General Overview
Anyone whose spent any time around cars has felt the
lure of those custom creations that grace the glossy pages of the
print mags, wage war on the deserts of the great southwest, or make
their home here on the virtual pages of Off-Road.com. You know the
type. Tubular steel chassis, beaucoup suspension travel, sheet
metal interiors....there seems to be no limit to what the fertile
mind of a gearhead can envision. One of the first thoughts people have is that such
creations are outside the abilities of the average shade tree
mechanic to create. The second thought is that these dream trucks
are expensive. Unfortunately, both of these things are true. That
doesn't mean however, that there's not a significant amount of
custom work that you "can" do with a modest investment in the
proper tools, and a lot of hard work & practice. OK, so you have the tools, and you made the time to
use them. What now? Well, for starters, make a bit more time and
read "The Metal Fabricators Handbook" by Ron Fournier. This award
winning tome from HP Books has developed a reputation for putting
many an enthusiast on the right track to developing the skills
necessary for building those "dream trucks". No, it won't turn you
into a Ron Fournier or Jon Nelson overnight, but it will certainly
lay a solid foundation toward a never-ending education in the
metallic arts. The Metal Fabricators Handbook takes you step by step
through several custom projects, giving the reader an abundance of
photo-reference, diagrams, measurements, and tips & tricks for
getting the most out of your tools. Learn how to properly build and
mount roll cages, aluminum interiors, scoops, flares, other items
that many consider "essential" to automotive customization. While
this book is geared towards asphalt, the principles contained herin
translate directly to the off road world as well. Highlights- Basic tool selection
- Tube bending and notching
- Sheet metal basics
- Grades of metal and it's uses
- Header construction
- Chassis design
- Roll bar / cage design and
construction
- Welding - Gas / Arc / Mig / Tig
- Fuel and oil tanks
- Specialty tools and their uses
- Building custom tooling
The Verdict - 4+Remember, even the greatest fabricators in the world
had to start somewhere. While they may have been born with a
natural talent for shaping metal, seemingly by will alone at times,
they still had learn most of their skills. The Metal Fabricators
Handbook endeavors to teach you some of the more basic of those
skills, and by all accounts, does the job very well. There's a lot
of info crammed into those 144 pages, and between the abundant
photos, diagrams, and straightforward explainations, some
incredibly complicated subject mater becomes easily understood. If you have any intentions to preform custom work on
your rig, This is one book you shouldn't be without. IMO, Spend the
$15. You won't regret it. Get the Metal Fabricators
Handbook from Amazon.com |
