Wizard School Teaches the Art of Fabricating Today’s Dune Buggies
Inside the Wizard School of Fabrication in Riverside, CA, 32 potential Harry Potters are learning vehicle fabrication under the instruction of John “the Wizard” DeVillier. With 25 years of experience to draw upon, he’s teaching them the welding techniques they need to realize their dreams. Not dreams of becoming certified welders – there are other schools for that – but to become vehicle fabricators. Training with Miller Electric Mfg. Co.’s Millermatic 175 and 210 MIG and Syncrowave 180 SD and Dynasty 200 DX TIG welders, the students use the same models they’ll likely use as trained fabricators.
Their goal is to learn to build sandrails.
Today’s Dune Buggies
They used to be called dune buggies – lightweight, modified vehicles built on Volkswagen frames with 1,600cc Volkswagen engines that would cruise up and down the dunes. With only 4" to 6" of ground clearance, their frames took quite a beating when they’d bottom out or hit a rock, and they were limited to the size of engines they could handle.
A sandrail – the dune buggy of today – completed by a student team at the Wizard School of Fabrication, Riverside, CA.
“The dune buggies evolved into today’s sandrails: fast, high-powered – some in excess of 800 hp – vehicles specifically designed to withstand punishing treatment in the dunes. The rail frames are built from steel or chrome-moly tubing, with suspension added to improve the ride, durability, and ground clearance. Today, it wouldn’t be unusual to find a twin turbo Corvette engine powering a sandrail through the deserts of Southern California or the Baja Peninsula.
Sandrails, as an industry and a sport, have gone through a period of growth in the last decade. Estimates are that more than $2 billion per year is spent pursuing the pastime. The industry fights to keep up with demand. Less than 10 years ago, there were about 15 manufacturers in Southern California. Now there are more than 115, and the waiting lists for a sandrail may be as long as one year. The need for fabricators who can build the high-powered machines is at an all time high.
Enter DeVillier and the Wizard School of Fabrication. With about 25 years of experience building custom vehicles, helping others build theirs, and writing magazine articles, he has helped transform the industry. Now, he’s given up fabricating to share his knowledge with others to help the hobby grow.
Wizard School of Fabrication
DeVillier said most fabricators learned the way he did: teaching themselves or by working their way up from floor sweepers to fabricators in someone else’s shop. There’s never been a reliable source of education for sandrail fabricators. While running his own fabricating business, DeVillier noticed the shortage of educational resources and decided to share his expertise with others.
“I designed the school thinking I would have 10 guys come in here. The initial response was more than I’d hoped. The first class had 32 students,” DeVillier said. Interest grew and additional classes were added. The school expanded from Riverside to Phoenix and Las Vegas.
Students at the Wizard School of Fabrication learn MIG and TIG welding using Miller Electric Mfg. Co.’s Millermatic 175 and 210 MIG and Syncrowave 180 SD and Dynasty 200 TIG welders.
According to DeVillier, his typical student is a 17-year-old who started riding four-wheelers at an early age and maintained his interest in the recreation. Now, that person wants to build cars. Not all of his students have that lifelong background. Fathers and sons, and at least one husband and wife team, have taken the school to pursue a shared interest. More potential students from around the world view his website daily.
“Welding schools don’t teach what I teach,” DeVillier said. “A lot of schools teach how to lay a basic weld, but they’re not teaching how to cope and bend a tube or build a fixture. Our students learn how to design and build suspension geometry. It’s more of an art form.”
The Equipment
Students don’t start talking about building cars until the sixth week. Before that, DeVillier spends a week teaching MIG welding and about five weeks teaching TIG welding.
“If they’re going to be a fabricator, they need to be good TIG and good MIG welders,” DeVillier said. “There’s no getting out of it: they need both.”
The Millermatics are suited for sandrail fabrication and user friendly, DeVillier said. “The Millermatics have soft arcs, and when you’re tube welding, it’s easier to start the arc. It’s softer and gets better wet out.”
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Miller Electric Mfg. Co.
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