I have taught myself how to make many things, and while I wouldn't turn down help if it was on offer, for me, a lot of the thing is the challenge of teaching oneself. When I was a teen back in the 70s I taugh myself to rock climb, modify the gear, design boats, sew outdoor equipment (mom was helpful with the sewing part), and so forth. And every few years, as it goes, I have picked up new hobbies. I still think that teaching oneself to weld is right up there as far as difficult things to learn on one's own (even with DVDs and youtube today). Brazing is easy in comparison. An Oxy torch is a real boon, and I would say Acetylene is right up there with the most dangerous materials I have come across in my time in all these crafts. So I would recommend propane.

My thing about classes is that they are the best way to learn for sure, but they add a lot of cost I would rather put into gear. And I don't see this as a realistic career, so I am not in any rush to get up to speed. I have learned a lot poking around in the recesses of the craft, and I wouldn't learn that stuff in taking courses in what is a rather restrictive mindset as crafts go.

Paterek seems to be self-taught, don't know if that is true. He isn't in the mainstream of frame building. He uses a lot of gear you don't really need which makes his approach very expensive to follow.