Sheet Metal Handbook, by Ron & Sue Fournier

Inside you'll find tips on: Setting up your own shop, proper use of the English wheel, basic metal shaping techniques, the art of hammerforming, proper riveting techniques, and tips on restoring original sheet metal.
144 pages with step-by-step photos & illustrations.

Welder's Handbook, by Richard Finch

Learn how to weld like a pro! This book covers a variety of welding techniques: oxyacetylene welding and cutting to MIG, TIG and plasma-arc welding. Includes tips on building simple or complex welding jigs and fixtures. How to weld everything from mild steel and chrome-moly to magnesium and titanium.
160 pages with many illustrations & clear photos.

Ultimate Sheet Metal Fabrication, by Timothy Remus

In an age when most products come off an assembly line at the rate of hundreds or thousands per hour an increasing number of individuals yearn to build a fender, hood or side cover by hand. Whether you're restoring an old Packard, building a unique hot rod, customizing your Harley-Davidson, or trying to keep an old biplane in the air, this book is for you. Eleven chapters cover: Design and Layout, Tools and Materials, and Welding Sheet Metal. Included are Fabrication Sequences with skilled craftsmen like Ron Covell, Steve Davis, Bo Olson and Bob Munroe.
144 pages with over 350 photos.

Advanced Sheet Metal Fabrication, by Timothy Remus

Advanced Sheet Metal Fabrication Techniques, is a photo-intensive how-to book. See Craig Naff build a Rolls Royce fender, Rob Roehl create a motorcycle gas tank, Ron Covell form part of a quarter midget body, and Fay Butler shape a aircraft wheel fairing and the front section for an old Lotus race car. Methods and tools include the English wheel, power hammer, shrinkers and stretchers, and of course the hammer and dolly.
144 pages, over 250 photos (color)

Advanced Custom Motorcycle Assembly & Fabrication, by Timothy Remus
Part catalog, part service manual and part inspiration, this new book offers help with Planning the project, getting the Right Look, Fabricating parts and Assembling that custom bike you've been dreaming about. Three start-to-finish sequences with builders like Donnie Smith and Dave Perewitz show not just how the best bikes are bolted together, but how the unique one-off gas tanks are shaped and then fit to the stretched soft-tail frames.
144 pages, over 400 photos (color)

Sheet Metal Fabrication Basics - Biker Basics , by Timothy Remus

Sheet Metal Fabrication Basics gives the reader the knowledge needed to shape sheet metal without the need for expensive power tools. The reader needs only a simple shop equipped with the most basic of tools. Master craftsman Rob Roehl from the shop of Donnie Smith, explains the types of steel and aluminum that are best suited to motorcycle projects, how to plan and layout a project, and how to stretch and shrink sheet metal.
144 pages (color) .

Watch master metal fabricator Ron Fournier create custom motorcycle sheet metal parts from scratch, including construction of an aluminum tank, fairing and front fender in this comprehensive film. Also featured is step-by-step fabrication of the bike's entire rear section which includes the fender, sides and seat pan. Each step and every technique is clearly demonstrated in a manner that shows the viewer how to make custom parts of their own design. The entire metal shaping process is detailed with thorough explanations and helpful tips to 'de-mystify' metal working magic. From pattern to finished product - Ron explains custom metal work - the result is professional and ready for paint. Armed with fundamental metal shaping knowledge, some essential tools - and a few "tricks of the trade", you can take your next project from sheet to street!

Planishing hammers are a real 'workhorse' of the metal shaping process. They are unexcelled for flattening welds, working in constricted areas, and stretching flanges. Ron demonstrates the basic procedures for using these machines, including proper die selection and operator technique, and he shows their use on both steel and aluminum panels. More specialized techniques are covered too, including flanging, riveting, and making reverse curves. This program shows seven different planishing hammers in action, from bargain-priced entry-level machines, through vintage and hand-held machines, to the most robust professional-level machines available, giving the viewer invaluable insight about the great diversity of these machines, and which features are most important for specific types of work. As popular as planishing hammers are, there is precious little information available on their proper use, and this program will give you a strong foundation for selecting and using the right machine and tooling for your application.

The first step in many large metalshaping projects is building a buck. A buck is a pattern, or form, that captures all of the key dimensions, contours, and details of an object in three-dimensional space. In some cases, details such as flanges and intricate contours are created by hammering metal directly against reinforced portions of the buck. The techniques used to make sophisticated bucks are not widely known, and many people have called us requesting a step-by-step description of the process, using tools the average builder may already have. You'll learn a fast way to use sheetmetal angles to model large, complicated shapes with surprising accuracy, and you'll get insight into the way Ron works through the challenges presented by each element of the buck. His detailed, easy-to-follow commentary, coupled with striking close-up photography makes each step easy to follow, and you'll learn how to build sturdy, accurate bucks - the foundation for your large-scale metalshaping projects!

MIG Welding is widely used for car and motorcycle building and modification, but few people really understand how each of the variables affects the finished weld. This program can be easily understood by a beginner, but it covers information even seasoned professionals can learn from. Ron Covell goes through the entire process step-by-step, and gives clear descriptions of how each factor changes the weld, including wire speed, voltage, wire stickout, gun angle, travel speed, and gas flow. He also covers plug welds, patch panels, welding aluminum, and using flux core wire. You’ll especially enjoy the special bonus section on Plasma Cutting!

See a chopper frame built before your eyes! Ron Covell goes through the entire process, starting with an overview of frame design, explaining the concepts of rake, trail, and stretch. He covers the use of chassis jigs, then goes on to show how to bend and fit tubing to create a chopper frame to match any design. Ron’s clear and detailed explanations will help any builder get on the road quickly, with a minimum amount of wasted effort. He also shows the use of both entry-level and high-end tools for layout, cutting, and bending. With the excellent instruction found here, building a frame may be an easier project than you imagine!

TIG welding has been long recognized as the premiere welding process, which can make beautiful, strong welds on nearly any metal. In this easy-to-follow program, Ron Covell covers the basic processes used for TIG welding, covering proper machine setup, joint preparation, electrode selection and preparation, torch technique, and perhaps most importantly, what to check for when things go wrong! Ron’s thoughtful description of the welding process, coupled with the close-up photography that brings the action into clear view makes the seemingly difficult process of TIG welding easy to understand.

This program covers many advanced topics in TIG welding, including welding chrome moly steel, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, bronze, copper, and titanium. You’ll also learn how to weld castings made from aluminum, magnesium, and bronze. Clear guidelines are given for using the pulse and waveform adjustments that many new welders have, along with great practical advice on machine setup, joint preparation, and weld finishing. Ron’s clear and detailed instructions are easy to follow, and the striking close-up photography shows you exactly what to look for as you weld!

Inspired by the Rod & Custom ‘Dream Truck’ Ron Covell and Joe McGlynn radically rework a ‘56 Studebaker pickup - giving it a 4” chop, a 6” section, and pie-cutting the hood. Every step is shown up-close, with clear detail, and the ongoing commentary brings out many of the ‘fine points’ of the work. You’ll see how and where to lay out the cuts, different ways to cut the metal, and how to fit the pieces back together to establish flowing contours. There are demonstrations on the English Wheel, planishing hammer, and Pullmax, plus TIG welding and plasma cutting. Special attention is paid to getting the hood and door gaps uniform.Although chopping and sectioning are radical modifications, Ron and Joe’s thoughtful, methodical way of working through the steps is easy to follow!

Ron Covell brings his signature easy-to-follow style to using the English wheel, a machine notoriously difficult for beginners to ‘figure out’. Starting with the machine’s history and a clear explanation of the principles that enable the machine to move metal, Ron shows the basic ’tracking’ patterns that are used to shape panels of various sizes and configurations.In addition to the common techniques of wheeling, Ron also shows some lesser-known processes, such as using a rubber top wheel, and doing embossing with the machine. Whether you’re brand-new to the English Wheel or an experienced user, you’ll find valuable information in this video.

This is probably the most comprehensive metalworking video to date: Ron Covell thoroughly demonstrates basic hammer and dolly techniques, and shows how to do high-level metalwork that requires no filler. In the video, he starts with a 1932 Morgan in very bad condition, and goes through every step of perfectly restoring the body. Great coverage of hole filling, patch panels, wired edge repair, rust repair, TIG welding, metal finishing, and shrinking. You’ll see how top-quality metalwork can be done with very simple tools!

Ron Covell's first video, now considered a classic. Watch Ron go through every step of making a track roadster nose, demonstrating techniques suitable for making virtually any body panel. He starts with a station buck defining the shape, shows clearly how the patterns are made, then starts shaping each piece and finally joins them together. Annealing, mallet and sandbag rough shaping, hammer and dolly smoothing, metal finishing, and both oxy-acetylene and TIG welding are covered in depth. If you’ve never seen metal shaped by hand, you may be astounded how simple the process is!

Craig Naff is one of the top metalworkers in the nation, with milestone projects such as Cadzilla, The Smoothster, SmoothNess, and The Golden Submarine to his credit. This program was shot during a workshop, where Craig demonstrated the fastest techniques known for shaping custom sheet metal panels. You’ll see how the Yoder Power Hammer, the Eckold machine, the Pullmax, and the Planishing Hammer each have a role in rapidly and accurately shaping metal. You’ll watch Craig make the two most difficult sections of a 1932 Ford front fender, explaining why he selects each machine, and how his customized tooling enables him to move the metal rapidly and efficiently. If you want to speed your own metal shaping, or just see a master at the top of his game, this program is a treasure!

What do you do if you have a car with a fender that is missing, or one that is damaged beyond repair? Ron Shows how to use the fender on the opposite side of the car to design a buck, and he points out the featurs a buck must have to make a new fender that perfectly mirrors the model. You'll see Ron analyze a '36 Ford fender, determine how many pieces to make it from, and exactly where to place the seams to accommodate the intricate details of the fender, including the running board bulge and the rolled edge of the wheelwell opening. This is a fascinating, in-depth look at the start-to-finish construction of a very challenging project!

In this long-awaited video, Ron Covell shows the ‘intimate details’ of making two very different gas tanks. The first is a flat-bottomed chopper style tank made from steel, and the second is a comma-shaped tank made from aluminum. Details of rubber mounting are clearly shown, along with demonstrations of forming with hand tools and with an English wheel. Two-video set (over 2 3/4 hours of instruction)

This video is filled with fantastic close-up shots, which bring the action into clear view. Ron Covell shows dozens of ways to work with tubing, including bending with heat, bending with both inexpensive and high-end tube bending machines, mitering, flaring, and tapering tubing. There is an extensive section that deals with using U-bends, showing how to create anything from simple water pipes to elaborate headers. Most of the techniques use only simple shop equipment! You’ll love it!