Metal men

Published 10:00 am Sunday, March 18, 2012

John DeVries, owner of Mower County Customs, and Abe Knudson bring old cars and motorcycles back to life at their shop in southeast Austin. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com

A pair of men are making the old new again through good old-fashion metal working

For John DeVries, working with metal has evolved from a chore to a job to a passion.

“I’ve been manipulating metal for 40 years,” he said.

1957 Chevy before. - Photo provided

Most recently, DeVries has harnessed that skill at Mower County Customs, a shop at 1502 10th Drive SE that specializes in custom metal work on cars and motorcycles.

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DeVries has been working with metal his whole life. He started working on cars when he was a child when his father ran Ace Auto Body Shop.

“They gave me all the rusty cars to do, and I just like old cars,” he said.

That’s part of the reason why DeVries bought an English wheel to shape metal and decided to start doing custom bodywork. He didn’t like being told it would take decades to master the trade.

“I got an English wheel, and the guy said I couldn’t build anything with it until 20 years down the road,” DeVries said. “I don’t like the word can’t, so I proved him wrong.”

After photo of the same 1957 Chevy, rebuilt by John DeVries. - Photo provided

The English wheel can take years to master, but DeVries started playing with the tool and took a class to learn some tricks of the trade.

Now, Mower County Customs does everything from rust repairs to making new fenders, custom dashes and more. On one car in his shop, he’s building a custom dashboard and moving the fuel cap to make it more accessible.

DeVries also makes decorative handrails that often spell out “welcome” and go on houses or patios.

In his spare time, DeVries built the body and frame of an entire coupe from scratch.

“He built every single panel on the car,” said Abe Knudson, who works with DeVries. “He built the whole car.”

Custom shops, especially bike shops, have gained more attention recently through reality shows like “Orange County Choppers,” but DeVries said such shows aren’t always accurate. The shows often skew the amount of time — and manpower — projects require. For the most part, DeVries said he doesn’t like working on deadlines, because one never knows how long a specific project will take.

Knudson compared refurbishing a car or motorcycle to remodeling a house: You never know what you’re going to find when you start tearing back the old material.

Knudson described their work with the English wheel and handcrafting metal as a lost art, as many things nowadays are mass-produced from stamps.

“There’s not guys that do this kind of stuff that he does anymore,” Knudson said. “The English wheel in there and stuff like that: No one does that kind of stuff by hand.”

Plus, much of the work is done using automatic machines.

“Nobody’s doing it like this anymore,” Abe said. “It’s a dying trade.”

Today many dealers sell stamped reproductions for people who are restoring their cars.

However, the English wheel has the big advantage of allowing metal workers to craft parts in any shape they like. “With the English wheel you can pretty much make anything you want,” DeVries said.

The mass-produced materials typically aren’t unique. Knudson and DeVries said custom shops are an important part of keep restoration projects alive because they provide the materials required.

“Yeah, it’s going to take a little bit of time and a little bit more money, but it’s all handcrafted,” DeVries said. “It’s not a cookie cutter.”