sheet metal work

[kouki paul]

Not sure what section to post this in,so my apologies in advance.the mods may move it if im wrong But basically im wondering can anyone suggest somewhere i can train/learn sheet metal fabrication/custom body work.im a carpenter by trade,but as we all know the construction industry is up the preverbial creek,so after spending the last year or so working with my panel beater brother,iv realised how much i love the metal work and fabrication side of panel beating and would like to learn the art of the swager,shrinker stretcher and english wheel.Ireland has no training facilities or courses for this type of art form and im aware of a 3 5 day courses in the uk,with a collective price of 4300 quid,but thats a little out of my league!any help greatly appreciated,
Thanks,
Paul

 

[hotrodder]

Getting on for 3 years old but a list (might well be a lot shorter now given all the funding cuts) of courses here... http://www.classicandperformancecar.com/features/theknowledge/240409/restoration_workshops.html.
While having an old hand available to advise and take the **** is very useful, metalshaping, like playing an instrument or welding is something that can only be learned by practicing. I'd just get stuck in using books and the internet for a bit of guidance. At the end of the day there's only three basic things involved... you can bend metal, stretch it and shrink it. Tools like English wheels etc are really more about speeding up the process than anything else.

Buy/make some basic tools and start out with simple exercises like making a bowl or a teardrop blister. Depending on current skills could just hollow out a bit of sheetmetal and have a go at planishing it smooth or (better) dive in a little deeper by deciding the finished dimensions first and then making it fit some card templates

The teardrop link shows the roughing out being done into a shotbag. Can also rough stuff out with nothing more complicated than an old tree stump... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-cIDfe0FfE There's also various DVDs like this preview by David Gardiner that's pretty much devoted to the simple (no spendy tools) methods... http://www.youtube.com /watch?v=IGElSHzm0q8 While not as good as a one on one with a course tutor there'll be a lot more change to spend on tools