Technical Would this be a good way to learn metalworking skills?

Don’t get discouraged watching pro guys use expensive tools.
The tools speed up the process.
My planishing set up is an acetylene bottle cap welded to a bench. Does the same, just slower.

 

I beat and pull shit until it sort of resembles what I’m after. I’m not afraid to use some filler though, my stuff are drivers.

 

Oops, it's a coupe.

 

Protective eye-wear like @chopolds suggested earlier is a great idea. Also if you're using
air tools, hammers, big drills, chisels, reciprocating saws, etc., then hearing protection would be on my list of "must haves"

 

I missed out on this one. I have no idea what brand nor how useful it is. But it's cheap, I'm pretty sure I could easily move that by myself, and it has a small footprint.

 

Yep....."It's just ARN..."
6sally6

 

I don’t believe that starting with a huge project is the way to start but the way to teach yourself how to do it wrong. I’ve hired several self taught bodymen before and the guys who learned how to paint cars, repair minor rust change fenders and quarters etc correctly and learned the difference between quality and quantity would make a better metal man. A guy that had help or worked with someone else that had years of experience would have much better understanding of Techniques needed. I’d say start small and learn work your way up.

 

Most of the guys that teach the "proper techniques" learned how to do it by hitting things with hammers. The "proper techniques" they teach are simply the processes they learned from their own trial and error experiences, then they tell you how to avoid the errors.

Some people learn better by watching others and learn from their mistakes, but others learn from first hand experience and learn better by making their own errors, and then figure out how to correct the errors. I believe the people that learn from their own errors are better equipped to handle things when they don't go according to a plan. They also tend to be better teachers, but the trial and error method tends to take longer to learn the same skills as the learn the "proper techniques" process takes, for some people.

Learning how to protect your body when you do metal work are skills that are much better learned from the errors of others that have gone before you. The earlier you learn those safety rules that protect your body, the better off you will be in the long run.

My son is a better welder then I am, and he is better at body work then I am. He has an office job, but he helps his neighbor with his dirt track car, he does the welding and body work for them (I taught him good ). When ever he get in over his head concerning metal work, he comes to me for advice. He learned the proper technique, I learned by hands on experience.

I came from a household where dad didn't do much of his own automotive work, but his friend did it. I had the chance to learn from dad's friend. His teaching plan was "Get out there and mess it up. When you get stumped, come and get me. Then he would offer a few suggestions and send me back at it."

 

Most of what I need to know I learned in kindergarten:

1. ON Dolly
2. OFF Dolly
3. Be nice to people.

 

""Most of the guys that teach the "proper techniques" learned how to do it by hitting things with hammers.""

I disagree. here's a shining example. guy I knew with a Hot Rod shop had a 52 Chevy truck fender with a big dent. he was looking for a new one, told him I'll come back with a hammer and dolly and fix it. came back the next day and he "helped" me get started by beating the fender with a ball peen hammer, putting 15 - 20 new dents where all I needed to do was flatten the stretched part that he did not touch. I think this is typical of people who have never done any research.. you see it all the time on cars in progress.
no thought about what was actually bent or even knowledge that the metal was stretched, and there was no damage where he hit it. you need that basic knowledge as to what is going on and how the damage was formed or you just need more mud.
there was a few more crappy bodywork jobs he did. guess he figured since he had all the tattoos and I had none i didn't know what I was doing. he also used spray foam and bondo to do rust repair. people paid him to do this

 

I have found that rust mitigation has become very expensive no matter what method is
preferred. Media blasting, chemical dipping or like myself mostly wire wheeling gets
costly in a hurry. I realize you are referring to the metal work aspects of said vehicle.
The only thing in that pic worth touching are the chimney bricks.

 

The “new” technology is using linier pressure to repair dents. Gluing attachments on each end and applying pressure. The gluing attachments is new. The linier pressure has been around since people started fixing dents.
A great source is old body repair manuals. How to use Porta-powers, friction jacks…… any way to apply pressure to straighten old bodies.
I’ve used plumb bobs to align roof centers with floor centers using porta-powers.
There’s a new style floor puller that will suction to a concrete floor. Has a small adjustable winch to apply pressure. Heat guns used to warm metal to help repair damage. All using glue tabs in the same manner we would weld tabs to bodies.
Straightening bodies is very similar to fabricating parts. The metal will tell you what to do.

 

Its all about how and where to apply force. Million different ways to do it, just gotta have some imagination and figure out what you have that can be used to apply that force where you need it.

To me, someone couldn't give me that "brake". You will probably ruin more metal than you make good parts. Brakes are designed to handle a certain thickness of metal. Generally bodywork needs about a 16 gage which co-incidentally is about .060 or 1/16 inch. Thats what most people have. Siding brakes for house trim are for thinner metal and they will flex and bend when thicker 16 gage is put in them. A brake with a straight bar from each end is called a "leaf" brake. Don't know why. (Edit: A "siding brake" is one of those portable brakes used for installing thin aluminum siding on houses and is not usable for what we do)

A brake with removable fingers is co-incidentally called a "finger brake". The removable fingers allow you to bend shapes like boxes which is very handy ..........make that "necessary" for the kind of work you want to do. Don't buy some home made brake as you will most likely regret it. Plan on spending $500/$800 for a "used" finger brake. You can always get your money back if you decide to sell it.

Get at least a 16 gage finger brake.............

I bought and sold many brakes in my life.....one as long as 14 feet when I had delusions of building my own airplane. Later I bought a 10 ft brake because the 14' was limited on how thick it would bend, and I gave up the airplane idea. The 10' was at an auction and I tried to convince a friend of mine to buy it. He wanted one and had the money but wouldn't raise his hand. Minimal bidding and looked like it was gonna go cheap......so I bid on it. Couple bids later it was mine. Then he offered me a $100 profit to let him have it. I declined and took my $800 prize home. Used it for about 10 years and then resold it for $2k. Had 3 people wanting it and I actually sold it too cheap. Right now that same brake will bring double that or more.

One of my first cheap brakes.



My 14' brake I hauled home from Michigan. Semi ran me into the emergency lane during a rainstorm..........


The 10' $800 brake



and my newest addition...........now that those big ones are gone.



I just find it handy for small thin stuff and I got it on sale. It's limited on thickness but its easy for small brackets where you can get a little thicker.

Get a decent one or don't get one............

 

i always thought 'leaf' meant it was a finger brake-learned something new!

 

There’s better breaks out there.
I’d probably make a homemade one from angle before buying that one
Got this US made finger break for $200. Decent for 20 gauge or less. Ok on 18


This was 900. great tool
This shear was less than $200
Search around on marketplace
Crap pops up regularly

 

I started at about 14 on my first car with just a few hammers and dollies my dad bought me. Back then, I had no instruction, books or video; so it was just trial and error. I learned a bit; but stretched the sheet metal in places and didn’t know how to shrink it. I had a small Victor oxy-acetylene setup, and read a bit; but did not master the technique. About sixty years later I still had the car and saw my old ‘trouble’ spots on the quarter panel as I was redoing every thing and getting it back on the road. This time I took the time I needed and learned shrinking. Now bodywork became much more fun.

Looking at the OP’s old car, I think it would be great to learn on. Get some basic tools, take the dents down to bare metal, watch some videos, and get started on a lifetime of learning.

 

Most big metal working tools have nuances that aren't easy to spot starting out. If something pops up, ask here. One simple rule though is if you can move it by yourself into the bed of a truck, it's not strong enough. Compare the one you posted to the others. Even the Eastwood benchtop model is big thick castings, not tube legs.