Toby Southan forming a metal panel on a press, with an aircraft under build in the background

Formworks

Formworks is a space to design, engineer, and craft something together — bring a rough idea, a broken part, or a half-formed drawing, and we'll work out how to build it as a commission.

  • Metal Forming
  • Prototyping
  • CAD
  • Pattern Making
  • Coachbuilding
  • Aerospace
  • Film & TV
  • 3D Printing
  • CNC Support

Services

Hand-shaped aluminium body panels for a classic car, freshly wheeled and polishedHand-clamping a curved metal panel during shapingClose-up detail of a hand-finished welded seam on an aluminium panelA finished hand-formed aluminium panel resting on the workshop benchFinishing a hand-formed aluminium coachbuilt body shell in the workshop

Metal Forming

Compound curves, edge definition, wheeling, and refined surface development for jobs that need more than standard flat fabrication.

CAD model of a lattice-frame chassis structure with hinge jointsThe real welded lattice-frame chassis bracket, built from the CAD modelWelded tube bracket detail on the lattice-frame chassisCAD model of a fan and motor housing assembly3D-printed fan part built from the CAD model

Functional & Prototype Parts

Working parts, jigs, brackets, and proof-of-concept builds — I can model and design in CAD alongside you, not just fabricate from a finished file, so it fits, functions, and holds up as well as it looks.

Hand-formed aluminium bracket with pressed louvres and drilled mounting holesHand-formed aluminium bracket with pressed louvres, alternate angleView from inside the ribbed aluminium structure of the Turbo Dolphin sculptureClose-up detail of a hand-finished welded seam on a curved aluminium body panelCompleted hand-formed aluminium coachbuilt body shell on the workshop rigHand-formed aluminium nose section for a coachbuilt body, mounted on a jigHand-formed aluminium bodywork on a vintage roadster restoration

Coachbuilt Panels

One-off and low-volume panels shaped by hand for restorations, custom builds, continuation work, and design-led fabrication.

Wooden buck pattern for the Turbo Dolphin sculpture with an aluminium nose section attachedHand-shaped foam pattern buck for a curved body panelFoam pattern buck alongside the hand-formed aluminium shell shaped from itWooden and hand-finished pattern bucks used to shape a body panelCAD render of the Turbo Dolphin sculpture pattern, wooden buck with red painted shell

Pattern & Tool Making

Patterns, bucks, formers, jigs, and templates — the tooling that makes accurate shape possible — developed before final metalwork begins.