Originally Posted by Dave K.
Hi Nick,
There are a lot of people with various skills on this forum. It is a great resource for beginners like us. Youtube has a lot of videos that will help teach you as well, in fact, many of the best videos are members from here. There are lot of different projects being completed on here too so you will get to see a lot of different aspects of metal shaping and fabrication.
I am no expert, but I would like to share some of how I got started. I started really small. Just making half circles in copper, then aluminum, then steel. I learned about annealing and how to use a hammer. Through this process I learned about stumps, different types of hammers and what they were for. Trust me I still have much to learn, but this helped me learn how to start shaping metal. Then I started making sculptures, some from scrap, so I could learn how to weld, and the different types of welds and different types of welders.
As you go through your learning process, don't be afraid to post your progress on here and ask for help. Trust me the folks will be glad to help you make your projects better. There are some really skilled talented people, and the only other way to get access to their skills would be attend a workshop, which I recommend.
Remember, we all have to start somewhere, and we all end up with piles of scrap metal, because that is the best way to learn. For me, I read, watch videos, practice, pitch them in the scrap pile, start over, analyze my technique and go again. This has been the cycle for sometime. I'm stubborn so it takes me a while...
I wish you the very best with your projects and look forward to seeing your projects!
Dave
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