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cretin:
Hi guys,
My name is Kyle and I live in Los Angeles.  I like to work with a lot of different things and materials, but my main area of knowledge is metal work.  I build traditionally styled Hot Rods and Customs for a living, and as a hobby.  But within these projects, and some side projects, I end up needing to learn to work with many different materials. 
I'm hoping to be able to learn about working with those other types of materials here, and helping out with my knowledge where I can.

I know that's pretty vague, but I never know what I'm going to end up needing to work with!

Look forward to learning here.

inthesticks:
Hellow and welcome Kyle. You sound like the right guy for a few questions I have been wondering about. Do you have experiance with English wheels? Have you ever wheeled teardrop fenders and is it possible for a novice to pick it up fairly quick. I ask because I have been toying with the idea of building an english wheel.
I have a pile of teardrop trailer plans and teardrop fenders would be just the ticket to make the project outstanding. If you got pictures "bonus" :thumbup:
The 2 pics. are an example of my intentions.

Cheers :)
CB

cretin:
Hey CB,

I do have experience with the english wheel.  It is a pretty simple concept, and I think most people who are handy should be able to figure it out pretty well.  And there is a lot of information out there on them too.
As for building one, obviously I can say wether the time and material investment is worth it for you.  If you have the space, and a decent amount of projects, the would need some sheet metal shaping, then it is a useful tool.  As is a planishing hammer, but some people like the english wheel better because it's quiet.

If you do decide to build one, I would suggest in investing in a good set of dies if you plan on using it a lot.  You will only get a part as good as your dies.  Hoosier profiles, and metal ace make good dies.

My recommendation for you to get started would be to make a buck out of wood, or 1/4" steel rod, so you can figure out your shapes and proportions, and have something to check your sheetmetal shape with.
Then I would start shaping the fenders in sections.   Since the high crown on the outside of the fender requires a significant amount of stretching to get the shape, I would rough in the shape with a mallet on a sand bag or stump, and then use the wheel to smooth it out, and fine tune the shape.  The lower crown sections, you should be able to shoe with just the wheel, using an X pattern.
I hope that makes sense.  Let me know if you have any other questions.

As for photos, I'm currently out of town for an unknown amount of time, and don't really have much to post.
I can find some and add later, but in the meantime, you can see some past work on our shops website. 
http://hollywoodhotrods.com

inthesticks:
Thank you for that Kyle, yes that was helpful I have formed small pieces with mallet and stump end, like the exhaust cap on my generator. I wasn't aware a planishing hammer could do a job like that but I can see how it could do the finishing to more rough work with mallet and sand bag.I have plans for planishing hammers as well and I would prefer that over a large English wheel, supply air and noise are not a problem. I can see a planishing hammer being more useful than just making one set of fenders. Thank you and again welcome.

Cheers
CB

tom osselton:
I was thinking about building one I have in the past working with a guy but if I made one for me I would have it attached and hinged to the wall so as not to take up valuable space.  A planishing head you can make in less than a day, at least I did prototyping it.

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