This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the Gene Winfield Custom Metalworking class hosted by
Hatfield Restorations in Canton, TX. I gotta say, this was one of the most fun car events I can remember attending!
In case you don't know who Gene is, he is pretty famous in car-customizing circles for being one of the most active car builders the "hobby" has ever known. He had already made a name for himself by the mid-1950's, and continues to work circles around guys a quarter of his age. To put things in perspective, Winfield is to the custom car world as Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer put together are to golf.
There are a number of really talented metalworkers around, but one thing that sets Winfield apart is how well he shares his talent. He goes beyond just demonstrating what he's good at; he tells his students the hows and whys of what he's doing while he's doing it.
As for my experience with the class, I really learned a lot. I probably ought to have taken better notes, but I'm afraid I would have missed something if I would have been jotting something down while he was talking. Winfield would spend some time talking and drawing on a white board expaining some handy homemade tools to make, or where to cut certain cars when you chop the top... sort of like a classroom setting. Then, almost stream-of-conscious-style, he'd go over to the workbench and demonstrate some handy technique. He made it all look so easy!
The rest of the time was spent chopping the top on a '53 Chevy 210 owned by one of the Hatfield Restorations staff. Pete's Chevy really went under a major transformation in the two days... and he's got some really cool stuff planned for the car. Definitely keep your eyes out for this one, guys!
One of the things that several of us "students" were commenting on was how precise Winfield would be on some things, while other aspects of his work were much more carefree. I know there were several panels I probably would have spent more time fitting, but he just got them close with the intention of leading over it all. He makes a good point that some shortcuts are acceptable to get the work out the door more quickly (provided they won't cause any problems down the road), but he makes it clear that there are some things you just don't cut corners on.
A few quick things I learned from the class:
- How to light an acetylene torch off someone else's MIG welding arc.
- You should never hit a hammer with another hammer... unless you think it would be the easiest way to get the results you're after.
- I can actually work lead without it running off the car and onto the floor
- I'm not hitting the weld hard enough when I'm hammerwelding. (And I hit it a lot harder than most people I've seen do it!)
- I need a really high-crown body hammer.
- A chunk of railroad track has loads of uses.
- You don't need expensive tools to do some serious metalshaping.
- Gene Winfield is an 83-year-old teenager.
If you ever get the opportunity, I highly recommend this class... but if you're gonna get the most out of it, you'll need to be aggressive. If you can't see what Winfield is doing, get where you can... stand on a chair, walk around to the other side of the workbench, whatever. He won't invite you up there, but if you come in close, he will welcome you.
Lastly, I'd like to thank Gary Hatfield and his staff for hosting the event at their shop and letting us use their tools and resources all weekend.
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