Been taking a metal shaping class, and so far it's been pretty cool. Here's a few pics (ok, more than a few!) of a project I'm working on.
It's a teardrop shape, with a flange along the bottom edges, made from a flat sheet of 0.0040" 3003-h4 Aluminum (I think). This was all shaped by hand, with hammers and a shotbag, the old-school way, then I used the english wheel at the end, but only with a very light pressure to smooth out my hammer marks. Then I used the english wheel again to lightly stretch and "tip" the edges to create the flange.
The cardboard "skeleton" you see on the table is a template I used to get the shape correct.
Though the english wheel wasn't necessary, it's a quick (and fun!) way to smooth things out, even if its not being used to stretch the metal.
Next, I will file and sand this, and it will be finished with a "brushed aluminum" look.