Photos from Craig Naff's Hotrod Body Shop with Ron Covell

It's not often that you get the chance to hang out with one of the world's best hotrod metal shapers, Craig Naff. Add to that the fact that Ron Covell, a fantastic metal fabricator and instructor, would be teaching a class in Craig's shop and you have the potential for a fantastic Saturday. I made the drive over to Craig's shop on the outskirts of Woodstock, VA early in the morning using Ron Covell's Basic Metal Shaping class as an excuse to get out of the house.

Craig Naff's Shop in Woodstock, VA

Craig greeted me with a friendly smile at the end of his gravel driveway and told me where to park. Once in his shop, the first thing I noticed was how basic Craig's shop was. He had plenty of expensive metal shaping tools but only what he really needed; nothing fancy. Heck even the walls weren't finished (Peg got a chuckle from the insulation being stamped "Manville" in the photos I showed her). This turned into the theme of the day. You don't need fancy tools to do good work. Power tools only let you work faster not better. Craig had some great projects underway in his shop to illustrate how he really is a master metal shaper.

Metal Shaping Tools at Craig Naff's Shop

Project Car at Craig Naff's Shop

Hotrod Project at Craig Naff's Shop

Dies for Metal Shaping

Ron Covell put on a good class. He showed some basic forming techniques and made a few items that were given away at the end of the class. This class was all demo and no hands-on. For me, it was a little slow at times and I probably shouldn't have taken the basic class since I have worked with metal a little bit in Bubba's Garage. Still, I was happy to be out with a group of like minded individuals. Ron did take the time to answer everyone's questions and from the questions some really good discussions emerged. He also made available his extensive line of instructional DVDs at a discounted rate.

Ron Covell Shaping Metal

Ron Covell making an intake scoop

At the end of the day I was able to recruit a couple of classmates to snap some photos for my garage wall of fame.

Bubba Harmon with Craig Naff

Bubba Harmon with Ron Covell