Lineup magnets holding them in place.
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Hi Andy
Your metal shaping is going well I'd say
So what's a 99 with flake. I would hate to disappoint on your first visit.
Great job!![]()
For a self taught tin knocker you do very well.![]()
It sure would be nice to have an experienced guy say "no, do it this way". I love C3s...would like a '69 w/ a 427 someday. Stingray.![]()

Andy,
It is looking good.
Dwight
Great hammer-form-work Andy! You're making it look effortless again. Keep this up and it will be done before you know it. My elbow still aches for you though.
Thanks! If it wasn't 12 gauge it would be a lot easier. I hope this is like sand volleyball, when I finally get back to 18 gauge i hope it iwll be easier.
Are you planning to replace it piece by piece using the original to keep things aligned or as a whole assembly? The former is more work but tends to have less surprises at the end I reckon.
I'm scared to do anything other than piece by piece. And for this truck, I'm trying to keep the hidden parts looking kind of like original. I may abandon that madness, though.
Sheet metal **** welding clamps like these are also very handy if you don't already have some: https://www.harborfreight.com/****-welding-clamps-8-pc-60545.html
Andy: it's great that you take on those fabrication challenges and most of all show all of us that might not have a clue or know how just how you did it. would you mind showing the tool that you are using to cut the old rusty bottom of your door off for those of us that are not sure which tool or method might work best?
Thanks for the good words. I'm pretty sure I don't have a clue either, but common sense goes part way. I'm just using a 3" or 4" cutoff wheel.
i hope your bull shows up at the barn soon cause i'm worried about his leg. hopefully he's ok and maybe just putting it in the mud at the creek sort of like our mud baths to take the infection out of it.
Yep, bull is on my mind too.
best of luck on the fabrication and hoping all your hard work and thinking pays off.![]()


I'm impressed.The Z flanges on the curve isn't that easy. Guess you figured out by now it's a lot easier to stretch than to shrink. All that work makes me thirsty, thanks for the Coke.
I had a real experienced mentor who would watch and laugh, then say 'Here is where you went off the rails'.I wouldn't say self taught, I have a bookIt sure would be nice to have an experienced guy say "no, do it this way".

Like Guster said, you do make it look easy - but I know that it's not.
Great work.
I had a real experienced mentor who would watch and laugh, then say 'Here is where you went off the rails'.
Maybe he thought I'd learn better the hard way.

Andy,
I suspect you're a visual learner as am I. If I can watch someone doing something - preferably the right way - I'm a good imitator even though I may not get the best results right away.
I do all right reading and comprehending. but it all seems different once you actually start doing what you've been reading about. In trying to learn foundry work I realized there are lots of bad examples on YouTube. So if you're watching videos, you just can't stop with only one. Being left handed, some demonstrations don't work out so well for me.
I haven't posted much because frankly I just read your thread with my jaw hanging down!![]()
Body work is definitely an art! I tried doing a bit of body work years ago in the days before YouTube, and after I'd been trying to fix a dent for a few days, a friend with years of experience came over for 20 minutes and showed me some techniques for what I had been trying to do and it was like magic! I was able to do much better after that, but I realized how much I needed to learn. It sure looks like you've got a few years of experience in doing this kind of work!
I know nothing about dent removal. My grandson says he'll show me. On the Studebaker my plan is to replace the rusted portions and make him do the body work for his sister. My first sheet metal work was the Massey Ferguson dash modification. I have learned a lot about stretching and shrinking and am learning how to straighten simple stuff without warping it. Easy when you know how
I wish I had access to YouTube back then. Now you can google up an expert demonstration for almost anything.
Now I just need more time.
Cheers!


Thanks for the step by step. It all makes sense now.



...I feel like I know you well enough to invite you over for Thanksgiving dinner...
Andy, your comment about being left-handed reminded me of an opportunity. Gloves come in pairs and I have little to no use for the left ones. The only exception are my MIG and TIG gloves -- they work fine turned inside out (becoming a right glove). I kept all those left gloves in a box but threw them out after reading about GJ members cleaning up their shops. I don't recall seeing you wearing gloves but if you'd like I can send you my future leftover lefties. Fair Warning -- I don't buy expensive gloves because I shred them in short order.
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Lilac a dog, Pond Rosa. I view my thread 900 times a day to see if anyone posted. Andy there's no comments we can make that compete with your own.
Like others, I've been busy with work, hurricanes and moving so I'm barely keeping up with everyone's threads.
Also like others, getting into some of the fab work, all I can do is look, learn and appreciate. Good job.
p.s to help you get your post count up I give you this.
Also, Studebaker trucks are the coolest of all the 50's era trucks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes Andy there is much to learn from you
hows your bull
First of all I gotta say I kinda feel like after reading this entire thread today, I feel like I know you well enough to invite you over for Thanksgiving dinner. I showed my father-in-law t and he sat reading to the end as well. He is a retired farmer/rancher and kept laughing and showing his wife the tractors and other equipment. Thanks for sharing lol this with us all!




)Andy, I could be (and usually am) wrong but in my youth when I didn't wear gloves my left hand was always wounded. If it wasn't an errant hammer blow, it was the slip of a knife, saw or other tool. Probably just as well it's gone because I didn't take good care of it.Interesting concept, but I think you're wrong handed. Inexplicably I seem to always wear out my right gloves. I have a friend here who lost his left arm a couple of years ago at 65. We got to talking one day and I said sure, I'll take your left gloves and give you some right gloves to boot. I was actually surprised to find my worn through gloves were all rights. I had not noticed that before. And I'm not sure why, even though I'm pretty much ambidextrous. One example I can think of is the brake/shear. I'm handling sharp metal with my right hand while operating the lever with my left hand. Oh well, thanks for the thought!
I think that Andy probably has that effect on many of us - particularly anyone who either grew up on a farm or (like me) had friends who did.

No pilgrims, no nothing. Oh yeah, I remember your "Pilgrims"... never mind. 




Andy, the "cattle guard" that your building a walkway across would be what we refer to as a "grid" (or "cattle grid")?
A lot of ones here have a narrow plank at one end to walk across (too narrow and too close to the fence post for any cattle to attempt it).




Andy, I could be (and usually am) wrong but in my youth when I didn't wear gloves my left hand was always wounded. If it wasn't an errant hammer blow, it was the slip of a knife, saw or other tool. Probably just as well it's gone because I didn't take good care of it.![]()






Very interesting concept and excellent justification of reality!(Probably just as well it's gone)
On the other hand, I seem to injure my left hand more, glove wear notwithstanding.
However, I find you are usually not wrong, in fact are usually right, except under the spousal judgement category where you have not only never won a medal, you've struggled to get second place.
I may need your help replacing brake lines on the pickup. Should be a piece of cake for a man of your experience.
Thanks for dropping in![]()

Kenny, you nailed it. I do some of my best work and have some of my best naps lying down under the vehicle. With the reduced blood flow to my brain while standing I would likely end up passed out on the floor, becoming a tripping hazard. Then it's tighten a fitting, move Bob, bleed a cylinder, move Bob, etc. etc.Andy: I don't know how much help Bob would be on the brake lines. You have 2 lifts and he seemed to really enjoy laying on his back (with or without the welding blanket) to accomplish the line replacement. The higher clearance of the Ford truck from his Corvette might throw him off his game also.![]()
Andy: I don't know how much help Bob would be on the brake lines. You have 2 lifts and he seemed to really enjoy laying on his back (with or without the welding blanket) to accomplish the line replacement. The higher clearance of the Ford truck from his Corvette might throw him off his game also.![]()
Kenny, you nailed it. I do some of my best work and have some of my best naps lying down under the vehicle. With the reduced blood flow to my brain while standing I would likely end up passed out on the floor, becoming a tripping hazard. Then it's tighten a fitting, move Bob, bleed a cylinder, move Bob, etc. etc.
Andy: any Bull sightings cause a lot of BULL going on in the thread? I also love your tutorials and daily postings and even though i post (or did before i went MIA) a lot i still could say more cause you tell a great story with most or all your pictures.
best of luck with the fab stuff and i think we need to see some pics of your granddaughter pounding on and welding up some metal if that might be a possibility.
hope you are having a great weekend
Hopefully you haven't see the buzzards yet!
I should have stopped there and regrouped another day. But I persevered, intent on doing as much damage as possible.
And the lineup clamps are really hard to weld close too. Bending over the alignment rod I put in, I could not get close enough see to weld.
We'll just call you sparky.


I have some copper pipe pounded flat and folded over a few times I can clamp behind the sheet metal. It helps to build a puddle instead of just burning through. It also seems to help to use thinner wire than you would for anything else.
Andy, while I haven't used it ESAB makes a welding wire called easy grind. It is purpose is for auto body work. May be worth checking into.
Keep up the great work. I look forward to checking into your progress each day and stay amazed at your talents.
Andy: i love your GET R DONE attitude and keep posting up your cool pictures of the good (and the bad) so some of us can keep learning about this stuff. of course you are learning to do it HANDS ON so even if you are making mistakes i bet you will make it work and do better the next time.
i hope your bull shows up today!!
did you see how close the fire was in pictures on Don's thread? GEESH i hope the winds didn't change overnight cause he was already moving cars out of his cool garage.
take care and we are all still watching as you teach us while you are learning.
cheers

I'm still trying. My wife says sometimes I'm very trying...
I think that should be your new motto:
Intent on doing as much damage as possible
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Laughed out loud at that one, because my wife would say the same about me.
Just popped in to check the progress. I enjoy following along with the various projects.


