Hello from the Sunshine state!

[Vudufl]

Hey All,
I've been interested in joining All MetalShaping for some time now (one of the line items on my epic length "to-do" list) and a recent birthday gift in the form of another metal working book has motivated me to finally get this done.

My name is Charles and I've been interested in all things with wheels since I was born. My interests in cars is varied although I'm primarily into street rods, traditional customs, G-machines and VW's (I just realized as I'm typing this that I'm even having a hard time creating the short list..lol).

I'm also an artist/designer and that's the career path that I followed as an adult. My abilities as a designer also fueled my automotive passions as I was able to design and illustrate cars that I was not able to build, usually because of the cubic yards of cash that would be required to build all of the rides I dreamed up. I have had several opportunities over the years to design cars for guys and it's always been a kick to see my concept illustration come to life.

I've worked with my Dad since I was a kid on a variety of projects from restorations to street rods. He taught me how to gas weld when I was young although sadly I have to admit that I no longer possess the skill. I've always been interested in fabrication and coachbuilding techniques in particular (usually when applied to high-end hot rods) but I've never really developed those skills.

Currently I'm down to one project car - a steel '32 Ford roadster highboy that I designed and then had built by the crew at Greening Auto in Cullman Alabama (now in Nashville). Jesse Greening and his guys were great to work with as the car was constructed from the one-off rails on up. I checked on the progress of the car regularly, often times wishing I could just hang out in the shop for weeks and try to soak up their knowledge and skills. I brought the car home from Jesse's shop a couple of years ago before it was completed. I will be doing all of the bodywork and prep for paint along with minor fabrication work as I get it ready to hit the road.

I love the '32 but after it's complete I know that I want to get into a project that will be built 100% at home. I've got several car ideas in mind (no surprise) but I've got a whole lot of learnin' to do before I jump into that. I'm hoping that the community of All MetalShaping will inspire and educate me.