Recently, the HOT BIKE staff was fortunate enough to receive a new neighbor, Industrial Metal Supply (IMS), about a hop, skip, and a jump away from our editorial offices in Irvine, California.

Metal work has always fascinated me since high school. I enrolled in an auto shop class to learn the basics of how to wrench on my rolling pile o’ crap, an ’88 Acura Integra. Our teacher, Mr. Watson, was a cool character that really helped those interested in learning. With every tool available at our beck and call, the most fascinating contraption in the shop to me was the oxy-acetylene cutting torch. I was somewhat of a pyro in my younger days, and to be able to cut metal in half with a torch was brilliant to me. I asked Mr. Watson to show me how to use it, and no kidding, every day, I spent most of class cutting things in half. It didn’t matter what it was. And because of that, Mr. Watson made me the go-to guy whenever he needed things cut. He would seek projects out for me just to keep me busy. It was great!

Also, it was a pretty relaxed environment around the different shop classes (Auto Tech 101, Welding 101, Auto Body 101, and Diesel Mechanics 101), and all the shop teachers were buddies so it was cool if students checked out the other shop courses.

I spent a lot of time at the Welding 101 shop. It was a great escape. I never looked at the clock to see when it was time to go because I was really enjoying myself. I wasn’t a very good welder, but I was learning and having fun doing it.

Now, because I drive by IMS every day on my way to work, I feel like it’s time to revisit my childhood and start trying to weld again. IMS is a full-service distributor of all metal types (aluminum, brass, cast iron, copper, lead, silicon bronze, steel, stainless steel, and many more) that’s open to the public so anyone can walk in and order up whatever metal type they need to do whatever type of project they want. For you motorcycle guys, this is a perfect way to get started building your own motorcycle part for your project. Get yourself a welder of some sort (there are a lot of options out there that are pretty cheap) and check out the IMS website (industrialmetalsupply.com), or your local metal supply source, and get started on a project. It may take a while to get the hang of it, but you’ll have a blast trying!

Bye for now, Jordan