My name is Pat Woods. I have been interested in working with my hands all my life. It started when I was growing up, in the garage with my father, a mechanic by trade. I was always fascinated how he could fix anything that came in the garage, and actually repair anything around the house with his hands. My father showed me many things that sparked my interest in working with my hands and ultimately led me to shaping metal. I always thought my father was a thinker. To be a craftsman I think you have to be a thinker. I started my career by working for a local Harley-Davidson dealership where I’m still employed, Illinois Harley-Davidson. I have been working there since 1996 in many different parts of the dealership. After four years at the dealership, I chose to go to school in Arizona at MMI, to further my education and work on bikes full time. I graduated MMI in 2001 and have been working on bikes as a mechanic full-time since then.

The metal working trade was very prominent while I was in Arizona. Many of the shops on the West Coast appeared to be doing metal work. I wanted to learn as much as I could about shaping metal, so I took a few classes with some people in the area. After the classes, I still did not have the knowledge that I thought I needed to be a professional metal shaper. Through my desire to seek out a professional metal shaper, I was able to make a connection with Fay Butler. I started communicating with Fay in 2002 and he has been instrumental in shaping my way of thinking about this trade. I took my first seminar with him in 2003 and have stayed in contact with him over the years, to improve my skills and become a better metal shaper. As a result of our connection, I have been able to aid him on occasion at seminars that he hosts in different parts of the country.

Through his seminars and spending time in his shop, I’ve learned which tools he uses to shape metal. As a result, I have chosen to purchase tools that enable me to shape metal using compressive forces. I have purchased a Pullmax machine and made a planishing hammer and my own handmade dies for shaping. All the dies follow the radius gauge designed by Fay’s. In my shop I have an Erco shrinker stretcher and the necessary hand tools to move the metal around when needed. I have machining capabilities which include a Bridgeport mill and South Bend lathe. I weld with one of Miller’s newer welders, a Dynasty 200. Over the years I have learned that purifying argon gas is crucial to the weld. From a scientific standpoint, a purification system is the professional way to weld. In 2006 I purchased a nanochem purification system. I have taken these steps to try and follow a standard of craftsmanship in this trade as taught in Fay’s professional seminars.

At one of the seminars I was introduced to the lost art of scraping. Scraping is a trade that was developed in the 1850’s. According to the book “Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy” by Wayne Moore, Joseph Whitmore is one of the fellows who developed hand scraping. He thought, back in 1856, that there is a great importance for true planes and a power of measurement. Scraping is the foundation and backbone of the machines that were built back in the day. The people who scraped these machines and built them were real craftsman. Having gained this knowledge about scraping, I noticed a local business around my house that was doing this type of work. In December 2007 I met Gerard Wozniak owner of Condor Machine Tool Co, Inc. Condor Machine has been a precision scraper and machine tool repair facility since 1983. Gerard has given me the opportunity to be an apprentice scraper twice a week at his facility. My knowledge base on machinery, scraping and machine tool rebuilding is expanding. I have been introduced to Axelson lathes, Pratt and Whitney jig borers, Moore precision tools and numerous other mills and lathes.

The career path I have chosen and the people I have met enable me to take on challenging metal shaping jobs with confidence. I look forward to working on even more challenging projects.

If you’d like to learn even more about me and my experiences, please view my resume.