CityView Magazine

60 | May/June • 2014 Bradham's surface knowledge of hot rods and motorcycles as a youth came mainly from the pencil draw- ings he created. He started his journey in earnest while working for Meineke Muffler. "I sorta started teaching myself how to weld," he said. "I was intrigued on how you can take a flat piece of metal and mold it into a curved structure and how a piece of metal could become a curved and detailed structure." Bradham then said he started us- ing different algebraic and geometric forms in his work than he learned in high school. Bradham melds both into his current studies. "I hated math in school and now I use it every day," he said. "e reason it is so interesting is because I made it interesting." Part of that interest involves Bradham interweaving art and mechanical principals. He wears his Doc Martens, a pair of Dickie's work pants, t- shirt and welder's cap while the sounds of punk rock band Social Distortion paint the background of his shop. is is where his imagination mar- ries his creativity and is oen transformed into ingenuity. "e only limit is what the cus- tomer or my staff can think of," he said. "While you are sometimes limited by the equipment you have there's still a lot that can be done. It's not just one person for most projects. I have to delegate the work. We have fab guys, paint guys, motor guys and I'm just the ringleader." Bradham and TBC's newest project is manufacturing 1932 hot rod frames. He wants to use quality control while mass-producing them. "It's something I've wanted to do for awhile and I've built a jig table to start it off," he ex- pressed. "It's what everyone wants to build in terms of hot rods and they can be sold all over the country." As for his preference and pride in American-made products, Bradham, of British descent though he's colored with stars and stripes on the inside, said this nation needs to return to its working class roots for ingenuity and quality workmanship. "It's very important to me that something is made in the U.S.A.," he said. "I sense the blue-collar Ameri- can worker is gone. Not here. Sure, I have four or five Triumph motorcy- cles and I wear Doc Martens because they're the best things made when working on concrete, but I would nev- er discount what Americans can do. And he doesn't mind passing along what he's learned to inquiring minds in all 50 states. "A lot of them watch my videos and get inspired," Bradham said. "I'm thankful we can try to give back. I started in my backyard and I don't dog anyone who does that. ere are probably guys in backyards that can do things 20 times better than are turning out cars and bikes that are the American dream." Ever the teacher, he noted, "I'm also flattered by the many people who come here wanting to apprentice." ere's a lot one can learn from Tim Bradham. Anyone with an I-always-wanted- to-do bucket list project can call Brad- ham and TBC at 910.424.9811. e shop is open Monday through urs- day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. CV Cape Fear Crematory, Inc. More cost effective than traditional burial We offer private family viewings Affordable direct cremation Services available 24 hours Family owned and operated for over 30 years 6765 Sandy Creek Road | Stedman, NC 28391 | 910.323.8898 | www.capefearcrematory.com "Where compassion and care run the business"

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