Aluminum Body Experiment

[rbray]

For the last few years I’ve been playing around with metal working and I’ve decided to conduct a few small trials of building an aluminum body from scratch.

Here is my progress to date: http://picasaweb.google.com/rbrayzz/MetalWork#

I’ve used the front left fender of my EM as a pattern to make a small wooden buck. The fabrication is being done with an English wheel a sand bag and mallet and a lot of time.

For Christmas I got an aluminum welding setup that I plan on learning to use this summer. I have a friend that is a professional welder who is going to help me get started.

I also have a mandrel tube bender that I don't know how to use yet, but it should be fun learning.

The results to date not perfect, but they are much better than I expected on my first try.

My plan is to spend this summer practicing fabricating and welding some panels and then decide if I want to commit do doing a full scale project.