Metal Forming with Sosa

Here at Level 7 we are passionate about continuing education and pushing ourselves to further our skill set. It’s also good for our team and morale to keep creativity up. For the past few years Dylan has been researching the best metal shaping classes to attend and found he wanted to learn from Christian Sosa at Sosa Metalworks in Las Vegas. This year timing worked out so we sent him out for a 3 day training coarse. For those 3 days he learned from 11am till 7pm, was fed there, and even slept on a cot in the shop. I dont think that you could ask for a more involved hardcore experience!

Sosa Metalworks is a custom metal fab shop. For more than 20 years, Cristian Sosa, Owner of Sosa Metal Works, has been behind some of the most innovative metalwork designs in the Las Vegas area.  Beginning 12 years ago with being the lead metal fabricator at Counts Kustom, from Discovery Channel’s, Counting Cars series.

Cristian opened his own shop in September 2012 with his brother, Roberto, and is a master in fabrication and shaping metal. Metal work includes suspension on cars, sheet metal work, and one-off metal pieces for custom projects. Cristian’s specialty is fabricating one of kind motorcycles. Many of his clients are coming from other states or countries to have him build their bikes! Sosa Metalworks is here to bring clients’ visions to life in a rare and timeless fashion! Cristian is an independent and humble fabricator that stands behind his work, enough to put his name on it!

To check out more about Sosa visit his site here.

Day 1 of the class started off with an introduction to the fundamentals of shrinking, stretching, and creating templates as well as an introduction to the various machinery that was utilized during the class. They learned about new machinery including, Baleigh MH19, Powell Power Hammer, Pullmax P9, Shape-O-Matics, JRM Planishing Hammer, Baleigh Planishing Hammer, and 2 English Wheels. They had one on one demonstrations and time with the instructors allowing them to learn the techniques. The next day they learned how to created a wire frame, and use templates to shape the steel. Day 3 the students completed all their shaping of the panels, and began learning the fitting and weldings of their projects. Lastly, they learned metal finishing. Dylan was able to walk away with a thorough understanding of the design and shaping process that he can continue on here at Level 7.

 Check out some footage here.

Photo Credit: Dylan Johnson and Sosa Metalworks