All MetalShaping - Greeting from Texas

Tom Walter from Cedar Park, TX.

At 54 all I know is that I'll never stop learning. I've been very inspired by some of the work being shown here.

Bit the bullet and decided it was time to improve my simple skills, and headed off to Kent White's class for four days. My son, 22, was game so I signed us both up. I figured the best tool we own is between our ears, so it would pay to understand what I'm attempting to do.

Four days later, I could stretch, shrink, and weld aluminum with the Meco! We had been attempting to weld aluminum for the past five years without success. Little hands on training, and felt so good to run a nice bead!

I did learn, after two days of swinging hammers to stretch (fun) and shrink (work up a sweat) my worn out rotator cuffs are saying an air hammer is in my future!

My long term project is a "state of the art for 1940" airplane. 4130 tube fuselage, aluminum wings. Ideal is no fiberglass, hence Kent's class so I can attempt the nose bowl, fairings, wing tips.