Thirsty for knowledge

[Fatmattscustoms]

Hello all,
Somewhat a newbie from the Houston area. I've been slowly teaching myself some basic metal shaping as I move along with the painstakingly slow restoration of my 1950 ford. I started off with a leather bag and some mallets a few years ago just tooling around and have slowly but progressively been building my tools. I prefer to invest my money in the vintage body hammers etc so building my collection has taken some time but to see the difference in the way metal moves between a vintage proto 1427 and a HF tool is night and day. Nothing like old American made steel. I do own a HF English wheel though. I recently purchased a vintage CP-528 but I haven't had the chance to use it yet. I also own a mitler brothers planishing hammer that I've been using a few years now.
I'm hoping to learn more from this group. Maybe even find a local mentor.
I chopped the top on my 50 ford, rolling out new sail panels and leaning the B pillars. Looks killer but I've still got alot of metal finishing to get done. I just can't bring myself to slap mud over the weld seems. Thus the cp-528 investment. I've got some oil canning on the roof I need to get straightened out before I move any further. I do own a set of shrinking disc I've gotten comfortable with using now. I've been putting off tackling the weld seems and the oil can in the crown of the roof until my skills got a bit more advanced. It's been a year and I've gotten pretty good with my body hammers and dollies. I feel like I'm about ready to start on the problem area. Time moves slow with 4 small kids nowadays but Im not the type to give up on anything so I just keep chipping away at it. Hour or two here and there.

Well look forward to the knowledge I can hopefully gain in this group.

[123pugsy]

Welcome aboard Matthew.

Pics are always appreciated.