[machine_punk]

Good afternoon! I am pleased to finally find a forum aimed directly at the area of metalworking I most enjoy...sheet metal forming.

I've just finally got the money and time to start enjoying the hobby of metalworking. I particularly enjoyed the metalworking course I took in junior high school, but just didn't pursue it at that time. I've always worked with wood, including a time I worked with a cabinet builder for a while.

I've done a lot interesting things in my life...been in the Army National Guard as a combat medic, been in the Air Force as a registered nurse, lived in Japan, Korea, and England, been a tournament director for Texas Hold'em tournaments, and, just recently, made it to the top 100 contestants (out of several thousand) for Masterchef Season 2 (which is on TV right now).

At the age of 30, I decided to learn something new each year. This ranged from learning to play the guitar, taking martial arts to taking a cooking course in France, to ballroom dancing, to taking an autobody metalworking course in England--where they specialized in classical Jaguars.

The course renewed my interest in metalworking. While I really enjoyed being able to shape metal and making 'perfect' large panels from small pieces of formed sheet metal, I began to realize that I REALLY like the look of solid rivets. Lately, I've been getting my metalworking shop together...mainly buying tools on CList and the online auction site. I've got some fantastic deals on air tools...usually buying old tools, disassembling them, and getting them working well again.

I've really only been practicing with the solid rivets so far...making test pieces and riveting them together. I really enjoy the engineering challenge of making objects which use rivets and the only fastening device. I plan to build airplane-like furniture, like Moto Art, only 'from scratch.' I have the materials to start getting my shop together. I'd like to build, rather than buy, most of my shop fixtures. Instead of a peg board to hold tools, I plan to build a reconfigurable rack system (based on the music/computer rack system), where all the tools get their own bracket, custom made and riveted to a standard blank (19" wide), which can be moved around the rack system on the wall to meet current needs. I also plan to build my own tool boxes. One of my ideas is to cut off the last 2.5 feet (.75 meters?) of a 1986 Volvo station wagon...take the door off, and replace the door with tool drawers whose fronts match the profile of the hatch door I just removed (so, the tool cabinet will look like the back of a Volvo station wagon, except with drawers, instead of a hatch door).

Anyway, I'm running long here. Looking forward to seeing what all of you are working on.

Kev