Mar/Apr 2015 O&MM Fabricator

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Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metal The official publication of the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association

March / April 2015 $6.00 US

2014 Top Job Gold Award: Interior Rail, Ferrous, Forged

Diversifying the job sells client Heirloom Stair & Iron used textured copper, steel design for more than railings page 30

Shop Talk Saws that help you make the cut, page 14

Shop Talk How to see if job applicants measure up, page 25

Member Talk Shrock diligence pays off, page 40

Biz Talk Handling customer complaints, page 52

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Forging Your Future | Knowledge Membership in the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA) offers a unique opportunity to meet and interact with the best and brightest in the ornamental and miscellaneous metalworking industry. The connections you make here will serve you in the future when questions arise, you’ll know what colleagues to call. NOMMA interactions lead to profitable collaborations, new jobs, and lifelong friendships.

NOMMA serves its members and advances the industry through education and the promotion of a positive business environment. By becoming involved in NOMMA, you have a chance to add your voice to the conversations that shape and grow the industry. There is no better way to ensure your business’s needs are part of the discussion than by being at the table with the leaders and technical minds that are shaping the future.

NOMMA offers you a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. On top of the collegues that you will meet and share ideas with, members have access to the NEF Library and Webinars, NAAMM-NOMMA Finishes Manual, ListServ, Roundtable Calls, the Mentor Program the Stan Lawler Research Program, Technical Support and much more.

Visit www.nomma.org today to discover many more compelling reasons to become part of NOMMA family.

Forging Innovation . Shaping Business . Delivering Profits

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National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association t: 888.516.8585 f: 888.279.7994 www.nomma.org

First time members, offer expires May 31, 2015

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FAX TO: 888-279-7994

Join Online: www.nomma.org • By Phone: 888-516-8585, ext. 101

NOMMA Membership Application - Join Us! Membership Category – Check One: Fabricator Member Metal fabricating shops, blacksmiths, artists or other firms and individuals in the industry whose products or services are sold directly to the consumer or the consumer’s immediate agent. q Micro Shop - $350 (annual gross revenues under $250,000) q Medium Shop - $425 (annual gross revenues $251,000–$2,499,999) q Large Shop - $500 (annual gross revenues $2.5 million and higher) Supplier Member Supplier members are those members that produce or distribute materials, machinery, and accessories for the industry or provide services that may be used by the industry. q Nationwide - $595 (operating on a nationwide or international basis) q Regional - $465 (operating within a 500-mile radius) q Local - $375 (operating within a 150-mile radius) q Affiliate - $310.00 q Teacher q School q Non-profit organization Individuals, firms, organizations and schools that do not engage in the fabrication of ornamental or miscellaneous metal products, do not provide products or services to the industry, but have a special interest in the industry.

Company:____________________________________________________________________________________ Primary Contact :______________________________________________________________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________________________ City:_____________________________________________ State: ________ Zip: _________________________ Country: __________________________________________________________________________________ Phone:__________________________Fax:________________________ Toll Free:_______________________ E-mail: ____________________________________________ Web:_____________________________________ Company Description/ Specialty:____________________________________________________________________________________ Payment method: q Check

(Payable to NOMMA, in US dollars, drawn on US bank)

q AMEX q Discover q MasterCard q VISA Card # _________________________________________________ Exp.:________________ CVV: ___________ Print name on card: ___________________________________________________________________________ Signature_____________________________________________________________________________________ Return to: NOMMA, 805 South Glynn St., Ste. 127 # 311, Fayetteville, GA 30214 • Ph: 888-516-8585 • Fax: 888-279-7994 • nommainfo@nomma.org • www.nomma.org

Quarterly Payment Plan q Please enroll me in the Quarterly Payment Plan.

As a member you agree to follow NOMMA’s Code of Ethics (viewable on the NOMMA website).

Payment method: q Please auto charge my credit card. q Please bill me each quarter.

Questions? Contact: Liz Johnson, Member Care & Operations Manager: (888) 516-8585, ext. 101, liz@nomma.org FAB 201501

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Inside

March / April 2015 Vol. 56, No. 2

Designed by Elegant Iron Studios, West Alexandria, OH, this railing was the centerpiece of a grand entrance in a newly constructed home. It won a gold award in the interior railings — ferrous, nonforged category in NOMMA’s 2014 Top Job contest.

NOMMA Network

Top Job Winner Profile

Biz Talk

Maynard Studios wins two Houzz awards ............................ 10

Diversifying the job helps sell the perfect customer ................... 30

How to handle customer complaints................................52

NOMMA increases industry visibility at FENCETECH .................. 10

What started as a textured copper and steel design for an interior rail quickly led Heirloom Stair & Iron into using the look for light fixtures, fireplace screens, and furniture, which added more revenue with virtually the same fabrication methods.

By Allyn Moseley

Quickly addressing client problems offers you credibility and good will through word-of-mouth marketing.

It can make your operations more efficient and hike the quality of your work, too.

Shop Talk Primer Saws that help you make the cut ............................... 14

Sawing metal may be simple, but understanding the fundamentals of the different generic types of saws helps you make better purchase decisions and gets the results you want — a clean and uneventful cut.?

By Jeff Fogel

The birth of the band saw.............. 24

How to see if job applicants measure up .......................................... 25

Five fabricators reveal the training and tests they give to job seekers.

By Jeff Fogel Looking back and forward.

Shrock values ................................................... 40

Also: Shrock’s odd job ......................... 44

Shop Talk

Top Job Gallery Forged, nonforged interior rail ....46

A showcase of the winners in the 2014 Ernest Wiemann Top Job Contest.

Exec. Director’s Letter.... 8

Members and benefits.

What’s Hot! News ........................................................ 59

Anodic finishes/painted aluminum standard updated. n Construction employment increases in 38 states. n ETemplate Systems gets technology award. n Architecture Billings Index softens. n

Member Talk Shrock Fabrication worked a massive 50-ton steel staircase job ‘perfectly’ without a ‘single flaw,’ a testament to the company’s diligent staff that concerns itself with comprehensive planning, customer service, diversification, and current and future technologies.

By Molly Badgett

Also: Band saw and cold saw guides to selecting blades .............. 18, 23

President’s Letter............. 7

Also: Moseley’s traits for an ideal customer .......................... 37

Also: Checklist of issues to address ... 53

Events......................................................60

CanIRON X, Blacksmithing classes, NAAMM.

People ..................................................... 61 Products ................................................62 NOMMA Supplier Members ......... 57 New NOMMA Members .................. 58 Ad Index.................................................65

NEF ........................................12

FabCAD’s Filippi receives Cliff Brown education award.

Metal Moment ................. 66

How to fix a band saw that takes too long to cut.

About the cover Heirloom Stair & Iron, Campobello, SC, won the 2014 NOMMA Top Job gold award in the interior rail, ferrous, forged category for this 40-foot rail with ⅝ -inch solid square bar for the verticals. See story, page 30.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

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President’s Letter

Looking back and foward As my term as president draws to

an end, I thank the membership for allowing me to serve as your leader for 2014–2015. This interesting and exciting year has been a great learning experience.

The following are some of our activities and accomplishments for the past year that I am most proud of: n We held our first two architect classes in conjunction with METALfab2014 and METALfab2015. Better yet, we

which will focus on troubleshooting.

n We rolled out a more advanced NOMMA 201 webinar program (adding to

Mark Koenke, Germantown Iron & Steel Corp., is president of NOMMA.

became an approved content provider for AIA, ASLA, and ASID. Our Industry Marketing Committee has prepared an outstanding education class for architects and designers, and we plan to expand our presentation schedule in 2015.

Our Women in Business group was launched at METALfab2014 and the program was expanded at METALfab2015. In addition, the n

women in this group now have their own support and discussion area on our website, and they hold occasional roundtable phone meetings. This is an opportunity for a woman leader to obtain peer-to-peer business support and hone her business skills.

The first joint NOMMA-SMA Stair Workshop took place in Octon

ber outside of Lansdale, PA. The event was a success with more than 90 people attending, including 25 NOMMA participants. The event was held jointly at a NOMMA and SMA shop.

We hope to hold more events like this in the future.

Our Vehicular Gate Operator Safety team, led by Brent Nichols, rolled out its second certification program for system design. Already, n

individuals have passed the exam and obtained their certification, including several NOMMA members. The industry coalition is made up of members from NOMMA, AFA, DASMA, and IDEA. They are already working on a third certification program, March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

the NOMMA 101 series) that teaches members how to find various resources, both within NOMMA and with our sister associations. This presentation is held bimonthly and was shown at the recent Gulf Coast NOMMA Network meeting.

Looking ahead

One group that deserves special appreciation is our METALfab Review Task Force, which has met more than 20 times in the last year, often holding online meetings that last 90 minutes.

Their goal is to do a complete review of our annual conference and make recommendations to the board.

A couple of their recommendations were already used for METALfab2015 and you’ll see more exciting changes at our next annual events. They have collected a large amount of data based on surveys, phone interviews, and studying other associations. With this information, they can provide fact-supported ideas to the board for improving our annual meeting.

I’m also excited about a second major initiative that the board intends to tackle this year, which is a complete review and tweaking of our benefits portfolio. We have received ideas for new programs, and we are revisiting old ones, too. The goal is to provide maximum value to our members.

While my term as president is up, I’ll remain on the board and the executive committee for another year as the Immediate Past President.

I’ve greatly enjoyed my five years on the NOMMA board and look forward to my final year of service and to continuing the board’s good work.

Dedicated to the success of our members and industry.

NOMMA O fficers

President Mark Koenke, Germantown Iron & Steel Corp.

Jackson, WI President-Elect Allyn Moseley, Heirloom Stair & Iron, Campobello, SC Vice President/Treasurer Keith Majka, Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ Immediate Past President J.R. Molina, Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TX

F abricator D i rectors

Greg Bailey, Bailey Metal Fabricators, Mitchell, SD Max Hains, Mofab Inc., Anderson, IN Maciej Jankowski, Artistic Iron Works, Norwalk, CT Tina Tennikait, Superior Fence & Orn. Iron, Cottage Hills, IL Cathy Vequist, Pinpoint Solutions, Jupiter, FL Henry Wheeler, Wheeler Ornamental Metals, Dothan, AL

S u ppli er D i rectors

Bill Schenke, Ameristar, Tulsa, OK Mark Sisson, Mac Metals Inc., Kearny, NJ Dave White Jr., Locinox USA, Countryside, IL

NOMMA E ducation F ou ndation O fficers

Chair Lynn Parquette, Mueller Ornamental Iron Works Inc., Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC, Elk Grove Village, IL Vice Chair Rob Rolves, Foreman Fabricators Inc., St. Louis, MO Treasurer Mike Boyler, Boyler’s Ornamental Iron Inc., Bettendorf, IA

NEF T rustees

Heidi Bischmann, Hartland, WI Roger Carlsen, Ephraim Forge Inc. Carl Grainger, Grainger Metal Works, Nichols, SC Christopher Maitner, Christopher Metal Fabricating, Grand Rapids, MI Allyn Moseley, Heirloom Stair & Iron Greg Terrill, Division 5 Metalworks, Kalamazoo, MI

NOMMA C hapters

Chesapeake Bay Patty Koppers, President, Koppers Fabricators Inc. Forestville, MD 301-420-6080 Florida Marco Vasquez, President, Vasquez Custom Metals Inc., Tampa, FL, 813-248-3348 Gulf Coast Randy LeBlanc, President, Metal Head Inc., Lafayette, LA, 337-232-38383 Northeast Keith Majka, President, Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ, 973-247-7603 Pacific Northwest Gale Schmidt, President, A2 Fabrication Inc., Milwaukie, OR, 503-771-2000 Upper Midwest Mark O’Malley, President, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating Inc., Yorkville, IL, 630-553-1604

NOMMA S taff

Executive Director, J. Todd Daniel, CAE Meetings & Exposition Manager; NEF Executive Director, Martha Pennington Member Care & Operations Manager, Liz Harris Sales Director, Sherry Theien Editor, O&MM Fabricator, Robin Sherman

F abricator E ditorial A dvisory B oard

Terry Barrett, Pinpoint Solutions, Jupiter, FL Doug Bracken, Wiemann Metalcraft, Tulsa, OK Bill Coleman, Arc Angels, Dunedin, FL Nancy Hayden, Tesko Enterprises, Norridge, IL Chris Holt, Steel Welding, Freedom, PA Rob Rolves, Foreman Fabricators, St. Louis, MO

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Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metal Fabricator (ISSN 0191-5940), is the official publication of the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA).

O&MM Fabricator / NOMMA 805 South Glynn St., Ste. 127, #311 Fayetteville, GA 30214 Editorial We love articles!

Send story ideas, letters, press releases, and product news to: Fabricator at address above. Ph/Fax: 888-516-8585.

E-mail: fabricator@nomma.org.

Advertise Reach 8,000 fabricators For information, call Sherry Theien, Ph: 815-282-6000. Email stheien@att. net. Ads are due on the first Friday of the month preceding the cover date. Send ads to: Fabricator at address above.

Email ads to: fabricator@nomma.org (max. 5 megs by e-mail). Or upload ads to our website where a downloadable media kit is available: www.nomma.org.

Membership Join NOMMA! Beyond the magazine, enjoy more benefits as a NOMMA member. To join, call 888-5168585, ext. 101. For a list of benefits, see membership ad in this issue.

Exhibit in METALfab Exhibit at METALfab, NOMMA’s annual convention and trade show. For more information, contact Martha Pennington at 888-516-8585, ext. 104, or martha@nomma.org.

Subscriptions Subscription questions?

Call 888-516-8585. Send subscription address changes to: Fabricator Subscriptions, 805 South Glynn St., Ste. 127, #311, Fayetteville, GA 30214. Fax: 888516-8585, or fabricator@nomma.org.

1-year: U.S., Canada, Mexico — $30 2-year: U.S., Canada, Mexico — $50 1-year: all other countries — $44 2-year: all other countries — $78 Payment in U.S. dollars by check drawn on U.S. bank or money order. For NOMMA members, a year’s subscription is a part of membership dues.

NOMMA Buyer’s Guide Published each December as a separate issue. Deadline for all advertising materials is October 31. Contact Sherry Theien at 815-282-6000 or stheien@att.net.

Opinions expressed in Fabricator are not necessarily those of the editors or NOMMA. Articles appearing in Fabricator may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the express permission of NOMMA.

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How to reach us

Executive Director’s Letter

Membership and benefits When I first became executive

10 NOMMA members who’ve director in 2010, one of my sponsored 15 members. We’ve goals was to rebuild NOMMA’s also enjoyed a record year with membership growth culture. I referrals with 19 members prorecall hearing stories from the viding us with 27 leads. Once 1970s when NOMMA leaders we get a lead, we enter them in would personally visit fabricaour prospect database, and they tion shops to recruit new mem- Todd Daniel get samples of the magazines is executive bers. During that time, from and membership literature.

1974 to 1980, membership dou- director of NOMMA. bled from 309 to 635 members.

Member development I would love to see this kind of Obtaining members is only part of membership growth again. our mission. We also want to develop Creating a membership growth our membership into strong leaders mindset in our membership is critical and dedicated volunteers. Most importo our membership marketing plan. tantly, we want to give our members Direct mail campaigns produce almost the knowledge and resources they need no results for us, but when a fabricator to achieve business success. is personally invited to join, the chance An immediate goal of the NOMMA of them joining goes up dramatically. board is to do an exhaustive review of Thus, my focus for the coming year our current benefits and to determine will be to continue strengthening our the products or programs that we need member-to-member recruitment efforts. to add, improve, or eliminate. The idea One area we’ve seen progress is in is to create a benefit package that will increasing recognition for our memhelp our members achieve maximum bers who sponsor new firms or provide success in their businesses. leads to the NOMMA office. Everyone As the board goes through this prowho sponsors a company becomes a cess, we’d love to hear from you. We’ve member of The Iron Club, and everyset up an Idea Box on the NOMMA one who provides a referral is inducted website. If you have a suggestion for a benefit, go to the “Members” menu into our Rust-Free Club. The members and click on “Idea Box.” You must be a of these two clubs are recognized in NOMMA member to participate, and O&MM Fabricator magazine, as well you’ll need to log-in. as our electronic publications.

Once in the Idea Box area, you can We also recognize member sponsors either write a suggestion or vote on an at our annual conference. Companies idea that’s already listed. that have been part of the NOMMA If you’ d like to help with this effort, family for 20 years or more receive the NOMMA Board is delighted to special recognitions. Each year, the have members serve alongside board NOMMA president awards one of our members on our various task forces. top member recruiters with the PresiJust email nommainfo@nomma.org. dent’s Silver Star Award.

As always, I love to receive member I’m proud to report that this past phone calls. Let me know your ideas. year has been probably our best year ever in member-to-member recruitment. As of March, we’ve had F I LE S, U R JO B P RO W E W AN T YO

© 2015 National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association 8

TI PS

Are you a NOMMA Top Job winner? Do you have how-to, step-by-step tips to share? Have you solved an interesting fabrication problem?

Write for O&MM Fabricator. Contact Editor Robin Sherman at nomma.editor@att.net.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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The NOMMA Network Maynard Studios receives two Best of Houzz 2015 awards Maynard Studios of Lawrenceburg, KY, a NOMMA member, has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” for both Design & Customer Satisfaction by Houzz, an online platform for home remodeling and design.

Matthew and Karine Maynard, the husband and wife who runs the company, specialize in custom architectural iron and applied design.

They were chosen by the more than 25 million monthly unique users that comprise the Houzz community from among more than 500,000 active home building, remodeling and design industry professionals.

The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Design and Customer Satisfaction.

The work of the Design award winners’ was the most popular among the Houzz monthly users, known as “Houzzers.”

Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2014.

Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2015” badge on their profiles, helping Houzz users around the world who discover and love a professional’s

Matthew and Karine Maynard wins 2015 Houzz award for Design and Customer Satisfaction. They also won Houzz awards in 2014 and 2013.

work to learn even more about that business’ popularity and satisfaction rating among its peers in the Houzz community.

“We work closely with our clients throughout the design process and look forward to collaborating with them and creating something that will last for generations to come,” say the Maynard’s.

“Houzz provides homeowners with a 360 degree view of home building, remodeling, and design industry professionals, empowering them to engage the right people and products for their project,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of industry marketing

for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize Maynard Studios among our ‘Best Of ’ professionals as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”

Matthew and Karine Maynard are designers, blacksmiths, and artists who use metal and architectural space as their media. They specialize in hand-forged custom stair rails, furniture, and applied design.

Follow Maynard Studios on Houzz: www.houzz.com/pro/ karinemaynard/maynard-studios

NOMMA increases industy visibility NOMMA exhibited at the recent FENCETECH show in Orlando, FL, which took place Feb. 4–6.

In addition to increasing our visibility in the industry, the event allowed NOMMA staff and volunteers to meet potential new members and magazine advertisers, and to say “hello” to existing members.

“It was great seeing many of our supplier and fabricator members at the show,” says Todd Daniel, NOMMA executive director.

Daniel thanked the several volunteers who staffed the NOMMA booth: Bill Coleman of Arc Angels Inc., Dave Filippi of FabCAD Inc., and Dave White Jr. of Locinox USA. NOMMA’s meetings and expositon manager, Martha Pennington, was also on hand to help.

“Our booth was placed in the nonprofit area, which allowed us to cultivate friendships with several related organizations, including DASMA, IDA, IDEA,” Daniel says.

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

NOMMA Benefits & Programs

An d w h ere to fin d

it ...

Online member benefits may require log-in.

Benefit

Description

Location

Comment

Online Video Library

NOMMA Education Foundation Series, past webinars, and tutorial videos.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Video Library

Member Resource Kit

On joining you receive samples of NOMMA publications.

Email info sent within 24 hours, hard copy kit follows.

Subscriptions

Members receive O&MM Fabricator, Buyer’s Guide, and NOMMA Newsletter.

Webinars

Both NEF and NOMMA provide regular webinars.

Archives: nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Video Library

Vendor Discounts

Receive discounts from NOMMA suppliers who offer special programs for members.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Vendor Discounts

Awards Contest

Submit your outstanding jobs in our annual awards competition.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Top Job Contest

Discounts on all Media & Events

Receive the NOMMA member rate for METALfab registration, NEF continuing education, and all publications.

Visit the NOMMA store: nomma. org ---> About ---> Online Store

ListServ

Get quick answers from your fellow members around the world.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> ListServ

Insurance Program

Commercial and business program. For health care, we provide a free quotation service.

Mentor Program

We will pair you up with a long-time NOMMA member.

Technical Support

Code questions answered for members.

Chapters

If you are located in an area serviced by a regional chapter, you automatically are a member of that chapter.

nomma.org ---> Chapters

Free Downloads

Safety publications, training manual, joint finish guidelines, etc.

nomma.org ---> Member Resources ---> Downloads

Knowledgebase

O&MM Fabricator & ListServ archives.

nomma.org ---> Fabricator ---> Archives

Online Tutorials

Mini videos on various topics.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Video Library

Roundtable Conference Calls

Quarterly conference calls to discuss various topics and special interests.

Announced via ListServ and NOMMA eNewsletter.

Affiliation

Static clean decals, certificate, and right to display NOMMA logo on your website and publications.

Will be mailed.

NAAMM-NOMMA Finishes Manual

Finish designations and information on application and care.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Downloads

NOMMA Buyer’s Guide

Listing of industry suppliers and the products/services they offer.

nomma.org ---> Publications ---> Buyers Guide

Available in three formats: Online, print, database.

NOMMA Technical Affairs

Monitors building codes, develops technical manuals, certification, and more.

nomma.org ---> Technical

Building codes, driveway gates, certification, joint finish guidelines.

NOMMA Education Foundation

Continuing education classes, webinars, METALfab education.

nomma.org ---> Education

METALfab

NOMMA’s annual meeting. Includes vendor exhibits, education sessions, and social events.

nomma.org ---> Education ---> METALfab

Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metal Fabricator

Award-winning, glossy magazine. All members receive free subscription. Non-members may purchase a subscription.

nomma.org ---> Publications ---> Fabricator Magazine ---> Fabricator Online

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Requires member log-in.

Fabricator published 6X a year.

Announced via ListServ and NOMMA eNewsletter. Archives stored online.

ListServ is an email system that bounces your questions to all other subscribers on the list.

For health program quotes call 800-349-1039. For business/liability, call 800-242-9872.

nomma.org ---> Member ---> Member Resources ---> Mentor Email: support@nomma.org Chapters include Florida, Pacific Northwest, Northeast, Upper Midwest, Gulf Coast.

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NOMMA Education Foundation

In partnership with the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association

FabCAD’s Filippi gets Cliff Brown education award Filippi was a NOMMA director in the early 1990s FabCAD Inc., Richmond, VA, accepted the industry’s and held various board positions, including presi2015 Cliff Brown Award at the NEF Partners in Edudent. He also served on the Education, Convention, cation Reception at the METALfab2015 conference. and Membership committees. Most impressively, in Filippi received the award for his contribution to 1992, Filippi reorganized the Standards Committee the education of the industry. and helped lay the foundation for In a speech, Filippi once said: “People tend to NOMMA’s current Technical Affairs Division. preach about what NOMMA does for its members, Congratulations to Dave Filippi. Thank you for Lynn Parquette, owner, Mueller but I believe the greater reward comes when memall that you do for NEF and the industry.

Ornamental bers do something for the organization.”

Iron Works He has lived this statement by teaching continuIn recognition of . . .

Inc. & Elite ing education classes, NEF webinars, and METALfab Architectural The education program at METALfab is a major education sessions, including one at METALfab2015. Metal Supply project for NEF and could not be accomplished withLLC, is the Chair out the help of the many volunteers.

Before he became a full-time software developer and trainer as president of FabCAD, Filippi was pres- of the NEF. A special thank you goes to our volunteer preident and owner of Colonial Iron Works, Petersburg, senters, discussion leaders, and video shop tour parVA, an ornamental metal fabricating business. In ticipants for METALfab2015: Roger Carlsen, Brent 1990, Colonial launched FabCAD as the company’s Nichols, Tom Zuzik, Eric Cuper, Maceij Jankowski, technology arm to provide computer-aided the under-40 panel, Randy LeBlanc, Monique LeBlanc, Mark design solutions, training, and consulting to the O’Malley, Terry Barrett, Dave Filippi, The Wagner Companies, ornamental iron and fence industry, according and Stratford Gate Systems. to his LinkedIn profile.

The volunteer spirit of these members made METALFilippi was president of NOMMA in 1994– fab2015 an outstanding education program.

95. Among his previous NOMMA awards, Another recognition goes to all of you who have supFilippi won three Top Job Awards for excellence ported NEF this year though your donations, participating in a NEF program, volunteering to help with NEF programs, Dave Filippi, in ornamental metal fabrication; the Julius Blum Award for service to the industry in 1998, hosting a continuing education program, and working on the president, FabCAD specifically for introducing computer-aided NEF auctions. design to the ornamental metal industry; and And special recognition goes to the members of the NEF Board of Trustees: Rob Rolves, vice chair; Mike Boyler, the Frank Kozik Award for volunteer service to the associtreasurer; Roger Carlsen, past chair; Carl Grainger, auction ation in 2011 for making the Technical Affairs Committee chair and auctioneer; Greg Terrill, trustee; Heidi Bischmann, more proactive in setting industry standards and working trustee; Chris Maitner, trustee; Allyn Moseley, NOMMA with code-making bodies. board representative to NEF board.

Filippi has a masters in education from Virginia State University and a bachelors in English from Mount St. Mary’s METALfab2016 education co-chairs named University.

Curt Witter, Big D Metalworks, and Doug Bracken, WieThe Cliff Brown Award was established in 2002 after the mann Metalcraft, will co-chair the METALfab2016 education NEF acknowledged Hallmark Iron Works President Charles Mercer’s willingness to support the Foundation with a gener- program.

They encourage your ideas for session topics that would ous annual donation and his idea to launch an honor to recognize outstanding contributions to the industry’s education. make METALfab a most useful education experience for you.

Cliff Brown, the founder of Hallmark Iron, believed in the Please send your suggestions to Martha Pennington, NEF executive director, martha@nomma.org. importance of giving back to an industry that offered much to him and his company.

NOMMA Past President Dave Filippi, president of

DO N AT E!

For more information on donating to the NOMMA Education Foundation Contact NEF Executive Director Martha Pennington, 888-516-8585 x104, martha@nomma.org.

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

The CAST IRON collection from CAST IRON POSTS

FOP 555

FOP 333

CAST IRON BALUSTERS

The body is cast iron. The ends are made of mild steel, allowing for an assembly of the railing by welding.

A genuine work of art!

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Shop Talk

Primer Above, Cosen’s MH-270M band saw is a manual mitering pull-down saw with a 8.75inch round, and 6 x 9.375inch rectangular cutting capacity. The saw head swivels up to 60 degrees.

It comes equipped with a 1-inch blade, and 1.5 HP blade motor.

n

Sawing metal may be simple, but understanding the fundamentals of the different generic types of saws helps you make better purchase decisions and gets the results you want — a clean and uneventful cut.

Above left, CS Unitec’s Model 5 6079 0020 Wide Mouth portable electric band saw cuts metals up to 8-inch OD, including stainless steel, aluminum, copper, and structural steel.

It’s heavy-duty, 6 amp, 110 VAC variable-speed motor cuts at 2.0–4.9 feet/second. The saw has a stainless steel housing and plantary gearbox. Blade size is 71 x 5/8 inches. It weighs 34 pounds.

Left, the FMB Scorpio CNC vertical band saw from Pat Mooney Inc. saws longer cuts with opposing mitre cuts. The CNC-controlled saw head tilts left and right at 60 degrees. The software cuts waste and unnecessary cuts. A rotary material-positioning system cuts the need for multiple indexes normally required of saws with a gripper index system. The material is indexed to the cut-length in one motion, with no limitation of cut-length. The saw head is designed on a 3-degree cant. Blade speeds range from 60–470 FPM.

By Jeff Fogel Sawing properly is a skill common to nearly all forms of fabrication. Even blacksmiths — although some might not admit it —use a saw at some point. For sheer simplicity and ease of use, nothing beats a good serrated edge of tempered steel, although other methods can cut metal.

A saw blade works by the mechanical process of shearing, which displaces chips and dust as it moves through the cut. Because the teeth of the blade are at the critical interface between saw and work piece, a good amount of study has been given to the structure and positioning of the teeth relative to the cut.

The rule of thumb is to get at least three 14

The Behringer-Eisele PSU 450 automatic miter cold saw, distributed by Phillips Saw & Tool, cuts tubes, pipes, sections, and solid materials with a cutting capacity of 9.4 x 1.9 inches. It features fully integrated process controls and material handling for both input and output. Ferrous and non-ferrous sawing programs are available for metals including stainless, carbon steels, structural steels, aluminum, copper. A 9.4 HP motor drives the 450 mm circular blade. The PSU 450 weighs 5750 pounds.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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or four teeth on the cut at any given time. For a thinner work piece, a finer toothed saw (more teeth per inch: TPI) is in order. This helps prevent binding, tooth damage, or vibration, and results in a better cut. If you’re working with very thin material, try blocking the blade with some wood or plastic.

The mechanics of a toothed blade cut are universal to all blades be they band saw, cold saw, or reciprocating. The cut is accomplished by means of the teeth moving with sufficient torque, hardness, and sharpness to shear the metal at the edge of the cut. Doesn’t get any simpler than that. All that differs is the shape of the blade and the manner in which it approaches the metal.

Here are five approaches:

1

Band saws shear versatility

Band saws have been around since the beginning of the 19th century, but weren’t commonly used because the welds had an annoying tendency to fail, causing the ends of the blade to

The lingo Naturally, this overview has given rise to some basic jargon.

Rake The angle of the tooth with respect to the cutting edge. If the teeth have a forward cant, it’s called positive rake; most teeth are at 90 degrees to the cut, and are referred to as neutral rake. Increasing rake decreases cutting force.

Set Refers to teeth that are turned outward from the longitudinal axis of the blade. This helps sweep chips and dust from the cut.

Width The distance between the point of the tooth and the back of

part ways. Then, in the mid-19th century, a French woman, Anne Paulin Crepin, invented a way of welding the blade to keep it from springing apart and turning into a 40-foot crosscut saw (see sidebar, page 24).

Today’s band saws have come a long way. The blades are now self-welding and run at speeds from

the blade. The thinner the width, the more capable the saw is of performing a curved or scrolled cut.

Kerf The amount of metal that is gouged out of a cut. It’s essentially the width of the cut and determined by the set.

Gauge Blade thickness. Simply, the thickness of the blade excluding the set.

Pitch The distance between teeth, expressed as TPI, or teeth per inch. The larger this number, the finer the saw blade.

40 feet/minute to 15,000 feet/minute for toothless friction cutting.

Saws now come in two basic flavors, defined by the blades’ cutting axis.

1 Vertical. The vertical band saw’s blade runs on a fixed path. As the name implies, the path is on a vertical axis with respect to the work piece.

The work is brought to the turning

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

17

Recommended uses for 3 blade types for band saws

Carbon steel blade

Thickness of metal to be cut

Blade teeth per inch

For high speed cutting of aluminum, brass, copper, soft bronze, magnesium, wood, mild steel and tougher steels at slow speed.

½" to 3 3/8"

6

For high speed cutting of aluminum, brass, copper, soft bronze, magnesium, wood, mild steel and tougher steels at slow speed.

3/8" to 1"

8

3/16" to ¾"

10

5/32" to ½"

14

For high speed cutting of aluminum, angle iron, cast iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, mild steel, tougher steels at slow speed For high speed cutting of aluminum, angle iron, cast iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, mild steel, and tougher steels and electric cable at slow speed.

For high speed cutting of angle iron, cast iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, thin wall tubing, mild steel, and tougher steels at slow speed.

1/8" to ¼" 3/32" to 1/8" 18

Alloy steel blade For high speed cutting of aluminum, cast iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized, pipe, mild steel and tougher steels including chrome and tungsten steels at slow speed.

For high speed cutting of angle iron, cast iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, thin wall tubing, mild steel, and tougher steels including chrome & tungsten steels and electric cable at slow speed.

3/16" to 1"

10

5/32" to ¾" 14

For high speed cutting of angle iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, thin wall, tubing, mild steel & tougher steels including chrome and tungsten steels at slow speed.

1/8" to ½"

For high speed cutting of angle iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, thin wall tubing, mild steel, and tougher steels at slow speed.

3/32" to 1/8" 24

18

High speed steel blade For high speed cutting of aluminum, angle iron, bronze, brass, copper, galvanized pipe, mild 7/32" to 7/8" 10 steel, tougher steels e.g. stainless, chrome, 3/16" to 5/8" 14 tungsten steels & problem metals at slow speed.

5/32" to 3/8" 18 In general the following rule applies to choosing the speed of your band saw blade: The harder the material, the slower the speed; conversely, the softer the material, the faster the speed. The faster the speed, the finer the finish produced on the cut surface.

Remember to put proper tension on your blade before using the band saw and release the tension when you are done.

Source American Machine Tools, Chicago, IL www.americanmachinetools.com/band_saw_blades.htm 18

blade. If you need to cut curves or patterns, the vertical band saw is the instrument nonpareil. However, it’s not quite as handy for cutting a series of longish, straight cuts.

2 Horizontal. The horizontal band saw is more efficient for a series of longish, straight cuts. Aside from its horizontal blade axis, this saw differs from a vertical in that the blade is brought to the work. Some band saws can be configured either way, and these higher-end saws have a price to match.

All band saws share the defining characteristic of an elongate saw blade welded into a loop that runs on a set of pulleys. If a blade welded into a continuous loop is the sine qua non of the band saw, it is also both its source of weakness and its source of versatility.

Weakness because the loop can break; versatility because it can be deliberately un-welded to insert it into, say, a work piece that requires cutting only in its center, and then rewelding.

To these ends, someone along the line, decided to build a mini-arc welder into the band saw. This forces a current through a bottleneck of electrical resistance. This heats things up enough to weld a broken (either intentionally or accidentally) blade. Neat.

An ounce of prevention being worth a pound of welding, it’s best to keep the blade from breaking — or dulling — in the first place. Blades run upward of $80 for a decent steel specimen.

Although a new blade won’t require an SBA loan, it’s still fiscally imprudent to treat them like disposable razors.

Blade tips

Be cool. Keep it cool. The best way to prolong the life of a blade is to keep it cooled during cutting. This can be a low-tech affair.

John Medwedeff of Medwedeff Forge and Design, Murphysboro, IL, simply fills a spray bottle with water-soluble oil and spritzes it onto the blade as he’s making a cut. John jocularly refers to it as a hillbilly solution, but he routinely gets three months out of blades that are in daily use.

A lot of band saws now come with a built-in pump for coolant, but for those that don’t, you can purchase a micro-lubrication pump online for a reasonable price.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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19

Match the blade with the work.

What else can you do to get more out of your band saw? The first is proper blade selection. That is, choose a blade that matches the work. Most blade manufacturers are pretty good at this and will include the information on their websites.

For instance, how fine-toothed a blade is will determine the thickness of the material to be cut. The rule of thumb is to get at least three teeth on the work at any given time during the blade’s movement.

Get the best tooth contact. Besides matching the TPF to the work thickness, you can also position the work to maximize tooth contact. That means avoid starting the cut on an edge. If you have a 2 x ½-inch piece, cut on the 2-inch surface.

Adhering to this simple rule will help you avoid catching or jamming the blade, and will result in a smoother and more accurate cut.

2

Portable band saws Cut and run

For fabricators that frequently venture from their shops to installation sites, the animal called a portable band saw may work for you.

These little guys can do most everything the floor-stand models can do in the shop, with one exception: the throat depth of between 4 and 6 inches limits the size of the work piece.

No matter. It’s not like you’ll be cutting anything larger than 5-inch tubing anyway. The standard portable band saw is configured with two robust handles, a cutting shoe, and a blade looped around a set of guide rollers.

Usually, a tracking adjustment exists for the blade and a speed selection.

Porter-Cable, Towson, MD; Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp., Brookfield, WI; Rigid, Elyria, OH; and DeWalt Industrial Tool Co., Baltimore, all offer models of portable band saws.

Most are plug-ins, but battery-powered models are also available.

While the battery-powered models offer on site convenience, they are limited in the number of cuts you can make between battery recharging. They are also considerably more expensive.

20

Fabricator/blacksmith Daniel Widolff, Medwedeff Forge & Design, Murphysboro, IL, demonstrates cutting and using a water soluble oil coolant to extend the blade life, because this Ellis saw model does not have automatic coolant capability. The saw is the Ellis Model 1600, which has been in service for Medwedeff since 2000.

3

Cold saws No muss, no fuss

For cutting a broad variety of material thicknesses with extreme precision, you can’t beat cold saw. It may look like a common chop saw, but closer inspection reveals much more.

A cold saw works like a chop or

circular saw only much slower. Its slower RPM generates enormous torque giving it the oomph to charge through materials up to a quarterof-an-inch thick. And it does so with incredible precision.

The friction-generated heat during cutting is transferred to the chips.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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Cold saws: pros and cons

Weaknesses

Strengths

Blades can and do break

Easy to use; no skillset involved

Throat limits work piece size

No set up to speak of: clamp and cut Blades are durable with long usage between replacements; you can resharpen blades numerous times Excels in longer straight, accurate cuts Slow blade RPM minimizes debris and dust, makes for safer cutting

Portable band saws: pros and cons Strengths Cheap way to cut metal. Portable band saws can be had for around $80 — check out Harbor Freight — or for just under $500 for a branded model with battery No set up to speak of

Clean cuts with no burrs or discoloration

Lightweight and small

Weaknesses

Fast cuts

Limited to straight cuts

No skill involved

A new cold saw is a bit pricey

Easy to change blades

Not considered truly portable — strictly a shop tool

Weaknesses

Band saws: pros and cons

Limited work piece size

Strengths

Battery limits number of consecutive cuts

Excels at curved and intricate cuts

Can’t do scrolls or curved cuts

Replacement batteries are expensive

Quick set-up

A coolant delivery system keeps the chips from flying into the air and also keeps both the blade and the work from heating up. This prevents warping or damage to surface coatings. It also keeps the dust and debris down.

With its high-speed steel blade and tungsten carbide-tipped teeth, the cold saw can cut most any kind of ferrous or non-ferrous material.

It can also perform miter cuts, some­thing that a band saw or circular saw would be hard-pressed to do a decent job on.

As for tips on using a cold saw, there’s not that much human input involved. Simply clamp your work piece in place and lower the blade. Period.

The downside is that the blades are a mite pricey (although they do last a long time) and the saws themselves are on the expensive side.

4

Power hacksaws / reciprocating saws Budget cuts

The power hacksaw may be an oddity these days, having been largely Continued on page 24

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Guide to basic cold saw blade tooth selection & grinding geometry (BW* or C*)† For aluminum, brass, bronze, copper: Tube wall thickness

Diameter of cold saw blade (mm) 250 275 315 350 370 400

0.062" to 0.125"

180 BW

200 BW

240 BW

260 BW

280 BW

280 BW

0.187" to 0.375"

120 C

130 C

160 C

170 C

180 C

180 C

200 BW

220 BW

260 BW

300 BW

320 BW

320 BW

5/8" to 1½"

110 C

120 C

140 C

150 C

170 C

170 C

2" to 4"

60 C

64 C

72 C

80 C

90 C

90 C

Solid rounds

1/8" to ½"

For carbon steel, structural steels, alloy steel, tool steel: Tube wall thickness

Diameter of cold saw blade (mm) 250 275 315 350 370 400

0.062" to 0.125"

200 BW

220 BW

260 BW

280 BW

300 BW

300 BW

0.187" to 0.375"

130 C

140 C

170 C

180 C

190 C

190 C

220 BW

240 BW

280 BW

320 BW

340 BW

340 BW

5/8" to 1½"

120 C

130 C

150 C

160 C

180 C

180 C

2" to 4"

64 C

70 C

80 C

90 C

100 C

100 C

Solid rounds

1/8" to ½"

For stainless steel, cast iron, titanium: Tube wall thickness

Diameter of cold saw blade (mm) 250 275 315 350 370 400

0.062" to 0.125"

220 BW

240 BW

280 BW

300 BW

320 BW

320 BW

0.187" to 0.375"

140 C

150 C

180 C

190 C

200 C

200 C

240 BW

260 BW

300 BW

340 BW

360 BW

360 BW

5/8" to 1½"

130 C

140 C

160 C

170 C

190 C

190 C

2" to 4"

72 C

80 C

90 C

100 C

110 C

110 C

Solid rounds

1/8" to ½"

* BW refers to an “alternate chamfer” grind that is used to cut smaller, thinner metal sections, such as thin-wall tubing and extremely small solid rod. * C refers to a “triple chip” grind that is used to cut heavier, thicker metal sections and large solids. † This should be considered a “rule-of thumb” guide based only on metal type and diameter of blade that can be accommodated in the housing of a given cold saw. This guide should cover the majority of uses for a fabricator, according to Phillips Saw & Tool.

Other parameters to consider when selecting a cold saw blade include: Saw RPM (e.g. 22/44) Saw feed rate (e.g. 10 sq in/min, 3 sq in/min) Material shape (e.g. solid round, rectangle pipe) Material O.D. (e.g. 3" round pipe) Material I.D. (i.e. ½" wall, 3/8" angle) Source Phillips Saw & Tool Frankfort, IN www.psaws.com

* C grind, top A C grind cuts heavier, thicker sections and large solids, and is ground on all blades with a tooth pitch of 4.5 mm or greater.

The C grind has one tooth with two bevels (see dark areas/ arrows). The C grind/triple chip uses the tooth with the bevels to cut the material, and the standard tooth behind cleans out the chips of the cut. Mostly, the C tooth does the sawing.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

C grind * BW grind (alternate chamfer), bottom

BW grind

A BW grind is used to cut smaller, thinner sections such as thin-wall tubing, and is ground on all blades with a tooth pitch of less than 4.5 mm. On the BW, each tooth cuts a small piece of material, hence the alternating bevel/chamfer on each tooth.

23

The birth of a band saw

blade and voila, the first commercially practical band saw was born.

That same year, back stateside, Lemuel Hedge came up with an equally practical machine and by 1867 Paul Prybil’s New York company debuted his “Endless” or “Band Saw” machine in an issue of Scientific American. By 1876, a slew of commercially viable band saws were on the market, powered by either foot treadles, steam, or water.

Today’s saws may have bells and whistles, such as lubricating pumps, adjustable pulleys, variable speeds, self-welding, and annealing for the blade, but all are offspring of Madame Crepin’s blade.

— Jeff Fogel

The history of the band saw is a crazy

quilt of overlapping prototypes and patents on both sides of the Pond.

Most sources concur that 1809 was the first time a closed loop of saw blade was threaded over a couple of pulleys. The place was England; the inventor was William Newberry.

Nobody picked up on Newberry’s idea because blades kept coming undone at the weld point.

Ditto for a Yank named Benjamin Barker, in 1836 Ellsworth, ME, who faced the same weld problems as Newberry.

Back on the Continent, in 1849 a French woman named Anne Paulin Crepin developed a way to weld the blade so it stayed welded under the flexing forces generated by using it as a 40-foot steel fan belt.

Crepin immediately sold her patent to Perin & Co. who noodled the machine with Crepin’s

24

5

Circular saws Not really an option

When is a saw not a saw? When it’s a circular saw used to cut metal.

For this purpose, it’s generally fitted with an abrasive wheel rather than a saw blade. It’s an ugly way to get through a piece of metal. You could use a carbide-tipped toothed blade, but that would be even uglier. The same can be said for an angle grinder.

Both methods produce an iffy cut and lots of flying stuff. Sparks and chips flying everywhere, squirrely control; there are better methods.

The final cut

Metal can be cut in many ways.

Plasma cutters, gas-cutting torches, hot chisels, or abrasive wheels, for example. I once used a stick welder to cut a pile of rebar.

Unlike these methods, a saw requires no appreciable set-up or extra skill set. Whether it’s a quick one-off pattern or a series of repetitive straight

cuts, you can’t beat a saw with a Louisville Slugger, figuratively. If you did use the Slugger literally, the saw would withstand the hit better than, say, a plasma cutter. And isn’t ruggedness of design the soul of economy?

Yet another tribute to the saw.

For your information

n

Continued from page 22 supplanted by band saws, cold saws, and even reciprocating saws with metal cutting blades. But if we were to eliminate an effective method simply because it’s anachronistic, we wouldn’t have blacksmithing.

The power hacksaw is still around for a reason. It cuts efficiently and safely. Its design is simplicity incarnate. It’s best use is for a few straight cuts where a clean accurate cut is paramount.

A hack saw is driven by a motor with bearings that lift the saw on the non-power stroke. It won’t cut curves like a band saw, but its fine-toothed blades will cut on a par with a cold saw or horizontal band saw.

The used market has plenty of power hacksaws — quite few in the $1,000 to $3,000 range — and believe it or not, you can still buy a new one.

Behringer Saws of Morgantown, PA, is one source.

Engraving of band saw 1850–85

by John Henry Walker (1831– 1899). Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Available from the McCord Museum of Canadian History, Montreal.

More about band saws Johnson, Roland. Complete Illustrated Guide To Bandsaws (2010, Taunton Press). ISBN 978-1-60085-096-7.

About the author Jeff Fogel began writing as a journalist with the New York Daily News. He has been a copywriter and associate creative director for advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. Jeff now lives in New Hampshire where the weather’s bad, the skiing’s better, and blacksmithing’s a respectable way to keep warm.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Shop Talk

© DURIS Guillaume - Fotolia.com

How to see if job applicants measure up n

Five fabricators reveal the training and tests they give to job seekers.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

By Jeff Fogel Remember the old job experience dilemma?

You need experience to get a job, but without a job how do you get experience? The other side of the coin has long proved a sticky wicket for employers.

Employers need entry-level job applicants.

Unfortunately, it’s expensive to hire non-skilled people for skilled jobs. For any industry or member thereof to be a going concern, employers need experienced — or at least knowledgeable — new applicants for a labor pool that must always be replenished.

The question is, where are these people going to come from?

5 approaches

Various approaches have been used to solve this problem. In bygone days, it was apprenticeships. Today, it’s technical schools, internships, skilled appli­cants from Europe, and in-house testing and train­ing programs.

25

of one of the more senior Leonard Severini, owner employees. Each of these of Charles Leonard Steel Sermentors has two or three vices, LLC, Concord, NH, neophytes under them, was frustrated by the dearth assigning them increasingly of applicants at the caliber he more complex jobs that are needed. The tech school route closely supervised. wasn’t cutting it for him.

Generally, the program “It’s just TIG, MIG, or begins with the basics, such stick welding. Pipe welding. as measuring and cutting. It Pretty basic. We were having then advances through sevto train them in basic stuff,” eral stages of welding. says Severini, “for the stuff “Every guy says he can we do, layouts of stairs, rails, weld,” observes York, “and stringers, we’d have the oldreally, anyone can weld.” But school guys tack it up. Then York is looking for weldWestern Architectural Iron uses A36 steel for this single ing done right, “So even if they the kids finish the welding V groove with a backer bar test plate, which is 3/8 x 6 x 6 and grinding.” say they can weld, we test them, inches. Performed in the 1G position (flat), the test is used So Severini started in-house informally, and find out where for SMAW or GMAW. training. Layouts, blueprints, and (their skill level really is).”

This test for entry-level applicants, also can be given to existing employees for recertification. When the test is over, most of all, how to visualize the The 6 training steps are: project as a whole job, rather than Western bends the test plate to see if the weld holds. If a piece at a time. “We didn’t want the applicant is hired, the same test (maybe thicker) is 1 Cutting lists, measuring, given again and sent to a Certified Welding Inspector for them thinking about the job like certification. Depending on the thickness of the plate, the basic machines including saws they’re on an assembly line.” and benders. applicant should finish the test in 5–15 minutes.

This approach has worked out 2 Familiarity with materials. so well that Severini is making it more 3 Basic welding. formal. He has applied to the state of 4 Advanced welding.

New Hampshire for matching funds in 5 Setting up jigs. the form of a grant for off-hours train6 Layouts, design, and basic math. ing sessions at his shop.

While everyone goes through York’s Since the state also funds the comprogram, not everyone is going to munity colleges and tech schools, Sevreach the apex of skill level. In fact, some will never progress beyond the erini must first coordinate with them simplest tasks in a fabrication shop. But to make sure what he’s teaching isn’t for some, York sees promise and those something that can already be learned are the ones that advance eventually to at the state schools. But there’s little become mentors themselves. chance of a conflict for the reason he began his in-house training program in Western Architectural Iron the first place.

While their in-house training is As of this writing, Severini is still A job applicant’s bent weld coupon somewhat less formal, Western Archifiling the necessary paperwork for showing a successful face bend. tectural Iron Co., Chicago, IL, does test the grants. all its new job applicants.

York Metal Fabricators Shop foreman, Wayne Mondshein Grant York, York Metal Fabricaexplains: “We place an ad for welders tors Inc., Oklahoma City, OK, has been and tell them to bring their gear with using a program which relies on menthem. We give them a 3/8-inch test plate toring by proven employees, some of and have them do some simple groove whom have been with his company for welds. Then I’ll cut the plate and bend 30 to 40 years. it to see how the weld holds up.”

“I’ve yet to find anyone that was If the back-up plate just falls off completely useful right away when we when it’s bent, that means the weld hired him,” explains York, “so we have itself will probably fail. A slight break a program with six stages (of training) though and the company will have him that goes for about two or three years. do more welds and test again.

Each step increases their skill level with “A lot of guys are right out of school a corresponding bump in pay.” and know the basics, but they get nerA job applicant’s bent weld coupon A new hire is taken under the wing vous because it’s a job interview and showing a successful root bend.

Charles Leonard Steel

26

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Foreman Fabricators’ basic weld test is given to applicants and employees who claim to be able to weld. The individual shears or cuts the components per the sizes shown on the hand drawings above.

The test also shows if the test takers can read the drawing and follow instructions to write their name and the start-stop times. Once the parts are welded, the company looks them over, and afterward, the part is clamped and hammered on to see how well the weld holds up.

If the test takers claim polishing skills, Foreman may have them polish the welds.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

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there’s a lot of pressure.

“Once they’re hired, we’ll certify them on 3/8-inch, 3/4-inch, or 1-inch plates. Our Certified Welding Inspector will do the papers.”

From that point, Mondshein generally starts them off cautiously, as a tacker or doing some simple welds under the watchful eye of a group leader or Mondshein himself. They’ll often watch somebody do a weld and finish it up.

They will also be trained on various types of saws, coping machines, and bending machines — everything from welding to layouts.

“Ideally we’d like everyone to know how to do everything in the shop,” says Mondshein.

The process is always relative to the person’s innate abilities. “If a guy is really good, it could only take a month before he’s doing things on his own,” says Mondshein.

It should be noted that most of the applicants come with some formal education from tech schools. But as Mondshein notes, “the best schooling is on the job. I spent a year at school learning welding and machine shop. I started as a tacker and grinder, then I learned layout and became a lead man with a three-man crew. And then I finally became the foreman. You learn the basics at school. Everything else is on the job training.”

Foreman Fabricators Inc.

Rob Rolves of Foreman Fabricators also tests applicants, but with a different spin. “We’re hiring more on attitude and aptitude than on any particular skill,” he says, and that includes paper work.

“Probably 75% of applicants don’t do paper work well,” notes Rolves who says that they either fill it out haphazardly or ignore it altogether. “And I consider paper work part of the job.”

So when Foreman Fabricators places an ad, online for instance, they attach an application form to be downloaded, filled out properly and sent in.

“More than half of them (applicants) don’t even bother to fill it out — they just call. We eliminate them right away.”

After the first paper hurdle, Rolves culls the list with initial interviews. If they’re interested in the person they’ll come back Test sample part from a Foreman Fabricators’ weld to do a weld test. This consists test (see drawings, page 27 ). of some sheet welds or steel tube welds using a TIG machine.

The weld test also presents the second paper work hurdle.

“We ask them to fill out a job sheet, with name of job, start O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Accent Ornamental Iron & Powder Coating Co.

Mike Stylski, owner of Accent Ornamental Iron & Powder Coating, Cambridge, MN, has four fabricators in his shop, whom he describes as follows: “Two can make anything I throw at them, one can make 90% of what I give him, and one is about 50% of that.”

Stylski’s shop has an ambitious workload right now. When an order comes in, he assigns the job based on skill level. As his newest employee gains experience, under the watchful eye of either Stylski or his foreman, he gets increasingly more challenging assignments.

“It’s learning right at the welding bench, (supervised by) a guy who’s been there and done that,” says Stylski, “it’s a real hand holding process.”

Stylski notes that fabrication is a special industry in that it is, “far and away, for a manual labor, one of the most difficult jobs to fill. It’s easy to teach someone to paint or grind or even to do basic welding.”

But it’s not the welding itself (that’s the challenge) it’s the layout of a railing, its pitch or pattern, because it’s going to be different nearly every time.

“Each job is so different: one might be a helix pattern, another all 45-degree angles, or an oval pattern.”

This transforms the learning challenge from mastery of tools to mastery of thought, visualization and problem solving. “You have to have a top guy work with underlings,” says Stylski, “it’s absolutely a mentoring thing.”

On the other hand, Stylski believes you have to have the right raw material to start with. “If they don’t even have basic welding skills when they come in the door, you’ve probably hired the wrong guy.”

Stylski recalls one stand-out employee. “The best hire I ever made March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

was back in the mid-90s. A kid right out of a high school welding class. He was fifteen. I told him to come back when he was 16. Meanwhile, he went About the author out and won a national high school Jeff Fogel began writing as welding competition. Anyway, he did a journalist with the New come back a year later and I hired him.

York Daily News. He has He became the shop foreman and five been a copywriter and years later he left to start his own fabriassociate creative director for advertising agency Ogilcation shop.” vy & Mather. Jeff now lives The lesson here is no matter what in New Hampshire where the weather’s kind of in-house training you offer, the bad,1/23/15 the skiing’s and 1blacksmithCSU-201503-NOMMA Fab Isl Hlf QR_CSU Isl Half 4:25 better, PM Page right student makes all the difference ing’s a respectable way to keep warm. in the world.

For your information

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time, stop time, that kind information, as they’re doing the welds.”

So when Rolves is watching them weld, he’s also noting how they handle the job sheet.

“A lot of guys don’t even fill it out completely.” But for those who do, and do a decent job on the welding, they can expect a call back, and perhaps a job offer.

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2014 Top Job Gold Award Category: Interior Rail, Ferrous, Forged

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What started as a textured copper and steel design for an interior rail quickly led Heirloom Stair & Iron into using the look for light fixtures, fireplace screens, and furniture, which added more revenue with virtually the same fabrication methods.

By Allyn Moseley The ideal client does exist.

I know, you’re thinking “Dream on.

You have a better chance of spotting Bigfoot soaking in your hot tub.” But if you’re fortunate enough to run into a great client, revel in this rare moment.

Such a client that needed a rail came our way in 2013, and they were a genuine pleasure to work with (See Moseley’s definition of the ideal client, page 3).

The customer needed about 40 feet of rail for a mountain retreat and was flexible regarding the design. Having seen some of our work, the owner decided we could create something 30

Fabricated for a private residence, this 40-foot rail had 5/8 -inch solid square bar for the verticals with the twists.

The ¾-inch solid square bar for the ball elements was forged from the bar itself. The vertical bar at the apex of the arch was split and bent. The arch pieces with the cutaways were made from plate steel cut using a CNC plasma table, then doubled up with textured sheet copper sandwiched in between the front and back.

Heirloom Stair & Iron founder Allyn Moseley with three of his NOMMA Top Job plaques on the wall behind him.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

31

special. Although open to the design, the owner was unsure what he wanted except that the look was to be “the only one” with this rail design.

Given that the rail would be for a mountain home, our lead designer, my son James Moseley, conceptualized an informal design befitting a rustic setting and that met the 4-inch baluster spacing code restriction.

This work resulted pleasantly in winning a gold award in NOMMA’s 2014 Top Job contest in the ferrous, forged interior railing category.

In today’s world, you can certainly present a computer-generated image, but nothing beats a well-done hand drawing if you want to suggest to the client that their project is something special.

2 Use the design for other items

Two ways to sell the design 1 Use a hand-drawn illustration

After creating a couple of designs, we presented one hand-drawn idea to the client. When done well, hand renderings can provide momentum and enthusiasm from the start, even if they are not covered by the budget. Hand drawings can create client confidence, subliminally indicating that the fabricator has valuable talent.

If you don’t use hand renderings because you or no one on your staff can illustrate, pay someone who can and note the reaction you get from a client. Do this for every job, but those where you have the potential to up-sell are certainly worth the small, upfront investment to produce a rendering or two.

Frame it after the client shows enthusiasm and commits the job to you.

32

38

Upon seeing our rail design, the client wanted to incorporate elements of the design elsewhere in the house. By the time the job was finished after about 200 hours, we had provided light fixtures, fireplace screens, and furniture.

Because the design was unlike anything we had done before, we devoted a lot of time developing the basic rail fabrication process and then determining how that process could be modified to work with the The light fixture, top, and the balustrade (see photos, page 30) both have the iron and copper in their design.

The fire screen, left, before installation, has some of the same components as the light fixture and rail for design consistency. Copper is placed along the perimeter.

The coffee table, bottom, sits directly beneath the main light fixture.

There was no significant change in fabrication procedure from one item to the next. All used a combination of CNC cut-out and forging techniques. The only difference was that the client wanted to substitute wood for the copper on the coffee table.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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Above, rail template is cut into Âź-inch plywood.

Right, the plywood template is used to start fabrication.

The design of the rail itself incorporated a multi-layered effect to provide depth and mass. We needed mass toward the top of the design so that you could look at the design rather than through it.1 1/13/15 9:06 AM Page 1 Project3_Layout Plus, a combination of arch work

36

with verticals gave the appearance of a strong capital supported by vertical members.

For more contrast, we introduced copper into the negative spaces of the arched steel plate. This interesting visual is not typically seen in most rail-

ings. We created an old world texture and patina feel using a Big Blue 155 power hammer.

Templates help cut out mistakes

After the client approved the design for fabrication, we developed shop

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Moseley’s traits for an ideal customer I’m lucky.

I love what I do for a living.

With my wife, sons, and a great team of craftsmen, we have created one big family at The Heirloom Companies.

I feel fortunate to work with such a creative and dedicated group of artisans.

Our goal, our driving purpose, is to create custom wood and ironworks that are a testament to the uncompromising quality and lasting legacy we strive to deliver for our customers.

However, we all know every customer is different.

Some know exactly what they want. Some have no clue.

Some want our direction. Some have specific ideas that they want us to adhere to.

We love working with all of them and meeting their expectations. drawings using AutoCAD or FabCAD and had the client approve it so we both knew what to expect.

CAD drawings are essential for us.

Not only do these shop drawings give the most accurate depiction of what will be built, we import them into our

Recently, someone asked me: “Who is your ideal customer?”

That got me thinking. What exactly is the ideal client?

We all dream from time to time, I suppose, of working with the “perfect client.” My list of the traits of an ideal customer would look something like this: n They’ve sought you out because of your reputation. n They understand that they know nothing about metal working. n They trust your design capabilities. n They give you an approval on the first go-round. n They give you a realistic budget of time and money. n They get out of the way and let you do your job. n They’re extremely complimentary of the final product. n They pay you as you’re leaving the job. n They understand the value of a breath mint.

What does your list look like?

— Allyn Moseley

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March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

37

Panel tops, above, are cut with CNC plasma.

Power hammer, right, adds texture to copper inserts.

Far right, the middle of every fourth baluster had a small sphere fabricated using a formed clapper on the Big Blue 155 power hammer.

Fabrication

We can also isolate elements of the design and import them to our Dynatorch CNC plasma to yield consistent, repetitive parts. In this case, all of the arches at the top of the rail had designs cut into them.

Using textured copper in the negative spaces meant that we needed double the number of arches so that the copper could be sandwiched between them. This ensured the railing looked

the same from both sides. A matching border was cut from â…?-inch steel plate and placed at the bottom of each arch to provide additional depth to the design.

The balusters used in this railing were â…?-inch solid square bar that butted up to the arched border. Three different baluster designs were used to avoid a monotonous feel and allow the eye to be drawn more toward the effect of the panel, not toward repeti-

tive balusters.

The baluster at the apex of the arch was twisted, cut to length, and then split down the middle on a Grizzly G8146Z vertical band saw about 4 inches on each end.

After heating in a NC Tool Company Inc. forge, we separated the split to form two opposing curves, which was MIG welded into place. Dummy rivets were added for effect.

The other balusters were fabricated

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using a formed clapper on the Big Blue 155 power hammer to yield the small sphere located in the middle of every fourth baluster.

Finishing

With the railing being strictly an interior design, we didn’t worry about moisture or rust. When the flap disc grinding was done, we applied Van’s Instant Gun Blue using a china bristle brush concentrating on the areas that were shiny to make them blend in more with the old world look of the metal. This evened out the color tone on the iron.

After drying, we blended it all using steel wool. A little wiping stain brought out the texture on the copper, and then two coats of polyurethane were applied for a finish coat over the entire rail.

Installation

Installation was a breeze given that the entire rail was level with no pitched sections to frustrate us. We attached large wooden posts that went from floor to ceiling, which provided exceptional rigidity.

To keep the old world character consistent throughout, we used squared head bolts.

With all rails running from wood post to wood post, virtually no on-site fabrication was required.

Gratifying experience — for the customer and us

This is one of those rare jobs where everything went according to plan (yes, it did happen). The material budget hit the mark, and we barely got into our labor contingency for total hours.

The client was an absolute pleasure, easy to work with, and very satisfied.

To top it off, we actually made money. Some days, we wonder why we’re in this crazy business and whether we should have ever given up our paper route as a kid.

I suppose we all dream of a work environment where everything goes smoothly all the time. But luckily, that does not happen. If that were the case, we wouldn’t appreciate the joy and gratification of these dream jobs when they do come in. And for that I’m grateful and always eagerly waiting the next one.

For your information

n

About the author Allyn Moseley founded Heirloom Stair & Iron in 1994 in Campobello, SC, after traveling 3,000 miles from California with his wife Sheree. The company, now called The Heirloom Companies, incorporates two additional divisions: Hand Forged Design and James Moseley Design. www.theheirloomcompanies.com

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

39

Shrock values Member Talk

n

Shrock Fabrication worked a massive 50-ton steel staircase job ‘perfectly’ without a ‘single flaw,’ a testament to the company’s diligent staff that concerns itself with comprehensive planning, customer service, diversification, and current and future technologies.

By Molly Badgett At 28, Kendall Shrock is running the family’s fabri­cation busi-

ness with the kind of customer support and product differentiation that often surpasses his own expectations. He credits his team of employees for the success. Here’s his take on the company, which was founded by his father, Stan, in 2000.

O&MM Fabricator: What’s the history of Shrock Fabrication?

Kendall Shrock: We’re originally from Illinois and still

have land there. At the core, we’re farmers. My father has four farms in Illinois: three cash crop farms that are transitioning to organic, and a chicken farm. That’s what he’s doing now — preparing for a new flock of chickens to come in from Wisconsin.

My father spends some of his time working at the fabrication business, but he has a few other businesses. One of them is a young nutrition business called Innovative Nutrition, which is doing well. For the fabrication business, he handles the financial work so I can run the fabrication operations. My mother helps out with the payroll. Most of my day-to-day work is project estimating and project management.

O&MM Fabricator: How did you get into metal fabrication?

Shrock: My father has always been a welder. He used to

weld heavy cast iron and machinery. He also worked part-time at a farm equipment manufacturer, Midwest Bio-Systems in Tampico, IL. They ship machines all over the world for makShrock Fabrication does high-end, custom horse stalls, including the design of the stables themselves. The steel is blasted, zinc/epoxy primed, and powder-coated black. The wood is tongue-and-grooved yellow pine.

40

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

ing high quality humus compost. My father helped build the company’s first 10 machines.

In 2000, we moved to Lancaster County, and my father was working with an Amish manufacturing company in Bird-in-Hand, PA, called Carriage Machine Shop. They also built compost equipment.

At one point, his boss expected a large project to come along, so he handed my father a check and said, “Go down the street and lease that building.”

My father, who likes to follow directions, did just that and thought: “Now what?”

His boss said, “Move your toolbox down there.” My father did that and thought: “Now what?”

His boss asked, “What divisions of my company would you like to move down there?”

My father answered, “The horse stalls and truck racks.” That’s when we started manufac­turing horse stalls and truck racks.

At the time, we didn’t know the implications of the fact that Miller Metalcraft had operated out of our building for many, many years. The property had such a history of miscellaneous metals that we were essentially forced into the industry.

People were calling and asking us, “Can you build railings?” Within the first two or three years, we became predominantly a railing shop.

Later, we learned that the former owner of Miller Metalcraft, and the man we purchased our building from, Roger Good, was an active member and past president of NOMMA. He was true to the NOMMA values and was willing to collaborate with us on projects and give us tips every so often. We helped Miller Metalcraft with some large projects, ranging from stadium railings to architectural projects at universities.

Over the years, we built strong relationships with contractors in the area; most of our business comes from construction contractors. I’ve heard contractors talking about us to other parties and say “these are our metal guys.”

We like to take care of our contractors. Certain companies rely on us March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Hybrid Spiral Stair, above. To turn exactly 180 degrees, it transitions to a straight stair top and bottom. It’s made of steel that is blasted, zinc/epoxy primed, and powder-coated.

Stair tower, left. 3D rendering example of a portion of one of the emergency escape systems for a new ride at Hersheypark.

O&MM Fabricator: Tell us about

heavily. They call me up and say, “I have a problem,” and I’ll jump to fix their problem. If they say, “I need steel on the job site tomorrow morning,” I’ll have steel on the job site the next morning. We really believe in taking care of our customers.

O&MM Fabricator: At what age did

you actually start running the fabrication business?

Shrock: I began working off and on at about 15 years old and became the lead installer at 16 after I could drive a van and trailer. In Amish and Mennonite communities, the boys are expected to work like a man by age 16.

Becoming the main leader of the whole operation happened gradually over the past four years, and it’s still a joint effort with my father.

the kind of work you do at Shrock Fabrication Shrock: We do so many things. It’s hard to find a company that gets into more variation than we do. If you’re bored here, there’s something wrong with you.

The other day we did a shepherd’s staff for a large theater. It’s not just any old shepherd’s staff; it’s made of big leaf maple burl and brass.

We also work with stainless steel, aluminum, multiple grades of steel, abrasion-resistant plate, bronze, brass, foreign-made marine bronze alloys, custom glass, and even foreign exotic woods, such as ipe, sapele, and red morrel wood burl.

And we do high-end, custom horse stalls, including the design of the entire stables. We do everything from custom hayracks and feed troughs to custom stainless steel water troughs.

But the horse stalls have become the smallest part of our business lately due to mass production of cheaper horse stalls. It’s not quite as profitable anymore, but it’s not hard to beat the 41

quality of mass-produced stalls. It’s just possible to make more money on railings and stairs than on horse stalls.

We’re down to doing a few barns a year; we used to do about four barns per month.

O&MM Fabricator: What’s the big-

Steel guard rail with perforated stainless steel infill. The rail frame was blasted and powdercoated. The top rail is maple wood.

gest focus of your work now?

Shrock: Our biggest work is commercial railing and stair installations.

We’re just starting a large project for an amusement park — Hersheypark in Hershey, PA — for a new, indoor roller coaster, the Laff Trakk.

We’re doing all the emergencyescape systems: cat walks with compound curves that follow the tracks.

We’re doing multiple spiral stairs for maintenance and a large stair tower.

We’re providing and installing stainless steel railings and decorative steel railing.

It’s one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done, and they want to open for the summer season of 2015. Moving the deadline isn’t an option when you are expecting more than 3 million visitors. We’re mounting a significant portion of our work directly to the roller coaster at supports provided for us by the German coaster manufacturer.

At this point, the plan is to build all our components on our property, disassemble it, and erect it onsite, about an hour’s drive away. Since this is an interior roller coaster, we have to do the erection of the staircases and catwalks without hitting the ceiling, which is only 70 feet high.

O&MM Fabricator: How does Shrock

Fabrication get most of its jobs?

Shrock: Regarding the Hershey­ park job, we have relationships with contractors who were bidding the project. We also work directly with the amusement park on a regular basis.

We often get bid invitations from contractors we don’t know, but we prefer to work with contractors that we do know and trust.

O&MM Fabricator: How does Shrock

approach customer service?

Shrock: A customer who was having an evening party wanted to make sure the glass panels in his new staircase were installed. The glass would have come to the site at 4 p.m. had 42

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

FedEx delivered it.

Instead, we went to FedEx that morning, intercepted the shipment, and made sure the glass was installed earlier that afternoon before his party, which started at 6 p.m.

We can’t always do those things, but we make a habit of doing what we can to achieve the customers’ goals.

I’d much rather spend $200 to create a customer who becomes a “billboard,” than to go out and buy a billboard.

Happy customers talk to their friends. Even better, if I go out of my way for a contractor, two or three times a year that contractor is never going anywhere else.

One of my repeat contractors, a guy who loves Shrock Fab, recently asked if his team could have some “Shrock Fab” T-shirts; they’re fans! Our goal is to be the most reliable company we can be and always take care of our customers.

We also simply do good work. I’ve had a contractor tell me, “There are not a lot of guys that do stairs well.”

We once did three stair towers that had 32 staircases in one building. The staircases were 6 feet wide with huge

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Bridge railing from balcony to church steeple. An unused Gothic-style church building was converted to a mansion. The steeple became a reading room, which is reached via a bridge from the second-floor balcony and a spiral stair. The steel, hot-bent arches were blasted and received an interior decorative powder coat. The top rail is cherry wood.

9 x 13-feet landings. It was a big project for us.

Contractors know what it’s like to get messed-up work and work that looks shoddy. We believe in doing nice, clean work. It starts with the planning.

On that 32-staircase project, we didn’t have a single flaw. Not even a, “Hey, you missed a bolt.” Not even an, “I can’t find this handrail elbow.”

I expect us to do a good job, but to do a perfect job is a bit of a surprise on a project that big. A perfect job is always our goal, but we haven’t always hit it. We did the job in just over a month. It was about 50 tons of steel.

O&MM Fabricator: How does that

customer service translate into shop management?

43

Shrock: I like planning a project from A to Z, making it as efficient as possible. Then I give the team our timeline and how we’re going to meet it. They might look at me like I have three eyeballs or something when I tell them, but once we get into it, it usually works out well.

Every so often, we’re forced to run in emergency mode to meet deadlines. Everyone works at peak performance and loves the bonuses when a project is extremely successful. I don’t like running emergency timelines, but we have some of the fastest and most efficient construction crews in the nation right around us. It’s the culture of the Pennsylvania Dutch work ethic.

Generally in our area, when you have a team of employees, they take ownership and work as if it’s their own dollar at stake. This is the work ethic of the local contractors that we try to live up to. Its trade-off is that it comes with a stress level. There’s a reason I missed the NOMMA convention last year; I had too many rush jobs going at the same time.

O&MM Fabricator: How many people work in your shop?

What do they do? How many full-time? Part-time?

Shrock: We have eight full-time staff in the fabrication shop, plus my father, mother, and a brother, Lester, who is starting to learn the ropes. I’m teaching him, but he’s only 14 years old. He’s likely be a vital person in the company some day.

My father is pretty free with letting us choose what we want to do, and Lester’s hobbies are making optical illusions in 3D CAD and flying remote controlled helicopters.

O&MM Fabricator: What issues do you face when hiring

entry-level employees?

Shrock: Entry-level employees are the best employees, if they have an excellent work ethic and quick learning abilities.

Often, we’ve found it easier to start a good employee who has never touched a welder than deal with the garbage that comes with some of the “experienced” welders.

One of our employees admitted after a few years, “I would have been better off if I scrapped everything I knew and started over with what you taught me.”

Another “experienced” employee admitted that it took him two years to get good at meeting our finish standards.

Most of our employees come from word-of-mouth connections.

O&MM Fabricator: What software do you use at the shop?

Shrock: I took a college course on basic and advanced

AutoCAD. AutoCAD can do 3D, but not well. I just got an AutoCAD model from Germany for the Hersheypark roller coaster we’re working on, and the file type is antiquated, huge, and cumbersome.

Our favorite 3D CAD software right now is SpaceClaim, which brings drawings to life. SpaceClaim is what the government uses to read SketchUp, Rhinoceros, Revit, SolidWorks STEP, AutoCAD, and other 3D CAD files. Companies like 3M, Trumpf, Lockheed Martin, and even NASA use this software.

One of my draftsmen, Tony Pat­schorke, prefers to draw in SketchUp and then convert it to the customer’s preferred file format because he learned SketchUp first. Our drawings can 44

Wave table base. When viewed in plan, it measures a “perfect” 6-foot circle O.D. and 5-foot circle I.D., which means the metal is wider in some points than others to meet the specification. Each of the 3 points has a +/- 1/16-inch height tolerance. The base is brass plated, blackened, and scuffed at ¼-inch thick. It received a glass table top after completion.

O&MM Fabricator: What is the oddest job your shop has taken on?

Kendall Shrock: I did a base for a piece of furniture

that was maybe not the oddest, but the most complex project I’ve ever figured out.

It was a prototype for a showroom in Oregon. It was a round, wavy table base. Viewed from the top, it had to be 6 feet in diameter with a height of 28 inches for a round glass top. The table was brass-plated, blackened, and then burnished.

But the challenge was that the base was made of a 1/4 x 6-inch ribbon of metal that had to appear continuous and had to keep the circular shape. It was not easy to figure out. The print sat in my office for a while; every day I scratched my head about it. Now, I can make them pretty easily.

I started with six identical complex curved blanks that took into consideration the bending, twisting, and stretch. Next, I bent the large radius in a press brake, using a large round bar die, then clamped and twisted the ends of the blanks precisely, clamping with flexible clamps and swivels to keep the one edge straight while pulling all the twist out of the other edge.

The six identical blanks were put together on a custom jig, welded, ground, and sanded.

The hardest part was getting the blank figured out.

The shape was so complex that the SolidWorks software I was using couldn’t give a blank for the shape in question because it could not calculate the stretch in the pieces.

We had to go with IronCAD software to process this and use the stretch estimation capability to get a blank design that worked. Trial and error was minimal.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

look like realistic photos from any angle when we’re finished.

3D gives you all the reference points you need in the most thorough way. We rotate the 3D model at different angles to capture any view necessary for printing. It eliminates confusion at odd joints and corners, and it’s straightforward. It’s like looking at a picture; to the customer, it’s worth a thousand words.

I also use SpaceClaim and FabCAD, personally. FabCAD has an AutoRail program that is great for super fast railing layout in 2D, as long as the layout isn’t too custom or abnormal.

Stanley Shrock, left, and Kendall Shrock.

Stanley handles the financial side of the fabrication business, but he has a nutrition business, too.

Kendall runs the other fabrication operations.

O&MM Fabricator: What about your shop machinery?

Shrock: For welding, we use some Fronius CMT MIG

O&MM Fabricator: What’s in your future ?

Shrock: Many NOMMA shops are into one-off creative

projects. While we do a lot of those one-off projects, we also build repeat production parts for other companies. We do a lot of unique stainless steel structural components, as well.

One area we are looking to expand in is quick-turnaround sheet-metal and plate production. We know well what it’s like to need something in three days or on a oneweek lead time.

We are excited about the future of our production parts division and how that will grow and stabilize the cashflow for the ornamental and miscellaneous metals work we do.

We find that being involved in different industries helps stabilize cash flow. It’s always best to have your eggs in more than one basket in case one drops.

Shrock: One is curved monitors that wrap around you, and another is goggle monitors. They allow a CAD operator to wear goggles and essentially have a high-definition monitor that is endless. The data moves with your eyes so you aren’t limited by the screen size.

This technology is being developed for 3D gaming, but it will likely have significant advantages in CAD, where heavy CAD users have multiple monitors and constantly zoom in and out of 3D spaces.

In manufacturing, I’m seeing the ability to weld/braze galvanized steel and aluminum directly together using a cold metal transfer process.

I also see fiber laser cutting and welding technology becoming more affordable.

I’m hoping within the next five years, high-definition 3D scanners and printers will be common and affordable. I’m also looking forward to more affordable 3D metal printers.

I dream of technologies like hybrid MIG-fiber laser welding mixing with 3D printing technologies. The result could be astounding.

Then again, I’m always looking to the future for things like the 2017 Cadillac, which will feature hands-free, foot-free “super cruise” control, which may allow us to really do business on the road.

For your information

n

welders, Fronius MagicWave 3000 GTAW welders, and some Miller Axcess welders. The CMT allows us to MIGweld aluminum and stainless 99% spatter free, and allows us to MIG-weld aluminum down to less than 16-gauge sheet without blowing through.

For sawing, we have a Scotchman cold-cut miter saw, a JMT semi-automatic miter band saw, and a JMT NC programmable, fully automatic batch cutting band saw.

For sheet-metal work, we have a Dynatorch XLR8 high-definition plasma cutter set up to cut 1.5 x 60 x 120inch plate, a multi-axis CNC 10-foot press brake from JMT, and a Wisconsin flat-bed punch press for sheet metal stamping operations.

We like to fabricate on tables made from 1-inch x 48-inch x 20-feet or 1-inch x 84-inch x 20-feet plate with W-flange frames and legs. We find that a large flat and level surface that can be used to clamp to is a great starting point for building anything precisely.

For our two installation trucks, we prefer Dewalt 20 volt max power tools. We’re a field testing facility for Dewalt prototype industrial tools, so we get to work with tools that aren’t on the market.

One truck has a Miller Trailblazer setup for GMAW, GTAW, and SMAW welding processes, allowing us to weld steel, aluminum, stainless, and bronze onsite, as well as taking our JMT roll bender onsite with a trailer.

Kendall and Stanley Shrock, Shrock Fabrication 229 Maple Ave., Bird-in-Hand, PA 17505 stan@shrockfab.com, www.shrockfab.com 717 397-9500 About the author Molly A. Badgett is a freelance writer based in Atlanta, GA. She often covers issues related to U.S. manufacturing.

O&MM Fabricator: What do you anticipate for the indus-

try over the next several years?

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

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Top Job Gallery

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Best ın Class Interıor Raılıngs

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The Top Job Gallery features entries in our 0 Ernest Wiemann Top Job Contest. Information about the annual competition, open to all NOMMA members, is posted at www.nomma.org.

Category: Interior railings — ferrous, nonforged

Elegant Iron Studios — Gold West Alexandria, OH Designed by the fabricator, this railing was the centerpiece of a grand entrance in a newly constructed home. It was also installed on matching bridal stairs and around a curved second floor balcony and third floor circular rotunda.

Due to the project’s size and with the client’s budget in mind, scrollwork was purchased for the infill, but to achieve a more custom look, the scrollwork was curved to match the radius and used horizontally to achieve a more flowing look.

The job was challenging to plan and build, particularly suspending the scrollwork during fabrication.

The finish was powder-coated metallic silver.

The near 100-foot circular rotunda railing aligned perfectly during install, mating seamlessly after coming “full circle.”

The stair railings were also challenging in that the wood stair itself was built differently from side to side, which was effectively masked by symmetrical appearing railings.

46

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Falling Hammer Productions LLC — Silver Wolcott, CT This rail was designed by the fabricator based on “inspiration” photos from the homeowner and interior designer.

It is roughly 100 feet of custom railing made entirely from 304 stainless with architectural bronze cap rail and handbent brass collars.

All of the stainless pieces were heated to develop a dark oxide and anneal the material. All of the 1/2-inch square “pickets” were then bent cold using custom press-plates.

All pieces were lightly abraded before assembly to develop highlights along the edges, and all assembly was done with a TIG welder.

Care was taken in the design process to locate all welds such that grinding would not be necessary; the final finish was simply the dark oxide with highlighting.

The greatest challenge was sourcing appropriate brass collar stock, which in the end the fabricator had.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

47

Top Job Gallery

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Benfab Architectural Metalwork — Bronze Lansdowne, PA Designed by the customer, this job consisted of 38 feet of straight stair railing, 44 feet of straight-level railing, 26 feet of level curved railing, and 58 feet of curved stair railing using mild steel frame and bronze 385 medallions.

Benfab had to expand the design and figure out how to make it work.

The two greatest challenges were making a continuous design without posts (except for the ends and intersections) and determining how to cut the small ovals so they appeared to be one piece (without forging).

We purchased an inexpensive “Evolution” metal cutting chop saw, removed the vise, and created a custom jig allowing for clamping the open oval pieces and making a cut leaving a perfect point. We then TIG welded each side and ground it smooth.

The finish was a two-part urethane top coat over a two-part epoxy primer.

The installation was done in large sections for minimal on-site welding.

Approximate labor hours: 1,000.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Top Job Gallery

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Category: Interior railings — ferrous, forged Heirloom Stair & Iron — Gold Campobello, SC Approximately 40 feet of this railing was fabricated for a private residence.

The verticals with the twists are ⅝-inch solid square bar. 3/4inch solid square bar for the ball elements forged from the bar itself.

The vertical bar at the apex of the arch was split and bent. The arch pieces with the cutaways were made from plate steel cut using a CNC plasma table, then doubled up with textured sheet copper sandwiched between the front and back.

Polyurethane was used as a finish.

Approximate hours: 220.

See complete story, page 30.

Sergey Sakirkin Blacksmith — Silver Salt Lake City, UT One of the challenges in creating this private residence, 115-foot, forged steel railing was putting together 15 main components set between the posts. Those components were to be tied together by a 40-inch ornamental composition located in the center.

Almost all parts of the railing varied in size and shape, and it was necessary to create additional designs for almost every component. It required adding to the central composition new elements that complied with the code, while keeping intact the integrity and overall image of the entire railing.

To reinforce the structure in one of the stretches, which was 18 feet in length and separated into two sections, two iron props, organically blending with the rest of the composition, were developed and installed.

The finish was powder coated along with bronze paint touch-up.

Completion time: 6 months.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

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Top Job Gallery

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Eagle Machine & Welding Inc. — Bronze Newark, OH Designed by fabricator, this 70-foot rail was custom textured and forged to simulate a wooded landscape using 3/8 to 11/4-inch tree bark textured solid round steel bar and 2 x 1/4inch hand hammered top cap.

Textured leaves and custom wildlife — butterflies, birds, lady bugs, mice and a chipmunk — were hand forged.

The upper rails used handrail tubing textured to maintain the tree branch theme throughout the rail.

Each picket for the stairs was drilled in a lathe and a ½-inch steel rod inserted and welded before shaping to desired effect.

The finish was priming and painting satin black.

There were several challenges with this project. One was the weight of the stair railing because it was fabricated as one piece, finished, and then carried into the home and installed.

Another challenge was templating the stairs for the pickets to line up and meeting the 4-inch code.

Approximate labor hours: 275.

50

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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Biz Talk

How to handle customer complaints ■

Quickly addressing client problems offers you crediblity and good will through word-of-mouth marketing. It can make your operations more efficient and hike the quality of your work, too.

Editor’s note: An Ottawa-based prov­ ider of case management solutions for tracking customer complaints and investigations, i-Sight has allowed O&MM Fabricator to publish this article from their website at http://bit.ly/DU12b.

4 basic steps for a complaint system

1 Set up a system to show commitment to handling complaints.

2 Train staff.

Why would you NOT handle a client’s

complaint? No time? Don’t know the best way to do it? Don’t care if your clients complain to potential clients?

Well, complaints are a critical form of communication and can be a goldmine of information.

Complaints offer businesses the chance to immediately correct problems. They frequently provide constructive ideas for improving products, adapting marketing practices, upgrading services, or modifying promotional material and product information.

Some may believe that an occasional problem is inevitable, dissatisfied customers are not. Companies can learn how to recover from mistakes.

Want to turn an angry, frustrated customer into loyal one?

Recognizing the importance of responding fairly and efficiently to buyer disappointment in the marketplace, many businesses have established effective and innovative systems for resolving complaints. Within any industry, companies with a positive philosophy and a reputation for fair complaint-management have a competitive edge.

A management philosophy that embraces customer satisfaction as a primary goal of business, instead of defending the company in the face of complaints, changes the rules of the 52

4 Build a database of complaints.

3 Resolve

complaints at the first point of contact.

©madpixblue-Fotolia.com

game. The emphasis is shifted from the cost of pleasing a customer to the value of doing so, and trusts front-line employees to use their judgment.

For example, British Airways’ customer-relations department can claim to be a champion of the customer. At one time, the retention rate among those who complained to airline customer relations more than doubled, while its return on investment (the value of business saved plus increased loyalty and new business from referrals relative to the department’s total costs) rose 200%.

Why is handling complaints important?

You can generate loyalty, goodwill, and word-of-mouth marketing

By talking back when they believe they have not received their money’s worth, customers give businesses a chance to correct the problem and

restore goodwill. Exper­i­ence shows that customers who complain about products and services continue to frequent the businesses and buy the products they complain about if they believe the complaint was resolved fairly.

Research into complaint behavior reveals that only a fraction of dissatisfied customers complains to business and gives the company an opportunity to correct the problem.

Some evidence indicates that some customers do not complain because they are skeptical about business’s willingness or ability to resolve disputes fairly. Customers simply withdraw their patronage and criticize to others.

Such findings underscore the importance to business of a complaint management system, that is well publicized and easily accessible. An unregistered complaint may do as much harm as one that is mismanaged or not resolved.

Careful complaint management can save business unwanted costs. For example, negative word-of-mouth O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

Has your company adequately answered these questions?

When planning a system for com­ plaint management or evaluating the one you have in place, consider the following questions: ❏ Does your company depend on repeat customers? ❏ Do you have written procedures for your complaint-management system? ❏ Are staff throughout the company well aware of the procedures and the importance of your complaint-management system? ❏ Does top management directly oversee your complaint-handling procedures? ❏ Do incentives exist to reinforce staff commitment to customer satisfaction? ❏ Is your complaint system easily accessible to customers? ❏ Do you publicize your complaint system to customers? If yes, how? Printed media (posters, advertising, monthly statements)? Communications by sales personnel?

publicity from dissatisfied customers means lost revenue and necessitates additional investment in advertising or other marketing vehicles to attract replacement customers.

Complaints and their trends tell business how to do its job better by alerting management to problems that need prompt attention and correction.

They might also indicate long-range ideas for product innovation or prob­ lem prevention.

A well-planned system for screening and recording complaint data can provide business owners and managers answers to such questions as the following: n Are products “oversold” or “over advertised?” n Is advertising clearly understood? n Are salespeople overzealous? n Do product disclosures (such as labelling, warranty information and service agreements) need to be improved? n Are user’s manuals clear, complete and easy-to-read?

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Web and email? ❏ Is your complaint system organized so that front-line employees have clear responsibilities for resolving complaints in one department or location? ❏ Are larger or more serious complaints referred to a designated senior manager? ❏ Are you providing adequate training for your complaint-management staff? ❏ Does the customer-relations staff feel they have equal stature with other professionals in the company? ❏ Do you periodically survey your customers to see if they are satisfied with your complaint-management system? Do you encourage feedback? ❏ Do you regularly review your complaint-management system and make necessary improvements? ❏ Do you use your system of complaint management for more than settling individual complaints?

For example, do you use it for quality control and problem prevention? ❏ Does your complaint system swiftly generate systematic informan Would changing warranty coverage reduce complaints?

Complaints also provide information about product quality: n Are there opportunities for pro­ duct improvements or better quality control? n Are there indications of safety defects that should be reported and corrected, or that justify a recall?

To get this feedback, complaint reporting must generate information swiftly and systematically. Initial screening should trigger immediate action, when necessary, and statistical summaries can identify trends and long-range courses of action.

Complaints management system: management’s role Demonstrate a commitment to complaints management

Management attitudes are reflected in the conduct of employees and the

tion about causes of complaints and complaint trends? ❏ Does this data meet your management needs? ❏ Do you circulate to top management periodic reports of data from complaint records with suggestions for action to prevent recurring problems? ❏ Can you identify areas in which your complaint-management system is having an effect? Has it been positive or negative? ❏ Do you coordinate your complaint-management system with others in the distribution chain for your products or services? Do you have a direct line of communication with them? ❏ Do you have an adequate understanding of how these external organizations affect your relationship with customers? ❏ Do you work cooperatively with local and governmental consumer agencies? ❏ Do you use third-party dispute-resolution mechanisms for those problems not resolved in-house (i.e. mediation or arbitration)? performance of the company. Toplevel commitment to effective complaint management establishes the motive and incentive for all personnel to strive for customer satisfaction.

Management’s responsibility begins with the preparation of written policies and procedures for speedy and fair complaint resolution and should be communicated to employees while emphasizing the accountability of individuals to resolve complaints courteously and fairly.

Employees whose primary respon­ sibility is sales or service, for example, may have difficulty resolving com­ plaints objectively if they feel their performance rating could be adversely affected. If management establishes clear lines of authority, client problems should be solved quickly and effectively.

Management should regularly review and find ways to improve complaint-management procedures, paying particular attention to refining communication and coordination between the complaint-management 53

Three types of third party resolution Third-party mechanisms use the services of unbiased individuals or panels to resolve disputes through conciliation, mediation, and arbitration.

1 Conciliation

A neutral conciliator brings the parties together and encourages them to find a mutually acceptable resolution to the dispute.

2 Mediation

A neutral mediator becomes actively involved in negotiations

between the parties. The media­tor can propose a resolution, but cannot dictate a settlement of the dispute.

3 Arbitration

An independent individual or panel hears the facts on both sides of a dispute and reaches a decision.

Usually both parties have previously agreed to abide by the decision, but in some systems, only the business agrees in advance to abide by the outcome of the arbitration.

and operating departments.

Periodic surveys of customers will reveal whether they feel they have been well served by the complaint-processing procedures, and whether they find the company’s policies on refunds, repairs, exchanges, and other forms of redress to be fair.

only because it costs much more to replace a customer than it does to retain one — five times more, most industry experts agree.

A customer recovery service allows a business to shift its cost from constantly courting new customers to cutting customer defection.

Keep in mind that dissatisfied customers usually get stuck with certain Customer retention strategy: costs and savings costs. For example: n The money they spend for phone Complaint management calls, return on investment n The time they spend making their cases, and Even though a good customer n The aggravation they must endure retention strategy incurs Ad cost,Proof so does77035-CB-4829-08 throughout. a badly performed service. No busiThe customer left stranded on ness can afford to lose customers, if the highway because her car was

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not repaired properly might miss an important meeting, have to pay for a tow truck, and spend time waiting for the repair to be made.

Many companies conveniently overlook these hidden costs, but the customer surely will not. Companies known for excellent service go the extra mile to cover all the costs a failure incurs or, if the inconvenience is so great that the company cannot completely compensate the customer, respond in a tone that signals the company’s regret Complaint handling staff What makes a great complaint manager?

Complaint managers need to be patient, articulate, and able to balance fairly the interests of the company with those of the client.

They also should be able to com­ mu­nicate legitimate client complaints to management to help determine whether changes in company policies or procedures are necessary.

All members of a complaint-management department should be familiar with the operations of the company and with its products and services.

Experience in other departments may be an asset.

Training can strengthen inter­ viewing and communications skills and heighten the staff ’s awareness of the special needs of customers from different cultural, economic, or educational backgrounds.

Also, complaint-management staff should be familiar with consumer protection laws and with the opera­tions of third-party dispute-resolution mechanisms to which particularly difficult complaints may need to be referred (see sidebar, this page).

Finally, customer-relations personnel should have professional status, adequate salaries, and oppor­tunities for advancement consistent with the importance management assigns to the function.

Publicizing the customer complaint management system

A complaint management system must be visible and accessible if it is O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

to serve customers and accomplish company goals. Management, sales, service, and public relations personnel should all cooperate in this endeavor.

Where to publicize your complaint management system

n Posters and signs in the sales and service areas. n Contract forms and sales slips. n Charge account mailings. n User and maintenance manuals. n Advertising — your company’s complaint system could be the theme of an advertising campaign. n Product packaging and labeling. n Website. n Newsletters, both email and print.

Instructing customers of their responsibilities helps avoid misunder­ standings and unnecessary complaints.

Include advice in the material that pro­motes your complaint system and have sales and service personnel encourage clients to do the following: n Carefully read promotional material and product literature before buying. n Follow instructions in the use and care manual. n Understand the terms of sale (warranties and guarantees, contracts, credit terms, refund policies).

Resolve complaints at the first point of contact Empower your front line staff, distributors, and sales people

Complaint systems should be structured to isolate those matters that need the immediate attention of manufacturers. These include complaints that suggest possible design or production defects that affect product safety and performance.

Also, complaints forwarded from you help manufacturers evaluate their own policies toward warranty coverage, for example, or identify advertising or labeling that needs to be clarified, or learn things about product performance or marketing that are revealed only after wide distribution.

to customer complaints.

A small percentage of customers and businesses seek more formal third-party complaint resolution in small claims courts. Use of the courts can be cumbersome and costly for both sides and can usually be avoided if a good faith effort is made to resolve disputes at the company level or through informal dispute resolution.

Third-party dispute resolution

Customers need to know where and how to file complaints or make inquiries. Select a place that is visible and accessible.

Publicize the complaint system to encourage customers to voice their dissatisfaction and to make the good intentions of the company apparent.

If complaints cannot be resolved directly between the customer, you, or manufacturer, the customer may be referred to third-party dispute resolution.

Third-party dispute resolution is advantageous to business because it enables expeditious, economical, and fair complaint resolution without government regulation or legal action. In fact, government agencies encourage the use of third-party mechanisms when complaints cannot be resolved directly between buyer and seller.

Proponents of third-party systems point out that their use can help make manufacturers and their customers more responsive to a client’s problems. By submitting disputes to a neutral decision-maker, a business can demonstrate good will through its willingness to seek unbiased solutions

Steps for effective complaint management Designate a location to receive complaints

Develop a system for record-keeping

Prepare forms for recording, categorizing, and filing complaint records.

Design the system to perform functions such as the following

n Communicating complaint data to top management. n Permitting swift identification and response when complaints need to be reported to other departments or companies in the distribution network, or to law enforcement or

Customers are likely to turn first to the place of their purchase — you — to complain. Second, to the manufacturer of a particular product. If you resolve the complaint, your customer avoids additional frustration and preserves the direct buyer/seller relationship.

But you need to coordinate com­ plaint management with others in your distribution network. As neces­ sary, keep your vendors informed of complaints and complaint trends and cooperate when necessary to ensure that complaints are fully and satisfactorily resolved.

Manufacturers should encourage their customers to contact them when a dispute cannot be resolved at the place of purchase.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

55

regulatory agencies. n Providing market research through complaint trends. n Enabling management to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of the complaint-management system.

Record all complaints

Log in the complaint and any relevant data. Categorize it for resolution and record keeping. Categories must be clearly defined and exclusive of one another.

Assign the complaint to one person for handling. Forward the complaint to another level of authority, if appropriate.

Acknowledge complaint

Customers do not register complaints with only a casual interest in their disposition. Complaining involves some inconvenience and, possibly, expense. Loyal customers with strong feelings are often involved.

Here’s what to do: n Personalize the response. Talk to the customer, if possible, by phone or in person.

56

Use letters when necessary, but avoid impersonal form letters.

Take extra time, if needed, to help clients with special needs, such as language barriers. n Investigate and analyze the complaint. Be fair. Get both sides of the story. Keep records in the complaint file of all meetings, conversations or findings. n Resolve the problem in a manner consistent with company policy.

Forward the complaint to the appropriate level of authority for resolution.

Keep the customer informed through progress reports. Notify the customer promptly of a proposed settlement. n Follow-up. Find out if the customer is satisfied with the resolution.

Was it carried out?

Refer the complaint to a thirdparty dispute-resolution mechanism, if necessary, and cooperate with the third-party. n Prepare and file a report on the disposition of the complaint, and periodically analyze and summarize complaints.

Circulate complaint statistics and action proposals to appropriate departments.

Develop an action plan for complaint prevention.

Make sure the customer viewpoint is given appropriate consideration in company decision making.

Conclusion

Complaint management systems and company policies on refunds, exchanges, and product service vary widely depending on the nature of the product or service, the terms of purchase, customer-use patterns, and so on. No single formula will provide universal relief for dissatisfied customers.

The commitment and continuing involvement of company management is critical to successful complaint resolution and to the optimum use of complaints as a management tool.

Managers will help discover new ways to improve both the complaint-management system and the fairness of remedies offered to customers.

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

n

NOMMA Nationwide Supplier Members Albina Pipe Bending Co. Inc. dba Albina Co. Inc. (503) 592-6020 Allen Architectural Metals Inc. (800) 204-3858 Alloy Casting Co. Inc. (972) 557-4727 American Punch Co. (216) 261-6270 Ameristar Fence Products (877) 926-3747 Architectural Iron Designs Inc. (908) 757-3439 Atlas Metal Sales (800) 662-0143 AZZ Galvanizing (815) 284-5002 Banker Wire (800) 363-9792 Big Blu Hammer Mfg. (828) 437-9217 Julius Blum & Co. Inc. (800) 526-6293 Bridgeton Drafting Co. LLC (856) 205-1283 C.R. Laurence Co. Inc. (800) 262-3299 Cable Art Inc. (877) 664-4224 The Cable Connection (800) 851-2961 Carell Corp.

(251) 937-0957 Century Group Inc. (337) 312-1170 Chicago Metal Rolled Products Co. (800) 798-4504 CM Iron Supply LLC (480) 968-5181 CML USA Inc. Ercolina (563) 391-7710 Colorado Waterjet Co. (866) 532-5404 Custom Orn. Iron Works Ltd. (866) 464-4766 D & D Technologies (USA) Inc. (714) 677-1299 D.J.A. Imports Ltd. (718) 324-0726 DAC Industries Inc. (800) 888-9768 DKS, DoorKing Systems (800) 826-7493 Eagle Bending Machines Inc. (251) 937-4742 Eastern Metal Supply (800) 343-8154 Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC (847) 516-1388 ETemplate Systems (919) 676-9093

FabCAD Inc. (800) 255-9032 The Fabrication Store (610) 872-5266 FabSuite LLC (757) 645-0842 Farris Fab & Machine Co. (704) 629-6879 Feeney Inc. (Feeney Architectural Products) (800) 888-2418 The G-S Co. (410) 284-5988 Geo. Bezdan Sales Ltd. (604) 299-5464 Hartford Standard Co. Inc. (270) 298-7863 Hayn Enterprises LLC (800) 346-4296 Hebo/Stratford Gate Systems Inc. (503) 722-1911 Heritage Cast Iron USA (918) 592-2385 Illinois Engineered Products Inc. (312) 243-6781 Indiana Gratings Inc. (800) 634-1988 Industrial Coverage Corp.

(800) 242-9872 Interstate Mfg. Associates Inc. (800) 667-9101 The Iron Shop (800) 523-7427 Kammetal Inc. (718) 722-9997 King Architectural Metals (800) 542-2379 King Architectural Metals - CA (714) 738-1501 King Architectural Metals - MD (410) 644-5934 Krando Metal Products (610) 543-3799 L.E. Sauer Machine Co. (636) 226-1107 Lavi Industries (800) 624-6225 Lawler Foundry Corp.

(800) 624-9512 Lewis Brass & Copper Co. Inc. (718) 326-4032 Locinox USA (708) 579-0978 Mac Metals Inc. (800) 631-9510 McNichols Co. (847) 635-5100

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Mittler Bros.

Machine & Tool (800) 467-2464 Multi Sales Inc. (800) 421-3575 Nationwide Industries (813) 988-3465 NC Tool Co. (336) 674-9991 O.K. Foundry Co. Inc. (888) 592-2240 Ohio Gratings Inc. (330) 477-7872 Orleans Orn. Iron & Casting Dist. Inc. (800) 824-3608 Pacific Stair Corp.

(503) 390-3864 Powder-X Coating Systems (888) 326-4840 Praxair Mid-Atlantic (609) 421-6375 Precision Glass Bending Corp.

(800) 543-8796 ProCounsel (214) 741-3019 Ransburg (419) 740-2112 Regency Railings Inc. (214) 742-9402 Robinson Iron Corp.

(800) 824-2157 Rockite, Div. of Hartline Products Co. Inc. (216) 291-4482 Rogers Mfg. Inc. (940) 325-7156 Sculpt Nouveau (800) 728-5787 SECO South (888) 535-SECO Sharpe Products (800) 879-4418 South Camden Iron Works Inc. (856) 423-2015 Stairways Inc. (713) 680-2571 Suhner Industrial Products Inc. (800) 323-6886 Sumter Coatings Inc. (888) 471-3400 Transpacific Industrial Supply Inc. (909) 581-3088 Tri-State Shearing & Bending (718) 485-0994 TS Distributors Inc. (832) 467-5454 Vogel Tool & Die LLC (630) 562-1500 The Wagner Companies (888) 243-6914 West Tennessee Ornamental Door (901) 346-0494

METALfab 2015 A thanks to our sponsors The sponsors for 2015 are a very special group of suppliers. In challenging economic times they are going the extra mile to contribute to the success of METALfab2015. Their support is greatly appreciated.

Pla tin um

Industrial Coverage Corporation 62 South Ocean Ave. Patchogue, NY 11772 Tel: (631) 736-7500 Toll Free: (800) 242-9872 Web: www. industrialcoverage.com

S il v e r

ndry Corp.

Lawler Fou 069 P.O. Box 320 , AL 35232 am h g in m Bir -0596 5 9 5 Tel: (205) -624-9512 0 0 8 : Toll Free Web: oundry.com www.lawlerf

Pl at in um

ies The Wagner Compan 3 42 x P.O. Bo Butler, WI 53007 Tel: (414) 214-0444 914 Toll Free: (888) 243-6 b: We ies.com www.wagnercompan

S il v e r

M. Cohen & Sons In c./ The Iron S hop 400 Reed Rd. Broomall, PA 19008 Tel: (610) 5 44-7100 Toll Free: (8 00 Web: www ) 523-7427 .theironsh op.com

Co n tr ib u to r

Sculpt Nouveau 625 West 10th Ave. Escondido, CA 92 025 Tel: (800) 728-5787 Web: www.sculptn ouveau.com

Join us next year for METALfab 2016 Our next annual conference takes place March 16-19, 2016, Greenville, South Carolina. Theme for next year is “Paying it Forward.”

57

n

New NOMMA Members Meet our members

NOMMA is proud of its 520 members. As members, fabricators and suppliers show support for both the association and entire industry.

To get contact information on a member, please see our Member Locator at www.nomma.org.

New members as of February 27, 2015. * Asterisk: Returning member.

All Cape Welding Roland Gauvin Hyannis, MA Fabricator Artistic Ornamental Iron Chelsey Rains Elk River, MN Fabricator Axt Welding & Fabrication Jason Axt Jobstown, NJ Fabricator Bettinger Welding Inc.* John Bettinger Tallahassee, FL Fabricator Dragon Forge Ltd.* Craig May Pine, CO Fabricator East Coast Fence - Welding & Fabricating Don Miller Cocoa, FL Fabricator

Horst Inc.* Werner Horst Lagrangeville, NY Fabricator Hutch Design Chad Hutchins Anderson, SC Fabricator JD Stairs Jonathan Webster North Las Vegas, NV Fabricator Krout Inc. dba K & K Ornamental* Russell Krout Findlay, OH Fabricator Metcalfe Roush Forge & Design* Lynda Metcalfe Brasstown, NC Fabricator Osceola Fence Corp.* Terry H. Richardson Chicago, IL Fabricator

Osorio Metals Suppy Inc. Angelica Osorio Chicago, IL Local Supplier Phillips Saw & Tool Inc. Jeff Chynoweth Frankfort, IN Regional Supplier That Metal Shop Inc. Michael Latham Pinellas Park, FL Fabricator Viator Design & Construction Andrew Viator Winston-Salem, NC Fabricator

We are proud of our members!

NOMMA 2015 Gold Members NOMMA is pleased to welcome our newest Gold Members — companies who have been a member for 20 years or more.

These companies show a strong loyalty to both their industry and trade association.

We thank them for their support. n Capitol City Iron Works Inc., Indianapolis, IN n Carfaro Inc., Hamilton, NJ n Custom Ornamental Iron Inc., Glen Allen, VA n Eagle Bending Machines Inc., Stapleton, AL n Gates That Open LLC (GTO), Tallahassee, FL n Gator Welding Inc., Jupiter, FL n Iron-Works International Inc., Atlanta GA n Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ n Moore & Morford Inc., Greensburg, PA n R & F Metals Inc., Clinton, MD n Raysteel Inc., Albuquerque, NM n Sippel Co. Inc., Sewickley, PA We greatly thank these companies for their two decades of loyalty and support.

Membership Campaign Member sponsorships and lead referrals are the most effective ways to ensure that NOMMA grows and remains strong. Special thank you to our members below!

Iron Club Firms that have sponsored a member for the 2014–15 membership year, which began July 1.

Alloy Casting Co. Inc., Mesquite, TX Artistic Railings Inc., Garfield, NJ n Julius Blum & Co. Inc., Carlstadt, NJ n Bridgeton Drafting Co. LLC, Vineland, NJ n Locinox USA, Countryside, IL n O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, IL n n

Rust-Free Club Firms that sent a prospective lead to the NOMMA office.

Doug Bracken, Wiemann Metalcraft, Tulsa, OK Chet Dinkins, Sumter Coatings Inc., Sumter, SC n Dave Filippi, FabCAD Inc., White Stone, VA n Francis Flaherty, Flaherty Iron Works Inc., Alexandria, VA n Mason Hains, MoFab Inc., Anderson, IN n Chris Holt (2), Steel Welding, Freedom, PA n Maciej Jankowski, Artistic Iron Works LLC, Norwalk, CT n Will Keeler (3), Keeler Iron Works, Memphis, TN n Gary Kervin, Kervin Brothers Ornamental Iron Inc., Portland, OR n Allyn Moseley (2), Heirloom Stair & Iron, Campobello, SC n Mark O’Malley, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, IL n Lynn Parquette, Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC, Elk Grove Village, IL n Jay Shah (2), Architectural Iron Designs Inc., Plainfield, NJ n Jan Allen Smith, Allen Iron Works & Supply Inc., Birmingham, AL n John Steel, Steel Welding, Freedom, PA n Dave White Jr. (2), Locinox USA, Countryside, IL n n

NOMMA Shop Banners Let the world know that you are a NOMMA member shop!

We have an arrangement with a local vendor to provide heavy-duty interior/exterior banners at a reasonable cost.

Specs: 3’x5’, heavy duty, hemmed and grommeted. Features bright gold, purple and black ink on a white banner, single sided.

Cost: $120 + shipping Payment: Checks only Contact: Frances Kinsey (fmkinsey@bellsouth.net, 770-971-2701) Note: We have discontinued the interior banner due to slow orders and durability concerns.

58

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

What’s Hot? n News Brief Construction employment increases in 38 states Construction firms added jobs in 38 states and the District of Columbia between November 2013 and November 2014, while construction employment increased in 26 states and D.C. between October and November, according to a recent analysis of Labor Department data by the Associated General Contractors of America.

Association officials noted that the list of states gaining jobs has varied significantly from month to month as the market remains extremely variable.

“Only North Dakota, Louisiana and Oklahoma have exceeded their pre-recession peaks for construction employment this year, while most states are still at least 10 percent below previous highs,” says Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist.

Texas added more new construc­ tion jobs (47,300 jobs, 7.7 percent) between November 2013 and November 2014 than any other state.

Other states adding a high number of new construction jobs for the past 12 months included California (40,800 jobs, 6.3 percent), Florida (34,900 jobs, 9.1 percent), Washington (12,800 jobs, 8.6 percent) and Illinois (12,000 jobs, 6.2 percent).

North Dakota (16.2 percent, 5,300 jobs) added the highest percentage of new construction jobs during the past year, followed by Utah (10.1 percent, 7,600 jobs), Florida, Washington and Arkansas (8.4 percent, 3,900 jobs).

Contact 703-548-3118 www.agc.org

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Industry News

AAMA updates anodic finishes/ painted aluminum document Due to technology advancements, the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has updated its standard that lays out the anodizing process with reference to architectural work.

The standard describes the anodizing process, which produces a coating that is thicker than nature’s version, harder and very durable.

The AAMA in its Anodic Finishes/ Painted Aluminum (AFPA) document discusses the appearance and physical properties of anodic finishes as they are governed by three factors: 1) aluminum alloy and temper, 2) surface treatment prior to anodizing, and 3) the type of electrolyte and operating techniques used in the anodizing process.

“AAMA AFPA-1 was a retired AAMA document,” says Andy Joswiak (Apogee Enterprises/Linetec), chair of the AMC Anodic Finishes/Painted Aluminum Task Group. “When the AAMA document CW-10 — Care and Handling of Architectural Aluminum from Shop to Site — was recently updated, it was decided to be streamlined by removing information that was not rel-

evant to that specification. That information was important and was only available in the CW-10 specification.”

Joswiak says it was then decided to bring the AAMA AFPA reference document out of retirement and update it to include the important information removed from AAMA CW-10.

“AAMA has provided an excellent reference document that gives users and specifiers expert information on paint and anodized finishes for aluminum building components,” says Joswiak.

“There were certain finishes that were outdated and not used in the current architectural specifications,” says Carl Troiano (Trojan Powder Coatings), vice chair of the AMC Anodic Finishes/ Painted Aluminum Task Group. “There were tests and procedures that needed to be verified or modified along with clarifying and identifying the specifications. This revision streamlined the current specification.”

AAMA documents may be purchased from AAMA’s Publication Store.

Contact 847-303-5664 www.aamanet.org

ETemplate Systems gets technology award ETemplate Systems received the StonExpo/Marmomacc 2015 Technology of the Year award in January, presented by Stone World magazine.

The award recognizes ETemplate’s ELaser system as a technology leader in digital measuring and templating.

“The industry has been asking for an easy-to-use, forward-thinking system that has the tools necessary for accurate and efficient field measuring and templating,” says Paul Hansen, president of ETemplate Systems.

“Our ELaser system combines the state-of-the-art 3D laser with our com-

prehensive Measure Manager software that includes specific automated features for the countertop templating and design process. Our mission is to provide the best solution for the industry and this award recognizes and validates our hard work in meeting this goal,” says Hansen.

Headquartered in Raleigh, NC, ETemplate Systems has been in the field of digital measuring and templating for more than 15 years, and is the recipient of three international awards.

Contact 866-877-6933 www.etemplatesystem.com 59

What’s Hot? n

Industry News

Architecture Billings Index softens in January After a nine-month stretch of positive billings, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) showed no increase in design activity in January.

As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction spending.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the January ABI score was 49.9, down from 52.7 in December.

This score reflects a modest decrease in design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings).

The new projects inquiry index was 58.7, down from 59.1 the previous month.

“This easing in demand for design services is a bit of a surprise given the overall strength of the market over the past nine months,” said AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA,

Ph.D. “Likely some of this can be attributed to severe weather conditions in January. We will have a better sense if there is a reason for more serious concern over the next couple of months.”

Key January ABI highlights: n Regional averages: South (54.8), West (49.3), Midwest (50.8), Northeast (46.0) n Sector index breakdown: multi-family residential (51.4), institutional (53.0), commercial/industrial (50.9), mixed practice (46.9) n Project inquiries index: 58.7 n Design contracts index: 51.3 The regional and sector categories are calculated as a three-month moving average, whereas the national index, design contracts and inquiries are monthly numbers.

Contact 800-AIA-3837

Events April 17-19, 2015 NAAMM spring meeting The National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM) hosts its spring meeting in New Orleans at the Loews New Orleans hotel.

NAAMM meetings allow for the exchange information on technical issues, standards writing for the industry, and networking.

Contact 630-942-6591 www.naamm.org

July 2-5, 2015 CanIRON X CanIRON X will be held in the town of Baddeck, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, hosted by the

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

What’s Hot? n

People

Events Cape Breton Blacksmiths Association. The event will feature leading international blacksmiths, including Albert Paley, Mark Aspery, Uri Hofi, Zeevik Gottlieb, Lorelei Sims, and Ian Hope-Simpson.

Participants can attend lectures, watch blacksmithing demonstrations or take instructional classes. They can also visit an ironworks gallery, learn about the heritage of blacksmithing in Canada, stroll through a vendors market, and interact with the international blacksmithing community.

Contact 902-756-4766 http://canironx.ca

July 2015 Blacksmithing classes The John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, offers an ongoing selection of classes, workshops and events in blacksmithing, as well as numerous other crafts.

Upcoming classes include: July 10–12, A Blacksmithing Journey July 12–18, Blacksmithing — Starting with Fire July 19–25, Chasing Tools and Techniques July 26–31, Fun-da-metal Contact 800-365-5724 www.folkschool.org

Ortega promoted to Encon sales team Richie Ortega has been promoted to the sales team at Encon Electronics, a gate operator and access control distributor.

“His nine years in the warehouse, customer service, and purchasing departments made the decision to transition him to the sales team easy for us,” said Encon Electronics Vice President of Sales/Operations, Jeff Harris.

“Ortega is familiar with our customers, has a firm grasp of the product, extensive knowledge of our company procedures, and continues to develop his technical and installation skills…. His skills directly complement our expert technical sales crew,” Harris added.

Wagner makes three personnel moves Ben Perreault has been named sustainability specialist. He assists with the development, implementation, administration and maintenance of The Wagner Companies’ sustainability programs and projects, such as resource conservation and recycling; waste reduction; climate change issues; sustainable transportation; weatherization; clean energy; renewable energy; and energy efficiency.

He has worked at Wagner for two years, handling waste reduction and energy efficiency. He also wrote and published an article on the steps Wagner has taken towards sustainability (O&MM Fabricator, Septem-

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

ber-October 2013, page 66).

Perreault is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, with a bachelor’s degree in science environmental studies.

Denice Hamilton has been named project manager responsible for full-cycle, engineered-to-order product delivery. She ensures products and services meet or exceed the specifications based upon delivery, aesthetic, and other applicable metrics.

Hamilton has more than 25 years of project management and sales experience.

She has a bachelors degree in business management from Alverno College and a masters degree in business

< < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < < <

administration from Cardinal Stritch University.

Michael Nagy has been appointed marketing operations manager. Nagy is responsible for managing and developing Wagner’s online presence including social media and ecommerce platforms to increase the company’s online traffic, visibility, and sales.

Nagy has more than 10 years of IT and Web management experience. He is a Microsoft and Inbound Marketing Certified Professional.

In his previous positions, Nagy has successfully developed multi-platform marketing campaigns to increase online sales.

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Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hot? n Semi-automatic band saw Kalamazoo Machine Tool

The Kalamazoo Machine Tool Model KS600 Semi-Automatic Band Saw is designed for production sawing of solids and structural shapes up to 20 inches at 90 degrees in full cycle, semi-automatic operation. The saw offers double mitering up to 60 degrees either left or right.

Products

The blade speed is variable from 60 to 360 fpm, enabling the operator to adjust the cutting speed. The saw frame is canted 5 degrees to allow cutting through the bottom of a structural section without vibration or slowdown of the sawing rate.

The saw features large components for solid, vibration-free production cutting, says the company.

It offers fully hydraulic operation and a free-standing operator console that may be placed in the desired location. When the operator pushes a single button, the saw frame automatically senses the material size, the vise clamps, the saw frame makes the cut at the pre-set rate, then automatically returns to clear the work piece, and the vise opens, ready for the next cut.

This allows for fast production sawing, the company says.

Contact 269-321-8860 www.kmtsaw.com

Spiral Staircases Custom Built to Your Order

Lightweight, two-speed magnetic drill Hougen Manufacturing Inc. The new HMD905 portable magnetic drill from Hougen offers a per-

formance improvement to the midrange line of Hougen magnetic drills.

The drill gives steel fabricators more strength and torque while still maintaining a small, lightweight footprint, says the company.

The HMD905 has new features,

The most attractive and priced far below the rest.

Send for a full color brochure or call 800-536-4341 Goddard Manufacturing Box 502 Dept. PH Logan, KS 67646 www.spiral-staircases.com 62

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

What’s Hot? n

Products

including a mag drill pilot light. The LED light is built into the base of the magnet and allows the operator to more quickly line up the pilot with the holes’ center location in low-light or no-light conditions.

A proprietary two-speed Hougen motor powers the drill. The two speeds help maximize tool life and increase torque when using larger diameter cutters. A two-stage magnet increases magnetic holding power by 30 percent when the drill motor is turned on, saving energy and increasing magnet life. A new arbor system utilizes a ⅝-inch slot drive for more rigidity, hole accuracy and quicker use of accessories, such as drill chucks and tapping attachments.

The drill also has an integrated coolant bottle (which does not add to the width of the drill), a more robust housing design with an ergonomic carrying handle, a spot to hold the hex wrench, reversible feed handles, and a d-ring on the back of the magnet for attaching the safety chain. The drill includes positive slug ejection and carrying case. A swivel base magnet is also available.

Weighing 35 pounds, the drill measures 22⁄ inches high by 7⁄ inches wide and 113/4 inches long.

Drilling capacities range from ⁄ inch up to 1⅝ inch diameter and 2-inch depth of cut. The drill has an electrical rating of 10A and 250/450 RPM motor.

To help ensure a safe work environment, the drill includes a no-adjustment safety switch, which shuts down the drill motor if lift of the magnetic base is detected, plus an LED indicator that monitors this sensor and alerts if an unsafe operational condition exists.

A two-stage power-on switch prevents drill rotation unless the magnet has first been engaged, and in the case of a power interruption, safety circuitry keeps the drill motor off after power is restored until the start button is manually depressed.

Contact 810-635-7111 www.hougen.com

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

Compact internal grinding machine Okuma America Corporation

higher stock-removal rates. n Five-surface hydrostatic guideway system (Z-axis). n High rigidity for powerful grinding. n Standard Hi-G control. n High-speed loader at a rapid traverse of 180 m/min. n Variety of loader patterns for easy automation.

Contact 704-588-7000 www.okuma.com/gi-10nii

Okuma’s GI-10NII high-speed, compact internal-grinding machine is equipped with rigid, high-speed grinding wheel spindles that produce high-performance production in automated environments.

Capable of simultaneous twoaxis control, this model is flexible in handling a variety of work piece shapes in a simple data setting, says the company.

Equipped with features that enhance the automation process, this CNC grinding machine is capable of simultaneous dressing and loading, fixed workhead construction, and greater X-axis travel to provide additional space for work piece loading/ unloading.

Key features of the GI-10NII include: n 6-inch max grinding ID. n NC high-speed oscillation for

Hydraulic manipulators TDA Buddy Inc. TDA Buddy hydraulically powered manipulators allow a worker to hold and maneuver parts — up to 1,000 pounds — in three dimensions and to perform material handling placement with virtually no strain injuries, according to the company.

The throttle style control feature facilitates variable speed motion control to ensure precise handling.

TDA Buddy’s energy-efficient hydraulic manipulators are powered by on-demand hydraulic pump systems that conserve energy and pump life.

Depending on the specific part handling requirements, TDA Buddy can custom-build hydraulic manipulators with hydraulic cylinder grippers and special fixtures — turning a two-or three-person material handling job into a one-person job, the company says.

TDA Buddy pneumatic manipu-

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lators have maximum 10-foot reach radius, a vertical travel of 64 inches, and rotation up to 360 degrees.

End effectors (tooling) are offered with vacuum, mechanical, or pneumatically actuated grippers.

TDA Buddy custom manufactures a wide range of pneumatic and hydraulic manipulators and custom tooling (end effectors).

Contact 269-349-8105 www.tdabuddy.com

Products

Wirelessly operated crane scale Alliance Scale Inc. A wireless Bluetooth crane scale designed for safely weighing I-beams prior to shipment, as well as other construction materials, is available from Alliance Scale Inc. The Alliance/CAS Caston-III BT Crane Scale features a bright, four-digit LED 1.5-inch display and provides manual or automatic on/off, zero, tare and hold functions, auto span adjustment, and auto zero tracking.

Ideal for weighing I-beams and other large loads, this scale transmits the weight directly to a Bluetooth remote control and lets operators stand up to 350 feet away.

Available in capacities from 10,000 x 5 pounds up to 100,000 x 20 pounds, the Alliance/CAS Caston-III BT Crane Scale provides an ultimate 300 percent overload factor. Housed in an envi-

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O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

64 Fabricator RM house ad.indd 1

10/12/2010 1:14:13 PM

n

Advertiser’s Index A thanks to the following advertisers for their support of O&MM Fabricator magazine.

Pg Company Website 28 Albina Pipe Bending Co. Inc. (DBA Albina Co. Inc.)...................................www.albinaco.com 13 Architectural Iron Designs Inc.......www.archirondesign.com 64 Artist-Blacksmith’s Assoc. of North America Inc..........................................www.abana.org 16 Big Blu Hammer Mfg. Co. / Oak Hill Iron Works..........................www.bigbluhammer.com 54 Blacksmiths Depot / Kayne & Son Custom Hardware Inc............... www.blacksmithsdepot.com 47 Julius Blum & Co. Inc...............................www.juliusblum.com 21 The Cable Connection........... www.thecableconnection.com 61 John C. Campbell Folk School.................www.folkschool.org 43 Carell Corporation..................................... www.carellcorp.com 33 Chicago Metal Rolled Products Co................ www.cmrp.com 48 Colorado Waterjet Co..................www.coloradowaterjet.com 29 CS Unitec Inc.................................................. www.csunitec.com 15 D & D Technologies (USA) Inc......... www.ddtechglobal.com

Pg Company Website 63 Hawke Industries...................................................951-928-9453 17 Hebo Stratford Gate Systems Inc..............www.drivewaygates.com 22 Hougen Mfg. Inc............................................. www.hougen.com 55 International Gate Devices...........................www.intlgate.com 37 Jesco Industries Inc. WIPCO div.......... www.jescoonline.com 68 King Architectural Metals....................... www.kingmetals.com 9 Lawler Foundry Corp.........................www.lawlerfoundry.com 2 Lewis Brass & Copper Co. Inc............... www.lewisbrass.com 56 Marks U.S.A...................................................www.marksusa.com 22 NC Tool Company Inc..................................www.nctoolco.com 42 Regency Railings...............................www.regencyrailings.com 51 Rogers Mfg. Inc.................................. www.rogers-mfg-inc.com 35 Scotchman Industries............................. www.scotchman.com 27 Sharpe Products.............................. www.sharpeproducts.com 48 Simonian Bender...........................www.simonianbender.com

38 Doringer Cold Saw....................................... www.doringer.com

39 Spiral Stairs of America LLC........................www.spiralstairsofamerica.com

43 Eagle Bending Machines Inc..................... www.eaglebendingmachines.com

51 Stairways Inc............................................www.stairwaysinc.com

50 Eberl Iron Works Inc....................................www.eberliron.com 31 FabCAD Inc........................................................ www.fabcad.com 19 Feeney Inc.....................................................www.feeneyinc.com 62 Goddard Manufacturing Co.........www.spiral-staircases.com 60 Haberle / Ken Bergman & Associates...................www.haberleusa.com

Your advertising contact for O&MM Fabricator NOMMA Buyer’s Guide NOMMA website CO NTAC T

Sherry Theien Advertising Director 8392 Leesburg Ct. Rockford, IL 61114 815-282-6000 815-282-8002 fax stheien@att.net March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator

36 Sumter Coatings Inc........................www.sumtercoatings.com 64 Traditional Building................. www.traditional-building.com 34 Tri-State Shearing & Bending.............................. 718-485-2200 60 Vogel Tool & Die LLC.................................. www.vogeltool.com 6 The Wagner Companies...........www.wagnercompanies.com

Advertise in the 2016 NOMMA Buyer’s Guide Your one-stop resource for shop and office personnel The Buyer’s Guide is available in 3 versions: 1) print, 2) online, and 3) database.

Closing date November 27, 2015 Contact Sherry Theien, 815-282-6000; 815-282-8002 fax; stheien@att.net 65

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Metal Moment

From the NOMMA ListServ

Join NOMMA to get your questions answered free.

How to fix a band saw that takes too long to cut NOMMA member Zachery Caccia of Bellarmine Ornamental Ironwork Inc. posted this question on the NOMMA ListServ:

Our Ellis 1800 horizontal band saw worked great for the two years we have been using it. Suddenly, it started taking a long time to cut through the material.

The blade looked fine, so we adjusted the spring tension.

No help. Next, we adjusted the blade tension. No help. We put in a new blade; still had no improvement.

It took 14 minutes to make one cut through a piece of 5-inch sch 80 pipe, and that is with a new blade, the same blades we had always used. I am tempted to say that the blades are the problem, but they are sharp and not missing teeth. Maybe we got a bad batch of blades, but the first blade worked great for many cuts then all at once went bad. Has anyone else had this type of problem, or any advice?

NOMMA member responses Dan Nibbelink, Red Hawk Forge:

Have you inspected the mechanism that controls the weight of the blade on the material being cut? Did someone adjust the flow rate on the hydraulic cylinder? Was the shaft of the cylinder bent? A pivot bearing in binding?

Will it cut faster if you manually load the blade? Push down on the blade unit.

Darrell M. Jerden, Structural Components Fabrication Inc.:

We have two Ellis 1800 band saws and have never encountered your problem. We did have a gearbox go bad a few years ago, and it caused the saw to slow considerably before it gave up completely. My only suggestion is to be sure the blade is installed correctly with the teeth slanted to the back end of the saw. We have often found that when a new blade comes out of the box it is backwards and has to be flipped.

Zachery Caccia, Bellarmine Ornamental Ironwork Inc.:

If it has enough down pressure, the hydraulic cylinder valve needs to be throttled down so the motor doesn’t bog down.

Ronald Richardson, Downtown Ornamental Iron Inc.:

We’ve had this problem, and after examination, the blade was backward. After a little argument that the blade can be rolled up backward, we turned it around and it worked great.

Bruce Berg, Outland Steel Inc.:

We had similar problems with our Ellis and had to change out a shim on the gearbox to re-align the gears.

Zachery Caccia, Bellarmine Ornamental Ironwork Inc.:

That is interesting, Bruce. Is the shim inside of the gearbox? How did you know that that was the problem?

Bruce Berg, Outland Steel Inc.:

The shim is between the two halves of the gearbox. The alignment changes with use, and a slight adjustment of the shim makes a big difference in how the gears mesh.

Solution Zachery Caccia, Bellarmine Ornamental Ironwork Inc.:

After exhausting all the remedies that I and my fellow NOMMA members could think of, I called the The Ellis 1800 horizontal band saw. manufacturer, Ellis Saw in Verona, WI, and talked with Pep, who runs Ellis, and his son Larry. Both Pep and Larry being friendly and helpful, knew the problem before I finished describing it.

The problem was that the head weight was out The tension adjustment knob. of adjustment and could be fixed just by turning the spring tension adjusting screw underneath the saw at the rear.

They told me that when the saw is in the down position, which is how it is usually left when not in use, the springs are at full extension. Over the years after being in this full extension The “fisherman’s” scale position, they will stretch and shows where and how to take the head weight need tightening. measurement.

To properly adjust the head weight, drop the saw all the way, then raise the front 1 inch and hold it there using a fisherman-type scale. Then adjust the spring tension until the scale is holding 8 pounds.

I was surprised that a couple of pounds of head weight would make a huge difference. I was almost ready to call it quits and buy a new saw, but now it is cutting as good as new.

I cannot recommend Ellis enough. They make top-notch saws, and their drill press is fantastic; the people were great.

TA LK TO US

Something on your mind? Got something to say? Got an idea? Got a tip? Got a gripe? Do you have a story to tell?

Contact nomma.editor@att.net.

66

O&MM Fabricator n March / April 2015

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Here are the options available for you: 1) Special Enrollment Period If you have one of the following qualifying life events, you are eligible for a Special Enrollment Period (60 days following certain life events).

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If you do not qualify for a Special Enrollment Period, you can purchase Temporary of Short Term coverage. Requires completion of an application containing health questions (coverage is not guaranteed).

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