Quote:
Originally Posted by jag
Thats excellent work there, and a very informative post indeed.
Left to your own devices could replicate the xk wing again? I know with experts on hand it may seem easy. A bit like watch a DIY programme on TV. But these experts have had years of experience.
Years ago panel beating was a traditional 5 year apprentice course, all the teachers and anyone in England who has these skills would have done one.
So is it optimistic that they can transfer their skills base in a 5 day course?
May be i'm being negative, but i can see how i could need up giving up after creating flat steel into scrap metal. And spending a fortune getting there too!
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Jag,
I agree that there is a big difference between watching a DIY show and actually replicating those results in your own shop. Just like there is a big difference in watching the your maths professor (math teacher for those in the US) work a problem on the board and going home by yourself to work the problem.
That isn't what happened at Contour Autocraft. I did the work. Yes, the panels were pre-cut for us (but they do discuss how to create bucks and patterns on your own, or offer an advanced course to teach you those things in detail). Yes, the instructors were in the room to answer questions, but they did NOT do the work for you. I can honestly say that 3 years later, even though I have not done much metal shaping in the meantime, I still understand and know how to apply the principles they taught.
There are plenty of reminders around too. We got a notebook from the course (and I took copious notes while there). There are plenty of videos on y-tube for free. There are great resources in this forum. It's not like you won't have help after you leave the class.
As they like to say on these forums, "Your mileage may vary." I have a proven history of learning well and learning quickly. At the age of 30, I decided to learn something new every year. Four months into my guitar lessons, my instructor told me I should stop doing whatever I do for a living and start playing guitar for a living. Four months into learning to fly a small plane (while completing ground school by 'self study,' instead of in the classroom), I flew with the senior instructor before my solo. At my post-flight briefing, he told me that I should stop doing whatever I do for a living and start flying planes for a living. About five months after starting martial arts, I went to a national tournament and won a couple of trophies at my level. About a year and a half after deciding to really work on my gourmet cooking skills, I tried out for Masterchef Season 2 in the US and made it to the top 100 of all home cooks in the the entire nation.
Sure, not everyone in the Autocraft Course made the same level of progress. They did, however, go away with an understanding of how metal moves (more like a liquid, less like a solid). They definitely went away from the class understanding where to 'press' to make the metal move 'that' direction.
I suppose it all boils down to a question you have to answer for yourself...what do you want? A beautiful car at any cost or the satisfaction of handcrafting an object of beauty for yourself. Either way is fine. You don't have to work on your own car. There are plenty of people out there who enjoy beautiful cars they paid someone to create for them.
You don't really have to spend a fortune to do this. We did all of the forming in these projects with hammers, hand tools and a stump. We did use a wheeling machine (English wheel for those in the US) for planishing, but you CAN do that by hammer too. The DC TIG Inverter at Contour Autocraft is 360 GBP (around $580 US) and the welding techique they teach does not even need filler material. You don't need huge sheets of brand new sheet metal to practice with...find a scrap dealer near you who sells cutoffs from local shops (you only form small sections at a time anyway). A stump is literally dirt cheap.
Personally, I think you can do it. You have already shown an interest, or you wouldn't be here. There are plenty of resources available for you right here on this forum. I suspect there are members on this forum near you who might be willing to assist you, if you get stuck on a project. If not, I know there are plenty of people to help you along online, as long as you send us a photo and describe your problem.
You seem to be asking yourself, "Why should I do this?" I recommend changing that to, "How can I make this happen?" (look at my signature below...) Take the leap. Have some fun. If it really doesn't work for you, sell your tools and welder on c-list for almost what you paid for them and try something else. You will NOT have lost much and you WILL have gained a lot--met a bunch of nice folks who like to shape metal, learned a bit more about yourself, and increased your confidence level.
Kev