Starting with OA

[Maxakarudy]

I would have thought the skills needed to form an aluminium car body from scratch are far more difficult to acquire than those for either OA or tig welding?

It's big challenge, but at the end of the day it's a bit of tin, only 3 things in the process, shrinking, stretching and welding, understanding what the panel tells you is the conundrum

Martin

 

[Chris Stevens]

Mate of mine builds classic cars, and I can assure you that there is rather more to it than shrinking, stretching and welding! I would say the welding is the easiest part, and that something like wheeling a wing is far more difficult, and decent tools and equipment very expensive.

YT videos make it all look very easy, but bear in mind those doing the vids have decades of experience and all the right gear. Before spending £8-10k on tools and equipment, why not see if you can find some sort of course and see how you get on?

 

[Pipe Dreamer]

Hotrodder - thanks for the (obvious) voice of experience. Valuable food for thought.

 

[Maxakarudy]

Chris, my comment obviously over simplifies the process, but that is what's involved.
With regard to he lack of fusion on the backside, it's common practice to fuse/re-weld the backside, Ron Covell and Contour Autocraft teach this.

 

[brightspark]

It's big challenge, but at the end of the day it's a bit of tin, only 3 things in the process, shrinking, stretching and welding, understanding what the panel tells you is the conundrum

Martin

Chris, my comment obviously over simplifies the process, but that is what's involved.
With regard to he lack of fusion on the backside, it's common practice to fuse/re-weld the backside, Ron Covell and Contour Autocraft teach this.

any pictures of the work you have done ??

 

[hotrodder]

No one needs £8-10k worth of tools (or whatever the cheapnese equivilant would cost) to shape thin sheet metal to even the highest standards, google Alfredo Vignale tree stump for an automotive example or see pretty much anyone that makes/recreates traditional armour whether it's more authenitic steel stuff or lightweight ally to look the part but be less tiring to wear. Posh tools make the process faster if you know what you're doing, if you don't they let you make scrap faster. That is all they can do since, as said, however much skill or 'black arts' is involved all you're doing is stretching, shrinking, bending and cutting whether it's with cheap/improvised hand tools or you have a shop stuffed full of wheeling machines, eckolds, pullmaxes and other spendy toys.

Take something like a very low crown door skin... if you know what you're doing all that's needed is a pencil, (ideally) a ruler, a hard flat surface, a mallet and some patience to create the basic overall compound curve. Something simple like freehand (i.e. not made to a specific size/to fit a template, just symetrical and nicely finished) bowl on the other hand... if you can't stretch one into a bag or shrink one with a hollowed stump before planishing out the marks and metal finishing it by hand then all the English wheels or power hammers in the world won't help do anything except make a mess more quickly

 

[Pipe Dreamer]

In defece of wheels, a good one can be had for under £2k and the basics are ... well, basic. They take some practice, but as said, all they do is stretch. The rest is just understanding shapes.
I think I'd struggle to spend another £8k ... unless it was on sheet ally. ;-)

 

[outofthefire]

No one needs £8-10k worth of tools (or whatever the cheapnese equivilant would cost) to shape thin sheet metal to even the highest standards, google Alfredo Vignale tree stump for an automotive example or see pretty much anyone that makes/recreates traditional armour whether it's more authenitic steel stuff or lightweight ally to look the part but be less tiring to wear. Posh tools make the process faster if you know what you're doing, if you don't they let you make scrap faster. That is all they can do since, as said, however much skill or 'black arts' is involved all you're doing is stretching, shrinking, bending and cutting whether it's with cheap/improvised hand tools or you have a shop stuffed full of wheeling machines, eckolds, pullmaxes and other spendy toys.

Exactly, there are plenty of amazing metalshapers around the world in 3rd world countries working with tools and equipment mostly made from scrap. I've a bit of an addiction to buying hammers but I generally use the same 3 or 4, understanding what happens when you a hit a piece of metal is far more important than what you hit it with.

 

[Maxakarudy]

any pictures of the work you have done ??

Brightspark, this sounded like a challenge

Just for you......http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/what-martin-gets-upto.67486/

Martin

 

[brightspark]

Brightspark, this sounded like a challenge

Just for you......http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/what-martin-gets-upto.67486/

Martin

not at all glad to see a few pictures on post as there are a few armchair engineers about that never show anything