"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 26 Jan 2005 14:25:50 -0800, the inscrutable Eric R Snow
spake:

Anybody notice how many folks are selling tools for hand working
sheetmetal? The availability of english wheels and related tools on
the web has greatly increased in the last few years. Wonder if it has
anything to do with TV shows about motorcycles and hot rods.

I had never heard of an English wheel until I saw that crazy f*ck
Jesse James using one on an episode of Monster Garage.

The answer to your question is a resounding "yes", Eric.

Once again, I feel like I was born either too soon or too late. I was
fascinated by these things after reading the English book _Sports Car
Bodywork_, published around 1962 or so, in which they were called "wheeling
machines." When I was a teenager I wanted one in the worst way. I had a big
custom-made shot bag, made for me by a local shoemaker, and I made lots of
mallets, but I wanted a wheeling machine. I just couldn't find any photos or
drawings of them.

Now they're available, along with lots of instruction for using them. But
now, I could care less about using one. g

BTW, I still have the book, which contains large, fold-out drawings of
homemade chassis and body drawings for some traditional sports cars.

--
Ed Huntress