Tools With Soul: How antique machines, modern sparks, and human hands come together to create something extraordinary

May 12

Written By Metal Art Workshop By Alex Van Doren

At Van Doren Metal Art Workshop, tools are more than just equipment—they’re partners in the dance of creation. Each piece of machinery in our San Miguel de Allende studio holds a story, a legacy, and a pulse of craftsmanship that you can feel the moment you fire them up.

We don’t use computers. We don’t mass-produce. What we do is craft one-of-a-kind metal artworks and teach others to do the same, using tools that span nearly a century—from the 1930s to today.

Antique Tools That Still Work Like Magic

Our studio isn’t just a creative space—it’s a working museum of metal artistry. Many of the machines we use have been around for longer than most of our students have been alive, and they still do the job better than anything digital or mass-produced.

Some of our favorite and most utilized tools include:

1938 Pexto Circle & Ring Shear

One of our most prized tools. This beast of a machine can cut a perfect 4-foot-diameter circle in sheet metal—flawlessly. It’s heavy, precise, and built to last forever. The kind of tool you feel in your bones when you use it.

1942 Acme Commercial Stomp Spot Welder

Used in a Plymouth automobile factory from the 1940s through the '60s to weld car doors, this industrial monster still joins metal like a dream. Today, it’s helping artists and students weld custom metal art in a completely different kind of vehicle: the imagination.

1956 Beverly Shear (Throatless Shear)

Invented in the late 1800s by a railroad worker who named the sheer after his daughter, this tool is designed to cut curves in sheet metal—something that’s nearly impossible to do cleanly by hand. It’s one of our favorites for sculptural work, offering both control and fluidity.

Old School Meets Modern Grit

While we cherish our vintage machines, we also use modern MIG welders from Miller and Lincoln—reliable, versatile, and powerful tools that allow our students to get comfortable with current equipment while honoring the traditions of the craft.

But you won’t find CNC machines or robotic arms in our studio. We don’t push buttons—we build relationships with our tools.

Every cut, every weld, every grind is a tactile, intentional movement. It’s you and the machine, working together. It’s a conversation. It’s a dance.

A Studio Like No Other

Walk into our workshop and it feels like you’ve stepped into a living time capsule of craftsmanship. Antique tools line the walls. Sparks fly from tables built decades ago. And students from around the world are immersed in a world that blends the beauty of tradition with the thrill of raw creation.

This is what makes Van Doren Metal Art Workshop so special.
It’s not just the classes, and it’s not just the projects, and it's not just the teachers.
It’s the atmosphere—the sense that you are standing in a sacred space for makers. A place where the tools have history, the metal has soul, and the people are here to create something real.

Right here in beautiful San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, we’re carrying forward a tradition of hands-on, heart-forward, fire-fed art.

Come See It for Yourself

If you’ve ever wanted to learn metal art—or if you’re just curious to witness these magnificent machines in action—come visit us.

Metal Art Workshop By Alex Van Doren https://vandorenmetalart.com