Projects My first attempt. Sheet Metal Fabrication.

The local Technological Center started offering an automotive sheet metal fabrication class so I decided to enroll in it. My inspiration to learn fabricating/welding skills comes from all you great builders and fabricators that post your work on this site. I have invested HOURS studying many of the great builds and post that the H.A.M.B. has to offer. This site is like a bottomless pit of knowledge and coolness.

Here is my first attempt.


My dash was missing the glove box door so my friend Steve and I made one from scratch for our class project. The bottom lip of the dash was also in pretty bad shape so we repaired it.

-Charlie

 

Nice job, keep at it - there's $ out there!

 

Starting off with a serious "first".

I just made one for my 32 Nash that has twin lids. I had the other to go by, but still a time consuming project.

Now you are hooked

oh boy, buying more tools is in your future. Just kidding; a lot can be done with simple tools

 

Thanks man! I plan to keep it up. The last and final class was yesterday so I enrolled again. I start again next week.

I am just happy to be learning, I am not in it for the $$

-Charlie

 

I am hooked for sure! I am going to be in the market pretty soon for some of the simple tools!!

I would like to see pictures of your twin lid project if you dont mind. I had an old rusty glove box door to go by as well, and it really helped to have it.

-Charlie

 

Ok Charlie, not to hijak your thread, but this was a very complicated fab that I never thought to try, except I could not find a used one in several years of looking..

First pics are showing the driver side lid, how it was made, etc. Basically a shallow "baking pan" with a slightly recessed "Lid". The lid has a welded threaded plate to hold it together.

I need to do several posts to keep it easy to follow;

First post shows trying to make that beaded side of the "pan". I started with a long flat strip, then some tricky bending of that roll, on the brake, as I have no bead roller.


Then trying to bend that too-wide strip around the old lid, but the lid needs to be upside down to make a right hand glove box

One of the last pics shows two curved strips that I used as spacers, to keep that roll from collapsing on the corners.

One I get the pan sides done, I will trim it to the correct depth of the pan....

 

post 2 showing making the bottom of the bake pan..

There is a bump-out at top, to make room for the latch. On the bottom, there is a bumped area to mount the hinge.

These depths need to be so accurate, if I hope to make this work, and fit and close OK.


I used scraps of proper thickness metal, taped onto the steel. On the back you put more pieces taped on, to make a male/female die...then press in a big bench vice. Worked slick.


Then cut the sides of the bake pan to the right depth, and mig the bottom to the sides to make the finished pan...

 

Making the hinge; it was a bitch on my brake, as some bends you can't get to, or can't bend enough..

I rolled those "teeth" shapes in the vice, gripping the metal around a big nail. Lots of hand work on this hinge.

The basic pattern was made of paper, wrapped around the existing hinge, then lay it on the steel.

The dimensions of bends are critical, so the lid can hug the dash when closed, but also, one bent step is what holds the opened lid at a horizontal position, so it won't scratch the dash by hanging down.

i was starting to lose confidence at this point, as "close enough" won't work.

 

Making that tiny little latch. It is a spring loaded bullet shaped pin, that just snaps into a round hole in the dash lip.

These were awful small pieces to make..

Was losing more confidence that it could fit into it's recess when done.

One pic shows the two lids standing up to show the side profiles. These need to be correct to fit and close right.


I am not shitting, I went to the car with 2 new screws...screwed them on, and figured this lid can't possibly close without bending and reshaping the lid and dash opening... The dam thing fit dead nuts without a single adjustment. It even had a nice click as it latch button fell into the hole.

I showed it to everyone for at least two weeks.., as I can't believe it fits so nice.

 

Nice work from the both of you!

What were each of using for sheet metal thickness?

 

I used 18ga which was a devil to shape that outer rolled edge deal. It was tough to bend such tight corners and be able to grip the part in the vice, to shape it around the lid cover. I almost gave up, but I couldn't go thinner, as it needs to be filed, sanded, and buffed for plating.

I was impressed to see that Charlies first metal shaping was a glove box door. It may seem like a easy project, but mine pushed my abilities to the max at every step.

If he started with this for a beginner, what will he be building in ten years from now?

 

You are the man F&J! Your glove box door came out really nice. That outer rolled edge and springing latch looks super tricky!! Actually everything about yours looks tricky. Thank you for posting! I wish I would have taken as many pictures as you did. I would still be showing people lol. Keep the original with you so people can compare them! Thanks for the kind words man, it truly is my first metal shaping/fab project ever but I did have good help. My subrails need extra attention so I that will be my next class project. Baby steps.


Roadsir- My friend and I used 20ga for the lid, and 18ga for the repair. Thanks for the kind words!


-Charlie

 

well, the original glovebox door will always be very close by ....There are dual R&L glove boxes on the 32 Nash.

That was one reason for trying so hard to keep them the same looking

Look at the bottom illustration from the sales brochure.

 

Ahhh I see! Very nice attention to detail. Why not just order the one out of the sales brochure?? Haha

-Charlie

 

I enrolled in the class again to gain some more experience and to have access to their tools.

I disassembled the " Below the deck lid panel center and lower brace" part of my car for my next class project. It is in pretty rough shape. Bent, broken,pitted, wavy, with its fair share of high and low spots and holes.



-Charlie

 

good on you Charlie! It's an awesome skill to have take it from me (check out my avatar) but you won't get rich in a hurry. I love making stuff from scratch and being proud of the finished article. Keep it up.

 

Thanks Fleet-Master! I checked out your avatar and your picture album. Your work looks incredible. It's builders and fabricators like you that motivate me! I don't plan on doing any fabrication or welding for hire, just for friends and family if they trust me. I figured out long ago I wasn't meant to be rich. haha. I just want to build some cool stuff in my spare time.

-Charlie

 

Nice work! Much more fun when you're doing it for the enjoyment. Keep it up!

 

It's threads like this that makes the HAMB so great....

 

Looks like both of you are cranking out nice work. HRP

 

IMHO there is a huge difference between having excess money (rich) and having the satisfaction of learning and doing good work. (rich) I'd much rather learn and do.

I've also taken a crack at metal working, and know it isn't easy. My first attempt at hammer forming a window opening for my Autocar.

 

Nice work. Check out www.allmetalshaping.com for a good forum and information related to metal shaping.

 

Thanks guys!

Steve- That looks good. You are defiantly getting the hang of it.Did you run into any problems and would you do anything different if you had to do it again?

Kevinsrodshop- Thanks for the link! I will defiantly check that out.

-Charlie

 

NICE WORK!!! Every piece you make will teach you something. More projects equals more skill.

Tim the Toolman

 

good shit charlie hope i can get there
steve you should do a tech article so i can learn how to make my rear side windows
for my five window build lol
justin

 

Thanks Tim! I got plenty of projects, so I hope to keep advancing my skill level! I should be busy for a long time.

Thanks Justin! If there is a will there's a way. You can get there!

-Charlie

 

first attempt? damn... can't wait to see your second. nice work

 

Thanks! My second attempt is that brace I am working on. I learned some cool hammer and dolly tricks, and I have half of it repaired. Next class is Tuesday so I can't wait to get in there and finish it up.

-Charlie

 

Quite a long post, hope no one minds!
I used regular 20ga mild steel, ak steel would probably have worked much better/easier, but my steel yard doesn't carry it.
I made my hammerform from a chunk of aluminum plate and did a whole bunch of measuring, as once I cut my aluminum, I couldn't go back. (aluminum plate 1" thick is hard to come by with $0 to spend) I had to do 4 windows (2 each of 2 different widths, height was the same on all 4) I used the outside edge of the plate to do an experimental part, made some adjustments, then made the hammer form to do the wider window. All machining was done with a table saw and a router. I made a couple of sample pieces to make sure I had everything right and knew how big the center cut out should be, then I went for it. I scrapped my first try by not having the sheet metal clamped to the form well enough, so the piece pictured is actually the second part.
To get the reverse bend that makes the inner flange I cut a plug from particle board that fit tight inside the formed part and with the part in the hammerform drove the plug in, flipped the whole thing over and hammered the sheet metal over the plug.
To make the smaller window I did one half of the forming then slid the part sideways the right amount, and did the other side. After doing the first part I slit the corners first to get the corners to form easier (I tried annealing and it didn't help) and lastly I made narrow strips and formed them to make patches to fill the relief cuts in the corners of my completed panels.
After all is said and done, I was very happy with the results and surprised how little distortion there was in the surrounding panel.

 

Thanks for posting Steve! You put a lot of thought into that project and it came out nice. On the rounded corners of my glove box doors we used multiple relief cuts in the radius of the corners. Using multiple relief cuts made it way easier to get a nice rounded corner with out having to come back and make patches.

Would it have been possible to make your hammer-form out of wood?

-Charlie