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Cornfield Customs Shop tour

cornfield customs

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
115
Location
Milford OHIO
I had some people ask to see some pics of my shop and some more of the projects we are working on, so here is a dedicated thread to that and a short bio on myself and the shop.

My name is Mike, i am 30 years old and i own and operate Cornfield customs Ltd. in Milford Ohio. We specialize in pre 1950 american made hot rods and custom metal shaping. I started the shop 10 years ago after meeting an old time hot rod builder who told me i have a knack for hot rods and should quite my job and open a shop. so thats what i did and never looked back. we have grown exponentially in that time, starting out in a 1000 sq ft shop to now owning a 7500 sq ft commercial property. Hopefuly in years to come we will continue to grow our skill set and brand in the hot rod community. so here is a tour of our shop and some of the cars that are currently in.


The show room.

our Vega ISCA funny car, it was built in 1971 and is a barn find. all we have done is cleaned it an over hauled the engine to get it running agian







old speed parts collection









The work area



























metal shaping station



















cnc cutting and drity fab area





storage area









well thats pretty much it, i will keep posting progress pics and metal shaping projects in the fabrication section.

thanks for looking
 
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Kevin54

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Jan 12, 2005
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29,341
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Urbana, Ohio
Cornfield.....Welcome to Garage Journal. I sure do hope that you keep updating this thread so we can all see what is going on in the shop, or if you ever do a detailed article on doing some fab work, post it up in our Fabrication section for all to see. I imagine that you will be bombarded with questions and kudos to the work you do.

If you would be so kind, could you put the state you live in into your profile? No need for the city, unless you want to guide some people down that way. But a state would suffice.. It always helps when we as members answer a question, or when we may even ask a question. And I imagine you will have a few questions coming your way, now that you introduced yourself and your shop. Thank you.

Aside from that it looks like you have enough projects in the works to keep you busy for quite a while. And that's a good thing!!! Is the shop solely yours, or do you have a partner? And do you have a dedicated website that shows your past and present projects?

I also see that you are not solely dedicated to just pre '50 cars. Do you try to stick top just pre '50 or do you take on anything that comes your way?

Again...Welcome to the site, and I hope you become a longtime member. Thanks again for joining up. You'll find a great group of guys on here, and most likely some right in your neck of the woods. :beer:
 
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C

cornfield customs

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
115
Location
Milford OHIO
Cornfield.....Welcome to Garage Journal. I sure do hope that you keep updating this thread so we can all see what is going on in the shop, or if you ever do a detailed article on doing some fab work, post it up in our Fabrication section for all to see. I imagine that you will be bombarded with questions and kudos to the work you do.

If you would be so kind, could you put the state you live in into your profile? No need for the city, unless you want to guide some people down that way. But a state would suffice.. It always helps when we as members answer a question, or when we may even ask a question. And I imagine you will have a few questions coming your way, now that you introduced yourself and your shop. Thank you.

Aside from that it looks like you have enough projects in the works to keep you busy for quite a while. And that's a good thing!!! Is the shop solely yours, or do you have a partner? And do you have a dedicated website that shows your past and present projects?

I also see that you are not solely dedicated to just pre '50 cars. Do you try to stick top just pre '50 or do you take on anything that comes your way?

Again...Welcome to the site, and I hope you become a longtime member. Thanks again for joining up. You'll find a great group of guys on here, and most likely some right in your neck of the woods. :beer:

thanks, i will add that info to my profile.

i am the 100% owner of the company. i prefer pre 1950 projects but will make exceptions depending on the project. i have a lot of different tastes in cars so that decides on some of what is in the shop, the vega funny car is mine, and the edsel wagon is mine. the 59 stude is a good friends of mine that i keep in the show room , i have done a lot of work on it over the years. out of the 20 cars in the shop only 5 of them are newer than 1950, most are pre war. my main focus on cars is 1928-1934. like i said i will make exceptions for special metal shaping projects but it is not often. but we will not work on new cars at all
 

ScottsGT

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Jan 1, 2014
Messages
4,883
Location
Lake Wateree, SC
When I die and meet God, this is where he will send me for eternity. All I need added is a spray booth since not all cars can have patina.
 

4 FN 27

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Joined
Oct 19, 2015
Messages
4,635
Location
Minnesnowta
Amazing...you need webcams in each corner of the shop. Productivity related to anyone with a job on GJ would come to a halt!!! I'd log in and watch all day and all night!!!

Great work...true craftsmanship!!!
 

sean Buick 76

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Joined
May 7, 2013
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3,221
Location
Edmonton Alberta
WOW I love the projects and the work space!!!! That Vega sure has a light front end with the way that engine is stuffed WAY in there!!! Super cool thanks for sharing!
 
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TRS63

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Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
128
Location
Stuttgart, Germany
Wow, as a metalshaping lover, I have to say that I love your shop! Looking forward to the updates, as a lot of interesting projects seem to be waiting their turn!:rocker::thumbup:
Antoine
 

slammedkustom

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
99
Location
orpington kent Uk
that shop set up is amazing, some awe inspiring work there, thanks for posting it up.
threads like this make me think I have failed at life! what I wouldn't give for a shop like that!
 

cshades

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Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
396
Location
portage wi
Hi Mike. I met you at the Baileigh metal shaping class in Manitowoc a few years ago, you do some awesome metal work. My question is how do you get so much work done and have time to actually run the business end of things?
 
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cornfield customs

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Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
115
Location
Milford OHIO
Hi Mike. I met you at the Baileigh metal shaping class in Manitowoc a few years ago, you do some awesome metal work. My question is how do you get so much work done and have time to actually run the business end of things?

it is super tough, a lot of times i am always behind on everything. to not fall so far behind to where people are getting upset about it i work 7 days a week 10-14 hours. this has been normal for about 3-4 years. i have a couple guys that help me out in the shop but finding enough qualified skilled is a challenge so i have to make due. we are also booked out at 14 months almost constantly on large jobs
 

onemanarmy

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Joined
Oct 10, 2014
Messages
202
Location
Raleigh, NC
Thanks for sharing. Awesome space and nice to see the unique projects.

I'm sure we'd all like to hear how it started and where you came from, as many people here dream of having a shop like this, even though it is a job for you.

What was your background before the shop? Did you work with anyone when you started? What projects and tools did you start with? Do you currently have your own projects?

Obviously it all worked out and you have skill, which is a major contributing factor. Looking forward to more.
 

don long

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Joined
Mar 31, 2012
Messages
8,843
Location
southern california
I just took the tour. I found it very interesting and it makes me want to go to the fab sight to catch more great stuff of yours.
I have several old car projects that seem to have gotten forgotten. I have a full blown bodyshop in my back yard that I hang out in every day. Ive never done any fabrication work ,I was a bodyman in my past life but never worked on any car that was older than a couple of years all collision. I'm just starting to learn the resto side of the game so I'm very interested in following your progress.

Thanks for joining us here at the GJ.

Don
 

cshades

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Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
396
Location
portage wi
it is super tough, a lot of times i am always behind on everything. to not fall so far behind to where people are getting upset about it i work 7 days a week 10-14 hours. this has been normal for about 3-4 years. i have a couple guys that help me out in the shop but finding enough qualified skilled is a challenge so i have to make due. we are also booked out at 14 months almost constantly on large jobs

Well I am glad I am not the only one who seems to be always behind on projects. I spend a lot more time at the front desk than I do in the shop these days. The only real fab time I get is on the weekends at home. The only advise I have for you is to be careful about burning your self out by working all those days/hours with no real time off. I bought a boat a few years ago to do something besides cars all the time and it really helped to lessen the stress.
 

ScottsGT

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Jan 1, 2014
Messages
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Location
Lake Wateree, SC
I could not agree more with cshades statement. I was a paint and body man many, many years ago. I got into the business right out of high school and within 11 years, I was done. After 9 years of constant work from sun up to sun down I had enough and went back to school for electronics.
I still miss the work, but not the hustle and deadlines and everyone wanting it done for free to nothing.
 

80WTI_55_CHEV

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Joined
Dec 8, 2012
Messages
820
Location
bundamba australia
Hi Mike, I have followed you for a few years now through Facebook and also watched some footage on youtube, your shop and your equipment are first to none and your abilities are impressive to say the least, over the years i have picked up a few tricks that you have shown and i look forward to more of your builds mate.
Lee
 
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