, s**** wood, Im good to go for now.

I did learn a lot of metal working skills while supervising the metal finish repair shop at a GM stamping plant, had guys that metal finished everyday for 30 yrs, they taught me a lot and let me pound panels when the UAW Commiteeman wasnt around, even learned a little lead skills, all my tools are from the guys that retired from there, most of them made by tool&die machinists out of whatever material they wanted.

 

I have LOTS of time being very slow with my work. But that leaves me very little $$$ to do anything. Some times being self employed is a good thing sometimes not. Right now it is not.

 

Anyone that would like learn how to shape metal, should check out the annual MetalMeet event in Oblong Il; which will be held this year in October 12-19. If you can't make it to Oblong, there are sometimes regional meets in other parts of the country.

www.metalmeet.com