Jul/Aug 2015 O&MM Fabricator

The offi cial publication of the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association July/ August 2015

$6.00 US

®FabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricator®Fabricator®Fabricator®Fabricator®FabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricatorFabricator Ornamental Ornamental Ornamental and Miscellaneous and Miscellaneous and Miscellaneous

MetalMetalMetal

Ways to sell value, rather than price 47

Biz TalkUnderstand anodizing to make you look good to a client 32

Shop TalkHow to inlay decoratve metals with sterling silver wire 14

Shop Talk

M. Cohen’s sophisticated 1-stop shop 38

Member Talk

Allen CohenPresident,M. Cohen & Sons

3D forging tips, part 2 24

Shop Talk

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July / August 2015 n O&MM Fabricator 5

About the cover Hoop chairs from M. Cohen & Sons, Broomall, PA, are mirror-polished stainless steel rolled tubes seam-welded and fi nished to appear continuous. See story, page . Photo courtesy of Hechler Photographers.

President’s Letter ............. 7Membership pays for itself, fast.

Exec. Director’s Letter .... 8Read your way to success.

NEF ........................................12Matthew Olseng wins the Todd Kinnikin Scholarship.

Metal Moment .................58Recommendations for an “even”-rust fi nish.

News ........................................................53n Ohio Gratings wins sust ainability

award.n Eberl Iron Works receives safety award.Events......................................................53Rocky Mountain blacksmithing meetup

scheduled for August 5-9.Products ................................................54Media ......................................................56

What’s Hot!

NOMMA Supplier Members ......... 51

New NOMMA Members ..................52

Ad Index .................................................57

Inside

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July / August 2015 Vol. 56, No. 4

Chapters hear talk on estimating and plasma cutting ..........................10

Member savings plan begins ......10

NOMMA NetworkAxe Heads are Viking inspired, hand forged axe heads by Tom Latane. Wrought iron bodies, forge welded tool steel cutting edges with silver inlay. See story, page 14.

How to inlay decorative metals with sterling silver ......................................14Th is article shows you how to inlay sterling silver wire. In place of silver wire, copper or other soft metals can be inlaid, too.

By “Uncle” Bob Walsh

Shop Talk Grasp anodizing to help client .....32Even if you regard aluminum fi nishing as simply a customer spec that you pass along to an anodizer, having a working knowledge of the process can make a customer look to you for input. And that’s never a bad thing.

By Jeff Fogel

Also: AAMA updates aluminum maintenance guidelines ..................... 36

Shop Talk

Shop Talk

3D forging tips, part 2 ........................... 24In this part 2, we again touch on archi tecture, but followed by forging conical 3D scroll ends with fl at stock.


Coils and three-dimensional scrolls. The two conical scrolls

on the right side can be hammered out in a number of ways, two of which are shown in the storyboards in photo 5 on page 31 .

M. Cohen & Sons’ one-stop shop sophistication .................................. 38Tight integration of business and man-ufacturing processes allows the com-pany to target clients with high-end ornamental and glass needs, cut errors, and deliver more than they promise.

Member Talk

© Y. L. P

hotographies - Fotolia.com

Ways to sell value, rather than price ...........................................47

Price is falling away as a method to sell against your competitors. Here are seven ways to distinguish yourself based on the value you can provide your clients, rather than the short-term method based totally on cost.

By Don Hutson

Biz Talk

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President’s Letter

Membership pays for itself, fastIn my last column, I encouraged NOMMA members to con-sider whether it was time to see yourself as more of a giver than a taker.

With O&MM Fabricatorhaving a circulation of almost 8,000, I know some of you who are reading this have not made the commitment to join NOMMA. If that describes you, then I’d like to give you some reasons that I have personally experienced that may get you thinking about a membership.

Benefi ts of combined experienceROI is a key factor when deciding

where we are going to put our money. For the cost of a good employee for one week’s time, you can access the knowledge and experience of the NOMMA membership for an entire year. If you put your needs out there to the membership, they will respond. I see it happen all the time.

Successful people recognize what they’re good at. Really successful peo-ple recognize what other people are good at as well. Tapping the resources inside yourself is critical, but I’m con-vinced that many people overlook the tremendous value of tapping into the resources of other people.

For me, I concentrate on my strengths. When I’m faced with some-thing that’s not in my strength zone, I concentrate on the strengths of oth-ers. Th at’s when I use my NOMMA membership.

Network to grow your businessIn most cases, a NOMMA member-

ship is less than 500 per year. As my NOMMA brother Randy LeBlanc will tell you, just the NOMMA ListServ discussion forum alone will save you more than that in a year’s time.

I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been stuck on a problem or busi-ness issue when I’ve found the solution within the NOMMA network. Th e tips, tricks, and ideas that I’ve picked

up over the years from fellow NOMMA members has had a direct and signifi cant eff ect on the growth of my business.

Growth can happen either because you force it to hap-pen regardless of the collat-eral eff ects, or you calculate it to happen as a result of doing things the right way. NOMMA is dedicated to helping you with the latter.

Camaraderie of like-minded people

None of us are in this business because it’s easy. As a matter of fact, I know that sometimes it can be down-right frustrating. I’m sure at times you wonder why you ever gave up your paper route.

But let me tell you about the type of people who join associations in gen-eral and NOMMA members specifi -cally: Th ey care about others.

Th ey want to see others succeed and are willing to give what knowl-edge they have to live out the old adage that “a rising tide lift s all boats.”

In essence, that is exactly what NOMMA is trying to do — lift the tide of our industry. Do not under esti-mate your ability to contribute to that rising.

Your NOMMA membership should be viewed as a tool investment. Just like any other investment you’ve made in tools, if you don’t use it and just let it sit on the shelf, you’ll begin to think you’ve wasted your money.

Th e NOMMA tool is one that is designed for usefulness and calculated for results. Learn to use it, and it will pay for itself many times over.

Pay it forward.

Allyn Moseley, The Heirloom Companies, is president of NOMMA.

Dedicated to the success of our members and industry.

NOMMA OFFICERSPresident

Allyn Moseley, The Heirloom Companies, Campobello, SC

President-ElectKeith Majka, Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ

Vice President/TreasurerCathy Vequist, Pinpoint Solutions, Jupiter, FL

Immediate Past PresidentMark Koenke, Germantown Iron & Steel Corp., Jackson, WI

FABRICATOR DIRECTORSGreg Bailey, Bailey Metal Fabricators, Mitchell, SD Max Hains, Mofab Inc., Anderson, INMaciej Jankowski, Artistic Iron Works, Norwalk, CTTony Martinez, Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TXTina Tennikait, Superior Fence & Orn. Iron,

Cottage Hills, IL Henry Wheeler, Wheeler Ornamental Metals, Dothan, AL

SUPPLIER DIRECTORSBill Schenke, Ameristar, Tulsa, OKStacey Lawler Taylor, Lawler Foundry Corp., Birmingham, AL

Dave White Jr., Locinox USA, Countryside, IL

NOMMA EDUCATION FOUNDATION OFFICERSChair

Lynn Parquette, Mueller Ornamental Iron Works Inc., Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC, Elk Grove Village, IL

Vice ChairRob Rolves, Foreman Fabricators Inc., St. Louis, MO

TreasurerMike Boyler, Boyler’s Ornamental Iron Inc., Bettendorf, IA

NEF TRUSTEESHeidi Bischmann, Hartland, WIRoger Carlsen, Ephraim Forge Inc., Frankfort, ILCarl Grainger, Grainger Metal Works, Nichols, SCChristopher Maitner, Christopher Metal Fabricating,Grand Rapids, MI

Greg Terrill, Division 5 Metalworks, Kalamazoo, MIKeith Majka, Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ

NOMMA CHAPTER PRESIDENTSChesapeake Bay

Patty Koppers, Koppers Fabricators Inc.,Forestville, MD, 301-420-6080

FloridaMarco Vasquez, Vasquez Custom Metals Inc., Tampa, FL, 813-248-3348

Gulf CoastRandy LeBlanc, Metal Head Inc., Lafayette, LA, 337-232-38383

NortheastScott Hess, Hess Ornamental Iron Inc., Red Lion, PA, 717-246-3135

Pacific NorthwestGale Schmidt, A2 Fabrication Inc., Milwaukie, OR, 503-771-2000

Upper MidwestMark O’Malley, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating Inc., Yorkville, IL, 630-553-1604

NOMMA STAFFExecutive Director, J. Todd Daniel, CAE Meetings & Exposition Manager; NEF Executive Director, Martha PenningtonMember Care & Operations Manager, Liz HarrisSales Director, Sherry Theien Editor, O&MM Fabricator, Robin Sherman

O&MM FABRICATOR EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARDTerry Barrett, Pinpoint Solutions, Jupiter, FLDoug Bracken, Wiemann Metalcraft, Tulsa, OKBill Coleman, Arc Angels, Dunedin, FLNancy Hayden, Tesko Enterprises, Norridge, ILChris Holt, Steel Welding, Freedom, PARob Rolves, Foreman Fabricators Inc., St. Louis, [email protected]

O&MM Fabricator n July / August 20158

As a business owner, you can improve your leadership and managerial skills by reading. If you’re not a regular reader, I sug-gest you read 30 minutes a day.

One reading challenge is wading through the sea of busi-ness books that are published every year. Almost monthly a new business book is the “rave” and “must read.” It’s over-whelming. Where do you start?

In the 1980s, I read a series of enjoy-able books that opened my mind. Th ese included Iacocca: An Autobi-ography by Lee Iacocca (my favorite), Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple by John Scul-ley, and Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey MacKay.

Recently, I read two books that con-tinually show up on Internet best busi-ness books lists. Both are by business guru Jim Collins: Good to Great and Built To Last . One book that consis-tently rates number one on numerous lists is one I consider to be the father of all business books. Can you guess the name? Yep, it’s How To Win Friends and Infl uence Enemies by Dale Carnegie.

Th e two common themes in many business books are “leadership” and “business culture.” Certainly, the two are closely related. One leadership skill is being able to create a business cul-ture and climate that is successful.

Be better than good — be greatMy current favorite business book

is Jim Collins’ Good to Great. I have the audio version, which I regularly listen to. Th e book examines a 40-year study of nearly 1,500 companies to determine what made the great ones stand out from the good ones.

Th is book made the term “hedge-hog” famous in the business world. Th e

Hedgehog Concept is the abil-ity to boil many small things into one single, organizing idea. Th is idea becomes a unifying principle that pushes an organi-zation forward.

Another well-known book is Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson. Th is book focuses on dealing with change, and we’ve featured it at a couple

of METALfab conferences. An under-lying theme of this book is adapting to change and turning it into good.

Oh, and Dr. Spencer wrote another book that ranks high among business classics. Titled Th e New One Minute Manager, this book gives some practi-cal secrets on leading others.

Finally, and more recently, I enjoyed reading “QBQ — Th e Quest ion Behind the Quest ion by John G. Miller. Th is book has probably helped me more than any business title. Quotes from it regularly pop into my head.

Th e book discusses personal accountability in both your work and personal life, and helps to eliminate blame, victim thinking, complaints, and procrastination.

Create the reading habitTh ese books are just a few to get you

started. Finding the time and getting used to daily reading may seem diffi -cult, but once you do it for a few weeks a habit will form. You’ll feel strange when you don’t read. If you prefer, pur-chase the audio books and play them in the truck throughout your workday.

In the end, reading will help you become a better leader, a more eff ective business person, and ultimately you’ll be less stressed and more successful.

How to reach usOrnamental & Miscellaneous Metal Fabricator (ISSN 0191-5940), is the offi cial 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: [email protected].

Advertise Reach 8,000 fabricators For information, call Sherry Theien, Ph: 815-282-6000. Email [email protected]. Ads are due on the fi rst Friday of the month preceding the cover date. Send ads to: Fabricator at address above. Email ads to: [email protected] (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 benefi ts as a NOMMA member. To join, call 888-516-8585, ext. 101. For a list of benefi ts, see membership ad in this issue.

Exhibit in METALfab Exhibit at METAL-fab, NOMMA’s annual convention and trade show. For more information, con-tact Martha Pennington at 888-516-8585, ext. 104, or [email protected].

Subscriptions Subscription questions? Call 888-516-8585. Send subscription address changes to: Fabricator Sub-scriptions, 805 South Glynn St., Ste. 127, #311, Fayetteville, GA 30214. Fax: 888-516-8585, or [email protected].

1-year: U.S., Canada, Mexico — $302-year: U.S., Canada, Mexico — $501-year: all other countries — $442-year: all other countries — $78

Payment in U.S. dollars by check drawn on U.S. bank or money order. For NOM-MA 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 November 27. Contact Sherry Theien at 815-282-6000 or [email protected].

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

© 2015 National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association

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Executive Director’s Letter

Read your way to success

Todd Daniel is executive director of NOMMA.

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. Send your idea to [email protected].

WE WANT YOUR JOB PROFILES, TIPS


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The NOMMA Network


The Gulf Coast NOMMA Network held its spring meeting in Fort Payne, AL, last month with 20 people in atten-dance. Metal Market Inc. was host.

The evening before the meeting, the chapter held a dinner at Vintage 1889, a restored building located in downtown Fort Payne. Fourteen people attended the Italian buffet dinner.

Before the Saturday meeting, the NOMMA Shop Accreditation Com-mittee met, with 10 people attending. A salute goes to Amos Glick and Leo Leofsky of Compass Ironworks, who were passing through from Pennsylva-nia and were able to attend the meeting.

After enjoying coffee and donuts, group president, Randy LeBlanc, kicked off the main meeting with a welcome and announcements. NOMMA national president, Allyn Moseley, provided an update on association activities. Henry Wheeler, chair of NOMMA’s Accredita-tion Committee, reported on his committee’s work.

Afterward, NOMMA Executive Director Todd Daniel gave an over-view of NOMMA’s industry marketing program, and how the accreditation program will tie in. For the main pre-sentation, Charles Perez spoke about blueprint takeoffs and estimating.

As always, there was the popular “buck-in-a-bucket” raffle, a catered barbecue lunch, and shop tour. Thanks go to Roland and Kelley Anderson for serving as hosts for the day.

Upper Midwest Chapter sees demo of plasma cutter

Members of the Upper Midwest Chapter held their spring meeting last month in Waukegan, IL, which was hosted by Waukegan Steel LLC.

Waukegan Steel is an AISC certi-fied shop that does work ranging from massive commercial projects to basic railings for single family homes.

Its 85,000-square-foot facility has

produced many high-profile jobs, including the expansion of Soldier Field, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and elevated train stations for the Chicago Transit Authority.

After coffee and a morning business meeting, attendees watched demos on BIM (Building Information Modeling) software and a cutting presentation using the Hypertherm-HyPerformance Plasma HPR400SX cutter.

Other meeting highlights included a shop tour and lunch. During the tour, attendees saw the company’s structural and miscellaneous department, which was in full swing. Of special interest was watching the fabrication of several 120 foot x 6 foot trusses.

A thanks to the Waukegan Steel staff for hosting the event.

Shop host Roland Anderson, above, third from left, leads a tour of his spotless and ultra modern shop, located in Fort Payne, AL.

Shop tour demo, left, at Waukegan Steel LLC.

Gulf Coast NOMMA Network enjoys estimating session

NOMMA members now can save time and money on business and personal purchases through a new Group Purchasing Alliance Program provided by The Member Savings Program Inc.

The new program offers collective buying power through a 150,000-busi-

ness Buying Group Alliance. Suppliers include Grainger Tools and Supplies, Staples, Wright Express, Unifirst, Office Depot, ADP Payroll, Hewlett Packard, Ferrellgas, Exxon/Mobil, and more than 25 other companies.

Members may save an average of up to 20% on many expenses.

“Members who take advantage of these programs can save significant money and increase their company’s profitability on products and services they already buy, ” says Todd Daniel, NOMMA’s executive director.

Members can register for this value added program by going to the NOMMA website at www.nomma.org and clicking on the “Members” section.

NOMMA launches member savings program

The Hebo machines are the absolute fastest way to add value to metal. Literally less than the cost of one $10/hr employee, with a useful life over 25 years. The multi-functional Hebo machines can: twist, bend scrolls, endforge, emboss, texture, edge hammer tubing and solid bar, make baskets, and press belly pickets. The machines work with: steel, aluminum, bronze, copper, and brass.

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NOMMA Education FoundationIn partnership with the National Ornamental & Miscellaneous Metals Association


DONATE!

For more information on donating to the NOMMA Education Foundation Contact NEF Executive Director Martha Pennington, 888-516-8585 x104, [email protected].

Matthew Olseng wins the Todd Kinnikin ScholarshipThe Todd Kinnikin Scholarship helps a NOMMA mem-ber attend METALfab. For METALfab2015, Matthew Olseng, president of MDO Welding & Fab. won a full registration.

After his experience at METALfab Matt wrote a letter to the committee. I would like to take this opportunity to share parts of his letter with you.

‘Wow What a Week!’ METALfab totally exceeded my expectations

“Upon hearing what the typical schedule for a METALfab consisted of, the word ‘classes’ took me back to high school and my attempt to hide the fact that I did a lot of sleeping in class. But the educa-tion sessions at METALfab were nothing like that. The amount of information that one can get from the classes is huge. I am a one-man shop, so there were some classes that honestly have nothing to do with my immediate business position, but I like to be prepared for the future.

“When or if I decide to upscale my company, in size or capabilities, it’s nice to already have some of the larger business or management skills in my toolbox. It’s just like the equipment we all buy. Nobody uses every single tool they have in their shop every day, but when you need it, it’s there.

“That is what the information in the METAL-fab education program is like. It’s a tool you’re obtaining and putting in your toolbox. You might not use it the next day or even that year, but when you need the knowledge and reach for it, it’s already there, ready to be used.

NOMMA offers a welcoming hand“I have never been more welcomed by a group

of strangers, in my entire life. Not to mention a group of strangers that is so giving with informa-tion. Be it about their shop, how they run it, problems they run into, how to fix them, projects they are working on, new equipment they are using and how they like it. It was like we were all learning to play poker for the first time so everyone had their hand out in the open to learn which hands beat which.

“By interacting with one another, from across the coun-try with different experiences and talents, as a group we can

push our industry to a level of craftsmanship unlike any other.

“The Party with a Purpose and Awards Banquet were a blast. Seeing all of the hard work put into the Top Job entries was truly inspiring, and made it so I couldn’t wait to get back to my shop and start work-ing, with a new level of enthusiasm. I was very fortu-nate to have won a Top Job award this year, but seeing the level everyone is achieving makes me strive to be better at my craft.

NOMMA acts like a personal coach“When I reviewed the week, it dawned on me

that NOMMA resembles a coach or personal trainer. When you look at the sports world, from time to time you will see the same name pop up as ‘the guy’ who is training or working with the top athletes and mak-ing them successful. That trainer has the ability to get

whoever they are training up to the next level. That is what NOMMA is!

“One night while having a conversation with a fellow NOMMA member I started looking around the room and realized that all of the most beautiful, and prestigious work that I’ve seen, either online or in magazines was created by individuals in this restaurant. They all have one thing in common: They are all NOMMA mem-bers, and they all attend METALfab each year. I saw them in all the classes, and at every event. They don’t miss anything; they take full advan-tage of the week.

“NOMMA is that coach or trainer that gives you all the information and knowledge to put your company on the next level and in front of the competition. NOMMA can’t weld, or make a scroll, or run your business, but it can give you all the information you could ever want. The other members and the Top Job competition push you

forward to keep improving and become better.“I cannot say thank you enough, to Mark O’Malley, the

Kinnikin family, and the donors to the scholarship fund for making this opportunity possible for me.

“Anyone that can attend METALfab whether it’s through a scholarship or on your own, should definitely try to attend. It is well worth the time, money, and effort!”

Lynn Parquette, owner, Mueller Ornamental Iron Works Inc. & Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC, is the Chair of the NEF.

“I have never been more welcomed by a group of strangers, in my entire life. Not to mention a group of strangers that is so giving with information,” says Matthew Olseng, president of MDO Welding & Fab.

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Shop Talk

n Th is article shows you how to inlay st erling silver wire. In place of silver wire, copper or other soft metals can be inlaid also.

Recently I thought I would try some decorative metal inlay. How hard can it be? Well, I have great news for you. Decorative inlaying is easy. Th ere are two rules you might want to follow, but beyond that, inlay-ing is a straight-forward process. You might wonder aft er you inlay something, why a person does not see more products with decorative inlaying? Let’s start at the beginning.

If you look at the sketches on page 18, you will see the process. You need to pay attention to two basic concepts:

1 Th e metal you are inlaying needs to be soft er than the metal it is being inlayed into. Otherwise, the metal being inlaid will not spread well into the under-cut areas (dovetails) created to lock the metal in place (sketches -9).

Axe heads are Viking inspired, and hand forged by Tom Latane. Wrought iron bodies, forge welded tool steel cutting edges with silver inlay. Notice the reindeer on the top axe head and inlaid bird on the lower axe head.



2 In sketch 7, you will see that the round stock is set down into the open-ing, so that it’s widest area is level with the raised edges of the undercut stock. This will make sure your inlay is well rooted.

7 inlaying toolsLet’s now look at the inlaying tools

(photo 1; the following numbers in the text correspond to those in the photo). Working from the left to the right, here’s what you see:

1 On the upper left, you see a three-pound hammer above a flatter. These tools will be used for finishing/flatten-ing the surface after the round stock, in this case the sterling silver wire has been inlayed. This step is optional.

2 Below the handled tools are a wire cutter, a magnifying glass and sterling silver wire. I purchased the sterling silver wire online from:

Indian Jewelers Supply Company1-800-545-65401-888-722-4172 faxwww.ijsinc.com

When ordering your silver wire, specify the size you need in thou-sands of an inch, not in a gauge size. The gauge sizes used for silver and the gauge sizes used for steel do not equal the same metal thickness.

3 In the aerosol can is spray adhe-sive from the hardware store.

4 Following the spray adhesive is an extra copy of the pattern used. The pattern used started out as a loose pencil drawing on graph paper. The drawing was then refined. The refined drawing was put into a copy machine and the size adjusted slightly to better fit the width of the bars.

5 Two lift-bars with dovetailed/undercut areas finished, ready for the silver wire to be inlaid.

6 The two chisels used to create the undercuts once the overall design was chiseled into the metal surface.

7 A “bench” hammer (hammer that stays on your bench for general work).

Let’s inlayThe first thing we need is a pattern.

For my pattern, I fished around on Google for some inlaying examples. My computer makes me crazy, but as a resource tool in any category, it makes me glad I live in this century.

I found an inlay concept that wasn’t right but started the mental wheels rolling. With the help of some graph paper, a cup of good coffee (with a little half and half) some good tunes on the radio, a kitchen table, 45 minutes and voilà. An outgrowth of the Google inspiration was on paper.

After spray mounting the patterns onto the bronze bars, with a small walking chisel, the centerlines of the

Photo 1. Inlaying tools. Numbers in the photo correspond to those in the text below and at right.

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linear patterns were incised through the paper patterns and into the metal. This was done in a treadle hammer, but has been done by hand for centuries. The tighter the radiuses are in a pattern, the smaller the walking chisel needs to be. An oversized chisel will incise your radiuses in increments (choppy steps). A smaller walking chisel will also pro-vide radiuses with increments, but they will be much smaller and the chop-

py-ness reduced accordingly.After the initial incising, the paper

patterns were removed by heating the bars. The bars were heated to a dull red so they were normalized at the same time the paper was removed.

The bronze I used is alloy CDA655. I often use 655 because it TIG welds beautifully, which makes the assembly of bronze parts easy.

However, from my experience, alloy

655 is hard to forge and even harder to cold work. Both processes are doable, but the hot forging is done in a relatively narrow heat range and cold working requires frequent anneal-ing to keep work-hardening at bay.

With the patterns removed, and with the same walking chisels previ-ously used, the incised lines were gone over again, to clean them up so they became good looking lines.

Sketches showing the decorative metal inlay steps.


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The inlaying processLet’s break down the inlaying process in photo 2 (page 0;

numbers in the text correspond to those in the photo).1 On the far left , you will see a small scrap of what looks

like about 3/16 inch or 1/4 inch by maybe 1½-inch steel. Th at was the practice piece — about all most of you will need to learn this process. It’s not diffi cult.

2 Next to the bench hammer, is an under-cutting chisel. Under-cutting chisels of two widths were used. One was quite narrow for undercutting in the tighter areas of the radiuses. Th e wider chisel was used where there was less curvature.

3 Next, notice the bronze lift bar is resting against a heavy surface plate that sits on top of the bench. Th e heavy plate in this application becomes a back-up plate while undercutting the laid out lines. When you are undercutting, you are holding the chisel at about 45°, so you need a backup stop to keep the work you are undercutting from simply being pushed sideways by the chisel.

4 On the bottom of the photo is bar clamped to the heavy bench top. Th is bar is also a backup bar, used when the bronze piece being undercut is rotated 90° while a chisel is following a curved line around a radius.

5 On top of the surface plate is a magnifying glass, which is helpful, but an even better tool for checking your progress is the knurled dental tool on the other side of the second lift bar. Ask your dentist for a couple of old hook-shaped tools, they oft en come in handy in your shop.

In the case of measuring your undercutting with the den-

tal tool, you can simply pull the sharp hooked point of the tool up (perpendicular to the metal) the side of your under-cut. If there is no undercut, the tool will easily slip up the inside edge. With a nice undercut, the tool will resist com-ing up the inside edge.

Once you experience the feel of the drag on the tool, you will easily recognize how the amount of drag relates to the amount of the pitch in your dovetailed wall.

Moving forwardAft er a couple passes around the incised lines to give

yourself a nice undercut, you will defi nitely feel that the

Photo 2. Inlaying process. Numbers in the photo correspond to those in the text at left.

5

43

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655 has work-hardened. This is the personality of alloy 655. Because work hardening happens soon with this alloy, if you

find yourself having problems, you can anneal your bronze. I worked with the work-hardened bronze, which was tough.

If you don’t want to deal with work-hardening, inlay into steel. You might want to consider inlaying silver wire into steel, and then chemically darkening the steel. Assuming the chemicals you use only darken the steel and not the silver, this looks great.

Tom Latane’s Viking inspired ax heads (see phot0s, page 14) are silver inlaid into steel (pure iron).

Next, with a flat-bottomed tool, pound down (flatten) the ridges on the floor of your dovetail (sketch 6).

Lengths of sterling silver wire were then cut. The wire was purchased in an annealed state, so it was not annealed. This may or may not have been a good idea? To be safe, heat your silver wire up to a dull red, let it cool, or quench it and will you will know you have soft wire. Silver, like 655 work, hardens quickly.

Lay the short sections into the dovetailed troughs and ham-mer them down into the prepared areas. Make your short wires slightly too long for each trough, so you make sure the recessed areas will be completely filled. The excess silver on each end will not have anywhere to go when you hammer the wire, so

Inlayed bronze lift bars, near right. Lifting these bars releases the fireplace enclosure doors so they can be opened.

Bars installed, far right. Note, the mesh openings (one-inch) on this set of fireplace doors will not be code compliant in most areas.

Check your local building codes for the regulations in your area.


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For your information

About the authorRobert “Uncle Bob” Walsh has been a fabrica-tor/artist/blacksmith for 30 years. For 10 years, his shop was in downtown Minneapolis.

After the invention of the fax machine (allowing an easy interchange of sketches), he moved to semi-rural Wisconsin where he set up a cottage industry with fellow shop owners that has been chugging along for 20 years. Their ironwork can be found throughout the upper Midwest.

R. Walsh Gate & Railing306 Lake St., Pepin, WI 54759715-442-3102, [email protected]

n

it will create little flat buttons on the surface at each end of your curved troughs. The buttons of excess silver will be removed later.

The flatter comes next, smoothing out the surface. Be careful to leave the silver a little high, and not create any dents with the edges of the flatter. A simple piece of steel plate with well-rounded edges can be used in place of the flatter.

You can finish your inlaid work carefully with a file and sandpaper. I used a fine flap wheel in an angle grinder. A DA sander might work well. The buttons come off the ends of your curved lines at this point. Polish with a buffer if that suits your needs. Be careful of the heat generated if using power tools.

The inlaid lift bars were then patinated with a brown finish. The brown finish solution was placed in a covered Pyrex oven dish and set in front of the forced air space heater in my shop. When the solution is very warm, almost hot, the chemicals work extremely well patinating clean bronze. I have not had much luck with brown when using the chemicals cold. The chemicals I have are either from Jax Chemical Company, Mt. Vernon, NY, or Birchwood Tech-nologies, Eden Prairie, MN.

The bronze patination chemicals do not work on silver, so only the bronze was colored. A good coat of wax was then applied to the bars.

The hardware store silver polish my store sells is “Twin-kle.” Twinkle will polish the silver inlay without removing the bronze patina. On a test piece, the bronze patina seems impervious to the twinkle.

I hope the homeowners let the silver tarnish and age. Even though the Twinkle will not chemically remove the bronze patina, repeated rubbing of the bronze surround-ing the silver with a polishing cloth may or may not prove to be problematic? I guess whether this becomes a problem or not, depends on the frequency. Once a week? Once a month? Once every 6 months, or once a year? We’ll see.

A good coat of clear lacquer would alleviate this poten-tial problem, but I am just not a clear-lacquer kind of guy.

Good luck.The joy is in the journey.


Shop Talk

n In Part of this article about three-dimensional forging, we touched on architect ure and sculpture. We then forged three dimensional coils with round st ock. In part , we will again touch on architect ure, followed by forging conical, D scroll ends with fl at st ock.

Editor’s note: Th is three-dimensional forging article is based on our grille (drawing A) project , part of a long series in O&MM Fabricator dating back to the November/December 011 issue.

Th is particular article is also the second of two articles on forging in three dimensions. Th e fi rst 3D forging article, published in the November/December 013 issue, focused on decorative coils.

In previous installments, we looked at acanthus leaf design and stretch-out patterns for wrap-around leaves. We then hammered out a thin leaf over a stake and formed a thick leaf (⅛ inch) while hot by using hardwood as a back-up tool. Th e wood burns up and becomes a consumable part of the thick met-al-forming process.

Since writing the hot-forming article (March/April 2013 issue), I formed some 1/4 inch-thick steel acanthus leaves for a project. I was a little apprehen-sive about forming leaves this thick, but they were not much more work than the ⅛ -inch leaves pro-duced in the article.

Predictably, I had to pound on the leaves a little longer, and while making the leaves, more wood

back-up blocks were consumed. Beyond that, the leaves were not a problem to produce.

Acanthus leaves can be formed in diff erent ways. In this grille series, we did not look at the process when lead or pitch is used as a back-up material. I have seen some fabulous work produced with these materials, but they are not my back-up materials of choice. I hope the cold (stake) raising and hot-sink-ing into wood works for you. For me, these two pro-cesses have been the quickest way to get the job done while producing a quality product.

Random thoughts Before we look at forging in the third dimension,

I would like to ramble a little about architectural design. We fabricators have many challenges in common. As gate and railing builders, architectural design is one of the challenges many of us have in common.

I cannot speak for your neighborhood, but where I live the trend in building has swung 180° from the “McMansion” mentality of the early 1990s to that of becoming earth friendly and much smaller in scale. Instead of huge new homes being built with a three-car garage placed in front of the home, I see the trend is now small by comparison and the garage is

Drawing A. The grille techniques discussed in this article are based on the above drawing.



recessed on the lot or placed behind the home. The use of alleys is being rediscovered, and once again the home has become the focal point on the lot — not the garage with an attached house.

For craftspeople, here’s the best part. The decorative work is being built by locally qualified businesses to keep the building process environmentally sensitive. This new mentality runs in contrast to parts, labor, and materials being shipped from the other side of the world. Progres-sive architects have discovered North American-made A-36 steel and recycled aluminum, which are now the materials of choice.

I suspect most fabricators reading this are already using A-36 steel, which is recycled just as 6061, 1100, and other aluminum alloys are. Ask your suppliers if your recycled metal is made in North America. If so, you are in the right place at the right time with these metals.

No one specific architectural style seems to be emerg-ing. Architectural styles are personal choices and as varied as the consumers purchasing homes. However, within the given style of a home, everything is being scaled down and refined in quality. Earth friendly, less volume, and finer quality is the mentality now.

Ornamental scroll work, per our grille, has been around for hundreds of years. Scroll work will always have a place in architecture. What I am also seeing in cutting-edge

Photo 1. Ironwork is a three-dimensional medium. This grille is the work of master metalworker Cyril Colnik.

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architectural design is interesting join-ery (sketches 1-, above) oft en com-bined with geometric compositions — interesting and thought-provoking joinery produced with recycled metal.

When thinking about geometric compositions and joinery, a say-ing comes to mind: “History repeats itself.” If history does repeat itself, is the new look that of primitive Roman

ironwork? In the commonly accepted “cave-

to-castle” spectrum of forged metal-work design, we started with ironwork in the Roman period, then evolved through the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo periods. Aft er Rococo came the industrial revolution and with it the end of the cave-to-cas-tle design evolution.

Th e point being, we started out with the primitive look of the Romans using ironwork to keep battering rams out of their living rooms and evolved into the highly ornamental Rococo period.

Has the new look gone full cir-cle from Rococo to now starting over with the elementary look of Roman security work — only this time around

Joinery and forging steps.

March / April 2015 n O&MM Fabricator 27

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with the focus on interesting joinery?If the above is true and represents

an evolving addition into the wrought iron mix of styles most of us work with, where does this leave us as fab-ricators? Again, I cannot speak for your neighborhood, but where I live, it

means it is time to become well versed in joinery (see sketches 1-8, page 6).

Let’s look at what English art-ist-blacksmiths have been doing for years. Many contemporary European artist-blacksmiths are surrounded with classical ironwork, thus many

experiment with joinery, using metal to create asymmetrical and artful com-positions. Th is symmetry is the oppo-site of classical ironwork, which is typ-ically symmetrical up to the Rococo period.

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Photo 3, middle. The form was created with the same process as the maquette, far left, by rotating the in-feed, only this time with thicker material in a fl y press. See page 30 for more information.

Photo 4, near left. Coils and three-dimensional scrolls. The two conical scrolls on the right can be hammered out in a number of ways, two of which are presented in the two storyboards in photo 5 (page 31).

Photo 2, far left. A maquette (model) for a large sculpture. Producing this form is a three-minute process. See page 30 for more information.


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Optimally using three dimensions

Ironwork is a three-dimensional medium. Look at the grille by mas-ter metalworker Cyrl Colnik (photo 1, page ).

Notice the scrollwork, the quality of which is beyond my comprehension.

Also notice how most of the scrolls are twisted in addition to being wound into a typical scroll form.

Colnik is using all three dimen-sions available with this three-dimen-sional medium.

Let’s forge.Hammering out three-dimensional

elements over your anvil is typically the same as creating three-dimen-sional work in a fl y press or press brake. With a press brake or fl y press, three-dimensional forming is usually produced in one of two ways:

1 Either you feed your metal into your press brake or fl y press at an angle, or

2 you pre-bend a curve in your metal and then come into your dies so the bend is perpendicular to the met-al’s direction of travel.

In the November/December 2013 O&MM Fabricator, we discussed forg-ing coils by feeding hot-round stock in at an angle over the step in the anvil while fullering the round stock with the edge of a cross pein hammer. Th is created a crude helix on the out-feed side of the anvil’s step. Th e crude helix was then refi ned into a coil. Fullering into the step of your anvil produces the results of a miniature press brake or fl y press.

Photo 2 (page ) shows a maquette (model) for a large sculpture. Produc-ing this form is a three-minute process while fullering a tapered sheet-metal strip into the step on your anvil. Th e in-feed of the metal is rotated while forming to create the variation in the helical form (sketches 9-1).

Enlarge this form to architectural scale and fabricate it with stainless steel into a tapered hollow form (four sides) and you have a large graceful sculpture.

In photo 3 (page ), the form was created with the same process as the maquette, by rotating the in-feed, only this time with thicker material in a fl y press.

Photo 4 (page ) shows our coils plus three-dimensional scrolls. Th e two conical scrolls on the right can be hammered out in a number of ways, two of which are presented in the two storyboards in photo 5 (page 31).

Th e diff erence between the two sto-ryboards is the board on the top dis-plays a method where the scroll blank was cut out with a bandsaw. Th ree examples of the blanks are on the right side of the sequential steps.

Th e conical scroll at the end of the lower storyboard is produced from a length of ½ x ¾-inch stock with tra-ditional forging methods. Th e third dimension is added per sketches 13-15.

Sliding to a conclusionBecause this will be the last install-

ment specifi cally focused on three-dimensional metal and our grille proj-ect, I would like to present the photo of the slide on age 31. I have wanted to include photo 6 in a number of previ-ous articles, but it never gracefully fi t into the text.

I do not know who produced this slide, maybe a NOMMA member?

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Photo 5.


About the authorRobert “Uncle Bob” Walsh has been a fabrica-tor/artist/blacksmith for 30 years. For 10 years, his shop was in downtown Minneapolis.

After the invention of the fax machine (allowing an easy interchange of sketches), he moved to semi-rural Wisconsin where he set up a cottage industry with fellow shop owners that has been chug-ging along for 20 years. Their ironwork can be found throughout the upper Midwest.

R. Walsh Gate & Railing306 Lake St., Pepin, WI 54759715-442-3102, [email protected]

n

Whoever it was, my hat goes off to you.

The sheet-metal layout process and metal-forming pro-cess involved to produce this slide, I find fascinating. Sometimes I sit on a park bench watching my grandson play and wonder, how was this slide made? The originator of this slide was truly a master of the craft.

Good luck. The joy is in the

journey. Photo 6. “Uncle” Bob finds the sheet-metal layout and metal-forming process that produced this slide to be fascinating.


Shop Talk

n The AAMA has updated its standards. But even if you regard aluminum finishing as simply a customer spec that you pass along to an anodizer, having a working knowledge of the process can make a customer look to you for input. And that’s never a bad thing.

Anodize this

There’s something about anodized aluminum finishes. Maybe because it’s redolent of those neato aluminum tumblers from the 1960s. You know which ones. They came in red, blue, and gold. Then those ballpoints with the sleek anodized barrels, like the one used for notes and a first draft of this article.

But anodizing isn’t just about aes-thetics and nostalgia. It’s one of the best protections for outdoor alumi-num gates and railings. OK, it also makes them look great.

Anodizing has been here way before the 1960s. The British first fid-dled with it in the 1920s. They began using the process to protect their Duralum aluminum built seaplanes from the corrosive effects of saltwater. Since then, a few changes have been made to the anodizing process.

Unlike ferrous metals, pure alu-minum can self-generate a corrosion resistant surface. Called passivating, the process is simply an oxidation reaction between the aluminum and ambient oxygen. The aluminum sur-face combines with the oxygen to pro-duce a coating of aluminum-oxide. It’s thin coating of 2-3 nanometers at best (a nanometer is a billionth of a meter) is enough to ward off corrosion.

Aluminum alloys can also passiv-ate, but not by themselves. They need some help. That’s where the anodizing process comes in.

How anodizing worksThe fabricated piece of aluminum

alloy is immersed in an electrolytic solution — a fancy term for a liquid that will conduct electricity. Once the alloy is in the solution, a direct current is run through the liquid. The alloy acts as the anode — it will lose elec-trons or be oxidized.

Remember, oxidation doesn’t nec-essarily need oxygen. It’s really defined as losing electrons, which can be done with a direct current as well.

As the anode picks up electrons, they start grabbing particles from the solution and a build up of material occurs on the alloy, forming the oxi-dation layer on its surface. This layer is much thicker than occurs in nature on pure aluminum — about 5–15 nm in depth.

It’s also porous, so it can be infused with dyes to give it those great colors you find on anodized aluminum. The layer also protects against corro-sion, which may well be, apart from the colors, the true beauty of anodized surfaces.

As you might have guessed, any-thing that involves dipping something into a vat full of chemicals is going to have its results based on a whole lot of variables. That’s why the American Architectural Manufacturers Associ-

The two-step process requires the aluminum piece to be immersed in a second tank, after anodizing. The second tank contains a metal-infused elelectrolytic bath. A longer immersion will yield a darker hue. Photo courtesy of Linetec.

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Left, the anodizing process increases pore depth into which dye (5) is infused. The dye is suspended in the anodizing tank’s electrolyte solution. Right, the electrolytic coloring is done after the piece has been removed from the anodizing tank. It is then immersed in another tank with minute particles of metal suspended in an electrolytic solution. Because the process is done in a separate tank, it is also referred to as an electrolytic 2-step. AAMA’s updated standards recommends this process.

1 — Aluminum metal3 — Aluminum oxide coating (as color anchor in anodizing process)5 — Coloring matter

ation (AAMA) — as well as the National Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers (NAAMM) and the National Association of Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metal Association (NOMMA) — publishes guidelines based on a considerable body of experience.

The guidelines are pretty inclusive. They cover every-thing; pretreatment, anodizing, coloring, alloys, and care and maintenance of anodized aluminum.

AAMA updates specificationsRecently, AAMA has made a few changes to keep up

with times, technologically speaking, the most impacting (for fabricators) of which may be the one concerned with coloring the anodized aluminum.

As Andy Joswiak , vice president, operations, Linetec, Wausau, WI, and chair of the Aluminum Material Coun-cil’s (AMC) Anodic Finishes/Painted Aluminum Task Group puts it, “The updates give a better description of the process. It puts it in layman’s terms now, and shows options for what can be done with different materials. It shows which alloys are best for anodizing and even which weld wires to use.”

Old standardThe standard, until recently, has been either 1 pigment coloring or 2 integral color anodizing. Pigment coloring is just adding an organic dye to the

electrolytic bath in which the aluminum is immersed for the anodizing process. Since the oxidized layer produced by anodizing is extremely porous, the pigments fill these

For aluminum anodizing, beauty is skin deep

pores. This gives the anodized alumi-num its color. The longer it’s in the bath, the darker the color.

Integrated coloring, created by tin-kering with different acid mixtures in the electrolytic bath, yields a nar-rower range of hues than does pig-ment coloring.

Both types of coloring are done directly in the anodizing tank, concur-rently with the anodizing process.

New standardAAMA’s guidelines now suggest

another coloring process known as a 2-step electrolyitic coloring process. After the anodizing process, the piece is removed from the tank and then immersed into an electrolytic solution with suspended metal particles.

An electric current produces a buildup of a porous layer on the anod-ized finish. The layer has a porosity of about 15 percent — about 500 billion pores per square inch — and it is into these pores that the metal particles begin to accumulate.

The metals typically used in the suspension are cobalt, nickel, and tin, all of which are compatible with alu-minum. Each of these metals reflects light differently, producing colors in the metal. The longer the piece is left in the solution, the more metal it picks up in the surface pores, and the deeper the color.

Besides the basic anti-corrosion effects of the anodizing, the electro-plated aluminum is colored with-out the use of organic pigments. This makes it essentially UV-stable.

Here’s a distillation of the subject

Although the fine points of anodiz-ing may seem like a moot point since the vast majority of fabricators simply send things out to be anodized. But it’s still good to have at least a basic knowledge of how the piece is going to turn out.

Anodizing and its attendant specs are incredibly byzantine. Anyone wishing to make an in depth study of the matter should be warned that try-ing to make sense of it all could easily drive you crazy.

If you’re going to specify an anodic finish, there are basically two types

for a fabricator. Whether it’s mil spec, AAMA, or Aluminum Anodizers Council, it comes down to the electro-lytic bath we discussed earlier. Your choices ultimately come down to either

1 a warm bath of dilute sulfuric acid or

2 a cold bath of sulfuric acid. Both baths will have 10 to 15 volts of

direct current through them. The warm bath is referred to as

basic, clear, or architectural anodiz-ing. It gives you a hard coat of oxide that will withstand most climates. As

mentioned, it can also be colored with either pigments or metal particles.

The cold bath is called “hard” anod-izing. It’s more expensive and not used as much for exterior architectural or ornamental projects.

While architectural anodizing can be colored either with pigments or with metal particles, as AAMA guide-lines now suggest, the anodizing pro-cess by itself will give the piece some color depending on either the alloy, or whether it’s a warm or cold finish.

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can get dark gray, light gray, “cham-pagne,” bronze, black, or clear. With the hard anodizing, you can have any color you want as long as its black.

Another distinction to be aware of is the general classification of anodic coatings.

Fabricators really need to be aware of two: 1) architectural class I and 2) archi-tectural class II. What’s the difference?

1 Class I is a hard finish that’s good for interior work that won’t need a lot of cleaning. A caveat, though. Class I finishes require an extremely well pre-pared surface. Any imperfections will be magnified rather than covered.

2 Class II is a good exterior finish, particularly for work that may require a lot of cleaning.

The update guidelines likely will have scant effect on fabricators. Mainly because fabricators don’t anod-ize. Nor do they get overly involved in specifying anodic finishes.

The typical chain of command is from the customer, designer, engineer, or architect to the anodizer, by way of the fabricator.

Or as Max Hains Sr., president, MoFab Inc, Anderson, IN, puts it, “We just pass along the specs.”

But that’s not to say that a fabri-cator has no input whatsoever in the anodic finish. “If we see a problem with an alloy that’s not conducive to that type of (anodic) finish, we go back to the architect or engineer and say, hey, it’s not working,” explains Hains, who works with a lot of aluminum

alloys including 61T, T6, T5, an 5000 series. So he knows whereof he speaks.

Pre-treatingWhile most shops send work out

“as-fabricated” to be anodized, many still pre-treat in-house.

Kia Tomov, operations, Majka Rail-ing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJ (http:// majkarailing.com), says they grind their work as a rudimentary cleaning process before sending it to the anod-izer. The anodizer then does addi-tional pretreating.

Once it’s at the anodizer, the pre-treatment becomes a little more involved. William “Willie” Niederst, a production manager for Keystone Rustproofing Inc., Arnold, PA, — http://keystonerustproofing.com — says most “as-fabricated” work is put into an alkaline bath, followed by a rinse and then a de-oxidizing.

“But certain alloys don’t like alka-line. So we just skip the alkaline bath,” he notes. “Alpase (Alpase Aluminum, Chino, CA — http://bit.ly/1ItoJ5f) products like K100 or M1 don’t like alkalines. They’ll look better if you don’t clean them as hard, too.”

Welding, color coordinating and other caveats

There are a few things to know about fabricating aluminum that’s going to be anodized that will save a lot of cursing later. NAAMM/NOMMA has handy guidelines for this. The reference is called the

In keeping with AAMA’s updated standards, the aluminum pieces are colored with an electrolytic two-step process. After the anodizing process, the pieces are removed from the tank containing an electrolytic acid solution, left, and immersed in a second tank, right, containing a metal-infused electrolytic bath. A longer immersion will yield a darker hue. Photos courtesy of Linetec.

AAMA updates corrosion adviceThe American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has updated and released two documents specific to aluminum:

1 The combined AAMA 609 & 610-15, Cleaning and Maintenance Guide for Archi-tecturally Finished Aluminum.

2 CW-10-15, Care and Han-dling of Architectural Alumi-num from Shop to Site.

The update puts architects and curtain wall fabricators on notice that if the finish is com-promised in any way, it may result in corrosion problems.

Architecturally finished alu-minum is considered any that has been treated with anodic or organic coatings.

AAMA 609 & 610-15 spells out methods, equipment, and materials applicable for cleaning such finished aluminum after construction and for subsequent periodic maintenance.

AAMA CW-10-15 recom-mends how best to care for alu-minum from the mill to product fabrication, to loading and ship-ping of the finished product, and includes care both prior to, and after, building completion.

Metal Finishes Manual, published by NAAMM and available as a PDF doc-ument at: http://bit.ly/1Mm664a.

If you’re going to weld, do it where it won’t be seen. Anodizing over a weld can produce some color sur-prises, none of them pleasant. Most common are the dreaded black rings marring an otherwise aesthetically pleasing anodic fi nish. Th is can also be minimized by using the right fi ller rod. NAAMM/NOMMA suggests sticking with 5356 or 5856.

And if you’re going to weld aft er anodizing, be sure to grind, grind, grind. As Hains notes, “you really can’t weld through an anodic fi nish.”

Another fabrication inclusion is to drill drainage holes in square or round tubing. Th at way, residual acids from the anodizing process won’t be trapped in the tubing, which will seep out aft er installation leaving unsightly stains.

Another consideration when fabri-cating something that will be anodized is color continuity. Remember, the alloy you’re working with will have a major eff ect on the color.

On a particularly long piece, there will even be color variations over the length of the piece. Th is is particu-larly true of cold worked aluminum. If color continuity is of paramount importance, anodizing may not be the best choice for a fi nish.

One way to avoid surprises any time you’re anodizing is to send in some samples of the alloy.

Care and feedingFor cleaning anodic fi nishes, the

best way to go is to use plain soap or mild detergents and water. Or as Tomov puts it, “the best care is to just wipe it off once in a while.”

If you have some diffi cult dirt on the installation and you’re thinking about using a mild acid or alkaline, suppress that urge and forget you ever thought about it. It’s an excellent way to ruin an anodic fi nish.

Another way to cause damage from cleaning is to scrub a surface that has been heated up from the sun. You’ll most likely get some nasty streaking and you may even compromise the sealants protecting the anodic fi nish.

Many anodizers have some pre-ferred directions for cleaning the fi nish. Some even have a spray liquid touch up material for small dings and scratches, with the emphasis on small. AAMA has a list of cleaners for anodic surfaces but isn’t making any recom-mendations or preferences. You can fi nd it in Section 7 of AAMA 609 & 610-02: http://bit.ly/1GxlrRb.

Another installation note: Th e anod-ized piece will generally come back with a protective wrapper of paper or plastic on it. Take it off aft er installa-tion. Th ese wrappers interact with sun-

light and can cause staining if left on.To sum it up, with regard to anod-

izing, and the updated guidelines, the fabricator may not anodize or even specify anodizing, but it’s still import-ant for the fabricator to be educated about the anodic process and to be dil-igent about continuing education on the subject.

Th e fabricator’s role in an anodized job can have some signifi cant impacts on the aesthetics of the piece. And apart from strength, aren’t the aesthet-ics the whole point of metal?


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For more on deflection . . .see November-December 2014 O&MM Fabricator, page 14.

About the authorJeff 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.

n

Drill drainage holes in square or round tubing. Th at way, residual acids from the anodizing process won’t be trapped in the tubing, which will seep out aft er inst allation leaving unsightly st ains.


Editor’s note: M. Cohen and Sons was founded in 1931 when Allen Cohen’s Russian blacksmith grandfather Max opened a shop in Philadelphia. As the third generaton president, Allen oversees a company now in its fourth generation, which includes four of Allen’s children plus cousins — about a dozen family members who are spread out between the company’s custom and spiral businesses in various functions.

O&MM Fabricator: How did you get your start learning metal fabrication?

Allen Cohen: I started working for M. Cohen & Sons after school and on weekends when I was 12 years old. I was given actual responsibilities on the shop floor. Before that, I absorbed informa-tion at the dinner table, when I helped in the shop doing odd jobs, and when I experimented with tools and scrap metal.

Fabricator: Do you have a personal area of expertise? What do you especially like to do?

Cohen: I have held almost every position in the company, from shipping/receiving and pack-aging to fabrication and design to sales.

At this point, I work primarily in a front-end design capacity. I love to be hands-on with the conceptual aspects of each project and to lay out the best path for a successful completion of the job.

Fabricator: Who were or are your mentors? What did they teach you?

Cohen: My father, Phillip, was my primary mentor. I was fortunate to get my start under his tutelage and to work beside him until he passed in 2007.

The business

Fabricator: What key things did your dad and grandfather do to build the business?

Cohen: My grandfather started this busi-ness during the depression. At that time, it was a neighborhood shop; they took small low-risk jobs. What he and my father did to foster growth was to move to the suburbs where the available land

Member Talk

n Tight integration of business and manufacturing processes allows company to proactively target clients with high-end ornamental and glass needs, cut errors, and deliver more than they promise.

M. Cohen & Sons’ one-stop shop sophistication

Work for 1560 Broadway, New York, NY included custom stainless steel clad curtainwall, stainless steel canopy and panel work, and a glass storefront with revolving and automatic swing doors. The curtainwall was assembled and delivered to the project site as one completely fabricated unit. The material was picked and hoisted into place without the need for further field assembly.

Architect: TPG Architecture, LLP; General Contractor: Plaza Construction; Photo Credit: Todd R. Vorenkamp.


was so that over the years we could expand. We now have 10 buildings.

My father allowed me to develop and act on my desire to grow the busi-ness by pursuing much bigger and exciting projects. We are fortunate that we have had a lot of success with large-scale projects.

My family and all of our employees enjoy a great deal of satisfaction taking on challenging and exciting jobs and through skill, experience, and hard work are able to achieve a satisfying result that we can point to with pride and say “We did that!”

Fabricator: What was their philoso-phy of business?

Cohen: Th ere is nothing that some-one else can do that we can’t do.

Fabricator: What was the thinking behind starting up Th e Iron Shop? How does its mission diff er from M. Cohen & Sons? Who are its cus-tomers, what is its market? It’s only spiral stairs?

Cohen: Th e Iron Shop is a distinct part of our business dedicated to spiral stairs. Th e Iron Shop is also the brand for our spiral kits that we started man-ufacturing and selling in 1972.

Spiral stairs went from being some-what of a luxury item to a boxed kit that could be shipped all over the country to anyone from the average homeowner to a large builder. Our stairs are even off ered in Lowe’s. We do have a straight fl oating stair in addition to an extensive range of spiral stairs.

Th e distinction is that Th e Iron Shop is dedicated to spiral stairs whereas M. Cohen & Sons, the parent company, represents the custom side of our business serving high-end resi-dential and commercial clients.

Fabricator: As president of M. Cohen & Sons now, what is your typical day like?

Cohen: Every day is diff erent because of the wide variety of projects we’re fortunate to have. Each project presents us with a fresh challenge or with an opportunity to solve an old problem in a new way.

Much of my time is spent traveling to job sites and interfacing with archi-tects, general contractors, and clients.

Warner Music for John Gallin and Sons New York, NY. Two steel cantilevered treads and custom guardrails had wood treads. These stairs were completely shop-fabricated then disassembled to be fi t together in the fi eld. The fi nish was blackened and partially rusted, creating a worn look that matches the reclaimed maple treads.

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Fabricator: What types of applica-tions does the company handle most (stairs, rails, fences, gates, decorative)?

Cohen: High-end custom monu-mental stairs and rails in the commer-cial and residential markets are our core strength nationwide. The custom work is interesting, unique; it pushes us to become better and not everyone can do it.

We really can do it all: glass and metal, such as retail storefront glazing systems usually not many stories tall; curtainwall systems for multi-story buildings; gates; railings; doorways; lighting; canopies; and interior and exterior fit-outs — refurbishment to maximize aesthetics and function of existing space. Fit-outs could include cladding, trim, furniture, display boxes and fixtures.

We don’t shy away from a chal-lenge. Our ability to do it all and to do it well is what has spurred our growth over the years.

Fabricator: Are you planning to broaden the product markets you work in or enter new ones? If so, what and how?

Cohen: Annually, we discuss new business opportunities in metal and glass. We now are focusing on high-end metal and glass curtain wall struc-tures on a national scale.

Fabricator: Do you do any work that might be considered outside the strict realm of metal fabrication?

Cohen: Other than metal of all types, we also accept glass and wood commissions.

Fabricator: How has each of these markets been for you the past couple years? Last year? Are they growing?

Cohen: Yes, as the economy has recovered, all sectors are rebounding and that helps everyone.

Markets seem to be recovering, banks are lending money, which is a good sign and typically great for construction.

MCS has seen an increase in archi-tects asking for budgets on upcoming projects, which is a good indication that developers are looking to move forward on projects whether previously

M. Cohen & Sons 1946 Ford flatbed delivery truck, above. Owners

Allen Cohen, president, and son Brian Cohen,

senior vice president of manufacturing, right, in custom fabrication

shop on a recent Saturday as they

inspect work in progress.


in the pipeline or new projects get-ting off the ground. Bid requests have increased over the past several years.

We have also seen an increase in work bids actually being contracted, up 40% from 2012 to 2013 and 10% for 2013. At this time 90% of our business is in Manhattan, which is a unique market and may not be indicative of other market’s recovery.

MCS has been working toward a more efficient process in bidding over the past four years, reducing the amount of bids on the street from 2,000+ in 2011 to 400 in 2014. This strategy has allowed MCS to focus on the work and projects we want to do and can be most competitive with our pricing.

Marketing plays a small role in our business, word of mouth and past per-formance drives a great deal of future work. We have also been reaching out to new clients — general contractors (GC) and construction managers (CM) over the past four years and begun developing relationships with them.

Fabricator: Any new markets out there for fabricators in general?

Cohen: Fabricators should focus on their individual strengths, their ability to handle risk (project size and com-plexity), and where the profit margins can be the most rewarding.

Fabricator: What are your company’s core strengths and why?

Cohen: We are essentially a design-build-install, one-stop shop. Our ver-tical integration of key business and manufacturing processes under one roof, gives us control over every aspect of our output and eliminates a lot of potential for error.

Every key business process from estimating and sales to design, project management, automation, fabrication, finishing, and shipping are all man-aged by us. We even have our own cus-tom woodshop.

Our facility resources and capabili-ties allow us to perform well on large-scale projects where budgets are not too tight.

Fabricator: Do you turn down cer-tain jobs? What kinds and why?

Cohen: Our tremendous growth over the past few years has forced us to prioritize. We can’t accept all jobs as much as we’d like to. We don’t sit and wait for the phone to ring. We look for interesting projects that can provide robust margins and that fit in our schedule.

We proactively target projects and clients with high-end ornamental and glass needs.

However, this growth in sales and of M. Cohen’s reputation has afforded us

Right, rays beam through the fabrication facility as the skeleton

structure of the exterior rain screens begin to take shape for a Manhattan

12-story luxury condominium building.

Below right, more than 60,000 square feet of decorative exterior metal

panels are being fabricated for the Manhattan condo project mentioned

above. A fabricator makes components for the next set of panels while the

fabricated panels await transportation to the warehouse for inspection.


the luxury of pursuing projects that will use our creativity and craftsmanship.

Fabricator: Do you do everything in-house or do you outsource some steps?

Cohen: We try to keep it in-house so we can control the schedule and quality. For example, we have a top-notch, in-house detailing staff. Retain-ing this function in-house enables good communication and flexibility between our project management,

detailing, and fabrication teams. We are all under one roof, collaborating constantly throughout the day

Fabricator: What was the most chal-lenging job you’ve had? What made it so challenging?

Cohen: We created a monumental stair for a corporate office in New York City in 2005. The laminated stain-less steel caps at the end of the treads needed to be extended into the glass guardrail.

We devised a solution to fasten the treads to the railing. We used a joining technique laminating stainless steel to glass when this technique was rela-tively new and fresh. Fortunately, the process worked well and the stair was a huge success.

Technologies and trends

Fabricator: For four generations, your company has seen numerous changes in the market and technolo-

M. Cohen & Sons fabricated custom architecturally exposed structural steel painted letters, which spell out the Cooper Hewitt Museum name (letter “C,” above left). The letters are suspended from an awning/trellis at the museum’s garden entrance. The trellis support itself falls behind a historic fence, while the letters project through the fence for a striking appearance. Architect: Diller Scofidio + Renfro, D.P.C.; General Contractor: Twin Towers Enterprises; Photo Credit: M. Cohen and Sons.

Top right, blacksmith hammer and tong rack at the M. Cohen & Sons shop.

Above, individual flat bronze door cladding parts are shown before being assembled into custom layered design for a private residence. Once fitted together into a full-door leaf the cladding panels were rolled to fit curved door cores and antiqued.


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gies you use. What has had the most significant impact for you?

Cohen: The design process has become boundless as it evolved from hand-drawn to computer-aided design. This evolution lets us commu-nicate our vision and pushes us to the limits of execution.

One example is 3D modeling and 3D printing, which we use to pro-duce castings and samples. These are economical tools to solve design challenges and get client input and approval before manufacturing. This allows collaboration with the customer and raises the level of design and con-struction.

Fabricator: What tools do you have in your shop? Which ones get the most use?

Cohen: We use hand tools like welders and grinders as well as lasers, plasma cutters, water jets, and a large paint booth.

Our production is still driven by the experience of talented mechan-ics. Technological advances have enhanced our ability to improve effi-ciency and quality so that we can focus on refining and expanding our capabilities.

Fabricator: What technological trends do you see coming in the next year or two for the residential and commercial fabricator?

Cohen: We see exciting advances in fiber optic lasers and high-out-put CNC machining that provide improved quality, faster speed, and potentially lower energy consumption. The quality of cut and finished parts will greatly improve as these technol-ogies improve, which will reduce or eliminate the amount of secondary finishing needed prior to assembly.

Fabricator: You invested in some new workflow technology. What does it do for you? Why did you need it?

Cohen: We recently purchased Epicor ERP (enterprise resource plan-ning) software that will allow us to easily access information and generate reports both in the shop and on the road, enjoy time and cost improve-ments, and by extension, yield greater customer satisfaction.

Left, for the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, New York, NY, M. Cohen used a corten steel wall panel system with cast glass crystals. Working with core-ten steel presented the challenges of having welds and attachments match the living finish.

Below, hoop chairs are mirror-polished stainless steel rolled tubes seam-welded and finished to appear continuous. Polishing all welds and components to create a reflective finish on every surface. Photo courtesy of Hechler Photographers.


The ERP integrates sales, esti-mating, purchasing, fabrication, and installation to make all information accessible in one place.

We also use Planswift for estimat-ing job costs.

Human resource issues

Fabricator: How many people work in your shop?

Cohen: We have a 130,000 square-foot facility with about 240 employees company-wide, double from recent years.

Fabricator: How do you handle the continuing fabrication education of your current employees?

Cohen: We have a continuous improvement program in place that uses seasoned mechanics and artisans to mentor and train novice mechanics.

One effective thing we started recently was “lunch and learn” sem-inars for our employees. For exam-ple, recently a representative from GE taught our employees about their structural silicone sealants used in glazing applications.

Another time, our finishing man-agers gave a seminar to our detailers and project managers on our finishing

capabilities including antiquing, pol-ishing, and painting.

Our professional staff has partic-ipated in discussion groups centered around Coursera’s (https://www.coursera.org) online course “Grow to Greatness: Smart Growth for Private Businesses” taught by University of Virginia professor Edward D. Hess, as well as the book, The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt and Jeff Cox (The North River Press Publishing Corp.; http://bit.ly/1DCohmh), a bestselling novel about process improvement. We set up lunch in the conference room as an incentive and the employees come for about 45 minutes to learn.

Fabricator: What minimum require-ments do you have for hiring an entry-level person?

Cohen: We are proud of our ability to provide employment for entry-level laborers as well as for seasoned profes-sionals.

For entry-level people, we look for a readiness to work hard, good attitude, and honesty. We offer lots of opportunity for advancement, growth, and skill development.

Fabricator: Do you test entry-level or more seasoned applicants before

hiring them? Cohen: We evaluate entry-level

applicants on their hand-tool acuity, welding skills, and forklift skills by having them demonstrate a test weld, test grinding, or forklift operation, as applicable.

Fabricator: What issues do you face when hiring entry-level employees? How have you resolved these issues?

Cohen: Most welding schools, unfortunately, do not train students in gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW/TIG). All-State Career School in Les-ter, PA is one of the few that does pro-vide their students with TIG train-ing. We need welders to come in with welding skills, but once they are here, we often help them elevate their skills to meet the requirements of the spe-cialty work that we do.

Fabricator: Where do you find your entry-level employees?

Cohen: There are a number of excel-lent universities in the Philadelphia area. Drexel University (www.drexel.edu) has a great construction manage-ment program and has been a valuable resource for our engineering, design, and project management departments. We’ve also had successful hires result from current employee references.

Fabricator: In your experience, do trade school graduates who are trained in fabrication make good employees? Why or why not?

Cohen: Yes, but without GTAW/TIG welding training they have to start at a lower level than they would if they had that skill, in addition to the other skills they learned.

Fabricator: Does the fabricator industry need to do anything to help ensure good employees are available?

Cohen: Any help NOMMA could

Cast aluminum crest on aluminum entry gate for a private residence for Woolems Inc., West Palm Beach, FL. This custom model was inspired by a component from another of the owner’s homes. The crests were cast in aluminum and coordinated to fasten on the custom gate, also fabricated by M. Cohen.


provide to encourage trade schools to provide GTAW/TIG training would make their graduates more attractive applicants and would give us a bigger applicant pool.

Sustainability issues

Fabricator: Talk about where you are with “green” principles.

Cohen: We are really interested in green technologies and incorporating sustainable practices in our shops and for our clients.

In compliance with government’s low VOC (volatile organic compounds that can be found in architectural coat-ings) regulations, we are increasingly looking for environmentally friendly paints and coatings.

One example is our increased use of powder-coat paint over liquid spray applications. Powder coatings contain no solvents and emit negligible, if any, polluting VOCs.

Powder coating is a clean process with benefi ts that include cost savings on material and operating expenses over traditional liquid applications. It is harmless to the ozone.

Marketing issues: Finding customers

Fabricator: Who is your typical cli-ent and how do you fi nd them?

Cohen: We work primarily with architects and contractors on high-end projects. Th e circle of people in our specialty is small, and a majority of our projects are from repeat customers or referrals.

Typical clients for our spiral stairs are homeowners and builders.

Fabricator: Beyond referrals and repeat clients, how do you actively look for new customers, new archi-tects, new contractors, and interior designers?

Cohen: We specifi cally solicit design and construction professionals working at the highest level of the game.

We regularly attend design meet-ings with architects, owners, GCs, and CMs. We do this to “get our foot in the door” at the onset of any project. Th e hope is that we’ll have a leg up

on the competition or may be able to steer construction means and meth-ods unique to MCS into the contract documents. We also attempt to have our fi nishes on materials like stainless steel, aluminum, bronze, and nickel silver written into the specifi cations, again hoping to increase our chances of a successful award.

MCS also pays close attention to print and social media, which allows MCS to chase projects of interest, those we feel MCS is well suited to provide — all aspects of a project from competitive pricing, custom fi nishes, unique design, or installation chal-lenges, which may limit the fi eld of contenders bidding the work. We fol-low a project from inception to the point when it becomes “real” and bud-gets or bids can be submitted.

When MCS has something unique,

interesting, or challenging, we actively seek involvement with design, fi nishes, constructability, and other details with the owner, developer, architect, and or GC/CM. MCS is not shy about discussing upcoming projects with potential or established clients.

Building confi dence from perfor-mance on past projects does drive a great deal of our business. No one remembers what a great job you did for them, they just remember how badly you messed up. By minimizing mistakes and completing projects on time and budget also helps us succeed in future endeavors.

MCS never wants to be pigeon-holed into one type of work. By con-tinually expanding, working in new mediums — such as breaking into building envelopes over the past four years — has aff orded MCS more


growth potential. Versatility goes a long way in this industry.

Fabricator: Have you developed any useful content as a marketing tool to help inform or get clients, e.g. how-to articles for the consumer, project photo gallery, video of your shop or working a project, testimonials, white papers, problem-solution case studies, a blog?

Cohen: We completed a website redesign and created a portfolio of job photos in book format at the end of 2014.

We’re now developing infograph-ics to showcase our brand in a more engaging and efficient manner. An infographic uses cool high profile graphics to tell a visual story.

We’re also gathering testimonials through Google (post-sale follow up with customers with links to social media sites) and will integrate those into our marketing where it makes sense to do so.

Fabricator: Do you use social media marketing? Some of your potential clients — architects, landscape archi-tects, general contractors — partici-pate in group discussions on Linke-dIn, for example. And other social media sites have large numbers of homeowners looking at photo galler-ies for design ideas.

Cohen: Social media marketing is very important. Not only does it improve site traffic, but it also gives the company a face and the opportunity to learn from our target audience.

LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter are effective because we can reach a large audience; so many people are using social media now.

Growing your follower/like base is always an ongoing process. The Iron Shop currently has more than 1,800 likes on Facebook and 500 followers on Twit-ter. Facebook and Twitter enables you to target your posts towards a selected audience. Our target audience for The Iron Shop consists of do-it-yourselfer’s, architects, designers, and builders. We are reaching an audience that has inter-est in our products, and in return we are generating social media leads.

The Iron Shop does use Houzz. It’s a great way to connect with homeowners.

We keep a public portfolio for potential customers to look at when-ever they want. We aim to stay current in the conversation.

Fabricator: Do you use email market-ing? Newsletters (print and/or email)? If so, what kind of content do you have in it? How well have they worked for you?

Cohen: We have in the past, how-ever we have moved away from mass emails recently. With products that are one off and custom, we want a per-sonal, unique relationship with our clients.

Social Media is a great space to show our designs and products. We can post some of our best custom stairs or fabri-cations on social media design sites like Houzz and Pinterest. Those, for exam-ple, are two huge social sites in our market space.

From there, other designers share our posts and do marketing for us. We definitely don’t forget the use of Insta-gram and Facebook, too.

Social Media can be some of the best forms of flattery, it is a great opportu-nity to see the public embrace your fin-ished product. Hopefully, more times than not, they love it.

Fabricator: Tell us about the article in Architectural Digest (December 2013 and March 2014). What was the job? How did that come about? What has been the response to the articles? How do you use the articles for you market-ing? Have you gotten work from them?

Cohen: The article in the Decem-ber 2013 issue of Architectural Digest

(www.architecturaldigest.com) was about a Manhattan penthouse. We collaborated with the architecture firm, ODA Architecture (www.oda- architecture.com), New York, NY, the on design, fabrication, finish, and installation of the custom stair and rail system that included onyx treads, LED lighting, and glass railings.

Another article appeared in the same magazine’s March 2014 issue about a Manhattan pied-à-terre’s sculp-tural curved staircase. We collaborated with Ferguson & Shamamian Archi-tects (www.fergusonshamamian.com), New York, NY. The project included the steel structure, glass railings, English sycamore wood cladding, and miscel-laneous polished bronze and stainless steel trim.

For marketing exposure, we pur-chased professional photographs and used them on our website and in our media campaign where we bring atten-tion to our work that was featured in the magazine.

The response has been positive. We get a lot of repeat business from gen-eral contractors and architecture firms because we have proven ourselves as industry leaders with an outstanding product.

Exposure in publications such as Architectural Digest is a testament to the reputation we have built since our founding in 1931.

Fabricator: Advice for other fabrica-tors trying to find new clients.

Cohen: Under promise and over deliver; your reputation in this industry will either open or close doors to your business.

Fabricator: How do you define “cus-tomer service”?

Cohen: We collaborate from start to finish with our clients to produce a high quality product every time.

Fabricator: Beyond the economy, how have you resolved business challenges you’ve faced? What business strategies enable you to succeed?

Cohen: We hire, train, and retain the best possible talent. We have a gifted cadre of smart and engaged professionals who work collectively to devise the best solutions.

‘Social Media is a great space to show our designs and products. We can post some of our best custom stairs or fabrications on social media design sites like Houzz and Pinterest. . . . From there, other designers share our posts and do marketing for us.’

Allen CohenPresident, M. Cohen & Sons


Biz Talk

n Price is falling away as a method to sell against your competitors. Here are 7 ways to distinguish yourself based on the value you can provide your clients, rather than the short-term method based totally on cost .

Ways to sell value, rather than price

By Don Hutson

One dreaded statement from a prospec-tive customer can make some fabrica-tors turn pale.

“Is this your best deal?”Or, “I’ve interviewed a couple of

your competitors and they are willing to sell for less.”

Or, “Thanks, but we want to shop around before deciding to go with you.”

A client recently said to me, “Our business has been so good for so many years that we haven’t felt a need to do any sales training, but things are differ-ent now and we need help!”

Markets are changing, sometimes dramatically, sometimes quicker than ever. Will some new technology in the next two years overhaul the workflow on the shop floor?

On the clients’ side, buyers’ deci-sions are more astute than ever before given their access to advanced research on the Internet, including websites and especially social media that host port-folios of your competitors, with the best ones explaining their techniques, aesthetics, and related expertise to their

potential customers — all with a goal to showing customers that a fabricator is an authoritative and skilled artist and craftsperson.

This scenario continues to replay itself. When not prepared for price resis-tance that is seen in tough market con-ditions, a weak salesperson stammers with a poorly thought-out response like, “Well, let me see what I can do.”

Is it really about price or is it value? Let’s consider the concept.

What is value anyway? The truth is that value, like beauty, is

quite subjective. It is, indeed, in the eye of the beholder. I just finished writing a book entitled Selling Value, and the primary message in the book is this: The only definition of value that really matters is the one your prospect has. I then examine how we can understand well what they value and why.

For this article, we’ll cover some of the tips. First, let’s dedicate ourselves to doing an in-depth, needs-analysis with each customer. And the bigger the potential job, the more in-depth the study needs to be.

When they contact you, I recom-mend an approach like, “I’m delighted to talk to you about our capabilities and deliverables, but first I need to ask you some questions to see if I am the best resource for you. Is that okay?”

It is incumbent upon every sales professional or small business owner to find out exactly what the prospect values. Be sure to “lead with your ears” and ask the questions that reveal what your prospect actually values.

Sell value by differentiating your services

To our customers, we often appear to offer just about the same products and services as our competitors until we have the opportunity to differenti-ate. We define a commodity as a prod-uct or service with no discernible dif-ferences, one the same as another but available from multiple sources.

Your prospective customers may be busy commoditizing your solution, in which case you must be busy differen-tiating it.

The bottom line is this: Unless we can create a powerful and distinct dif-


ference to the customer, we all appear to have the same product or service, and in that case, they tend to go with the lowest price provider.

You have a big decision to make: Are you going to market with a “me too” philosophy of doing business? If so, that is your prerogative, but I would caution you that if you and your offer-ings are like those of your competitors, you will find it near impossible to get premium prices.

My favorite question to ask small business owners: “Tell me, how are your offerings different from and better than those of your competitors?” Anybody who has a weak answer to that question is price-vulnerable. Your answer needs to be succinct, presented with confi-dence (not arrogance, but displaying solid belief in the superiority of your deliverables), and make people feel like you are the best alternative.

Often, you are fabricating a product that will have high visibility and repre-sent the standards your customer wants, so they are often willing to pay a pre-mium price for a distinctive product.

The question is: How do I separate myself and our offerings from the com-petition? The answer: You’ve just got to be different — really different.

And it’s not necessarily about price! The distinction of your products and

their differences from the competi tion must be clearly, confidently articu lated to the prospect.

Make a needs analysis work for you

Let’s first discuss some principles of the needs-analysis process, then we will cover the different types of differentia-tion, and how they can be used.

My friend, Jim Cathcart, has a good

premise: “In selling, like in medicine, prescription before diagnosis is mal-practice!” So let’s be really good at the diagnosis stage, which for us is the needs-analysis.

Here are some principles to keep in mind:

1 Always take notes. Whether in your computer or with a legal pad, it is telling the prospect that you feel this project is important and that you want to give it the attention that it deserves.

2 Ask well thought-out questions so that you gain a clear assessment of your prospect’s existing needs and desires, and ultimately, the prospect’s dominant buying motive. By under-standing what they truly value most, you can begin to develop your ideas of how you can serve them.

3 Understand your prospects’ priorities that they assign to their var-ious needs.

4 Show your sincerity to help. Express a belief in this process that will help you be perceived as someone who can be their trusted advisor. As you probe for additional detail they will appreciate that you want to give them exactly what they want.

If we want to be perceived as a trusted advisor, the needs-analysis is a great place to start. The trusted advisor status is great when you can get there.

Here are two things to keep in mind: 1 Trusted means that you are per-

ceived as having integrity and a high-level approach to serving your clients.

2 Advisor implies that you are an expert in your craft.

These two concepts come together to form “trusted advisors,” who always follow up as promised. Keep promises and make or exceed their expectations on deadlines, and you will be perceived

as a true professional in the eyes of your clients.

This will get us off to the right start. After your needs analysis is done you need to think about crafting your pre-sentation or proposal.

Keep this principle in mind: The best sales presentation you will ever give is the one your prospect helped design. Always have references to words, phrases, and thoughts that your prospect voiced during the needs-anal-ysis incorporated into your proposal.

If you present your proposal in per-son to your prospect, do it one page at a time, giving you ample time to build value, and don’t mention price until you get to the end.

As to what you include in your pre-sentation, I would suggest that you want to tie in the elements that you know they value most, but also give the impression that you can deliver a supe-rior product.

This is your opportunity to differen-tiate. Most people think that there are two types of differentiation:

1 Product 2 PriceI disagree. Our training model,

includes seven, and each one is an opportunity for you to express how your finished product will be excep-tional. Let’s cover each.

Seven ways to differentiate yourself from the competition

1 Product differentiationHow is your product or offering dif-

ferent from or better than your compet-itors’? If you can’t come up with solid ideas, you might be perceived as just another commodity.

Here’s a strategy: Perhaps you and


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others within your company can make product enhancement a major initiative. The collective intellect of this group might well create something unique about your product or service, and then creatively exploit all the differences and tie it into what the prospective customer values. Your goal is to develop UCAs (unique competitive advantages) and RAs (relative advantages).

2 Price differentiationUnsophisticated marketing and sales

people often think the best way to get business is by underpricing everybody else. Thin margins have put more com-panies out of business than any other single factor

If you choose to go to market as the low-price provider, your company better have every expense category cut to the bone, or it will perish in short order. In my opinion, this is the worst avenue of approach to build a viable long-term enterprise.

3 Relationship differentiationA solid relationship based on high

trust between you and your clients give

you an inside track of tremendous value. This relationship will make you the envy of your competitors, and your client may not even give your competitor a chance if the relationship is strong enough.

Build trust with a solid, high-integ-rity, win-win approach by exceeding their expectations and being a valued resource in every conceivable way.

Be prepared to earn their trust, which takes time, planning, and perse-verance. Be impeccable with your word from the get-go and implement a com-munication process that continues to keep you and your clients connected.

4 Process differentiationMany companies don’t attach

enough significance to the processes that dictate the image of their business model. The “we’ve never done it that way” syndrome bites us in the backside when we don’t give innovative thought to our business practices.

Get your best minds together and brainstorm better, more custom-er-friendly, out of- the-box ways to do business.

Remember that how business is conducted changes every day due to globalization, e-commerce, the Inter-net, new hardware and software, and human resources. Capitalize on innova-tion rather than being a victim of it.

5 Technological differentiationDigital technology, for example,

provides many new ways to engage with existing and potential customers. Webinars, blogs, podcasts, email news-letters, and various social media plat-forms, e.g. Houzz and Facebook, can be used to educate and show your exper-tise, address customer-sensitive issues, get direct client feedback, or otherwise

The bottom line is this: Unless we can create a powerful and distinct difference to the customer, we all appear to have the same product or service, and in that case, they tend to go with the lowest price provider.

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To buy the bookSelling Value: Princi-ples of Value-Based Selling. By Don Hutson. Executive Books (March 3, 2015). 319 pages. www.donhutson.com/estore/selling-value

About the authorDon Hutson is a Hall of Fame Speaker and a The New York Times/Wall Street Journal #1 Best-Selling author. He has given over 6,000 programs in over 30 countries.

Contact 800-647-9166 or www.DonHutson.com. His books are also available from Amazon.com.

n

update customers. This can help you become an authortiative and trusted voice who listens to customers. Cardinal rule: Make it easy for the customer to communicate and buy.

6 Experiential differentiationMany people believe that we are in

an “experience economy.” Can you pro-vide customers with knock-your-socks-off service and experiences that are so memorable that they start telling their friends and colleagues?

Customer service miracles are any-thing you can do to make a customer say “Wow!” Ask yourself, “How can I make doing business with me an irre-sistible experience?”

7 Marketing differentiationGive careful thought to how you go

to market. If you can outsell your com-petitors, you will gain market share.

Determine ways to create a distinction in your sales and marketing approaches that support setting you apart in your marketplace. If your sales process is so compelling that your prospects see you and your offering as irresistible, it renders

your competitors irrelevant. Remember, people will always pay

for expertise and do business with those individuals they know, like, and trust. When trust is high, stress levels go down and vice versa, which is why high-pressure tactics really don’t work.

Bottom lineYour goal is to transition your pros-

pect from a discussion on price to a discussion on the different deliverables you offer.

When the prospect asks if that is your best price, you say, “Mr. Bradley, it is very easy to simply focus on apparent price rather than actual cost. I would ask that you give me a few more min-utes to allow me to distinguish between our product offerings and those of our competitors. We have engineered some significant advantages for you that are unique to the marketplace.”

After getting his permission to con-tinue, you discuss your different advan-tages, building the value of your solu-tions in light of his expressed needs.

Good luck and good selling.


n

NOMMA Nationwide Supplier Members

Albina Co. Inc. (866) 252-4628

Allen Architectural Metals Inc. (800) 204-3858

Alloy Casting Co. Inc. (972) 286-2368

American Punch Co. (216) 731-4501

Ameristar Fence Products (918) 835-0898

Architectural Iron Designs Inc. (908) 757-2323

Atlas Metal Sales (800) 662-0143

Banker Wire (800) 523-6772

Big Blu Hammer Mfg. (828) 437-5348

Julius Blum & Co. Inc. (800) 526-6293

Bridgeton Drafting Co. LLC (856) 205-1279

C.R. Laurence Co. Inc. (800) 421-6144

Cable Art Inc. (877) 664-4224

The Cable Connection (800) 851-2961

Carell Corp. (251) 937-0948

Century Group Inc. (337) 527-5266

Chicago Metal Rolled Products Co. (800) 798-4504

CML USA Inc. Ercolina (563) 391-7700

Colorado Waterjet Co. (866) 532-5404

Custom Mfg. & Polishing Inc. (417) 831-7900

Custom Orn. Iron Works Ltd. (866) 464-4766

D & D Technologies (USA) Inc. (714) 677-1300

D.J.A. Imports Ltd. (718) 324-6871

DAC Industries Inc. (800) 888-9768

DKS, DoorKing Systems (800) 826-7493

Eagle Bending Machines Inc. (251) 937-0947

Eastern Metal Supply (800) 343-8154

Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC (847) 636-1233

ETemplate Systems (919) 676-2244

FabCAD Inc. (800) 255-9032

The Fabrication Store (866) 79-FAB-4-U

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) 284-9549

Geo. Bezdan Sales Ltd. (604) 299-5264

Guardian Gate Hardware (800) 213-9525

Hartford Standard Co. Inc. (270) 298-3227

Hayn Enterprises LLC (800) 346-4296

Hebo/Stratford Gate Systems Inc. (503) 722-7700

Heritage Cast Iron USA (918) 592-1700

Illinois Engineered Products Inc. (312) 850-3710

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

King Architectural Metals (800) 542-2379

King Architectural Metals - CA (714) 670-8980

King Architectural Metals - MD (410) 644-5932

Krando Metal Products (610) 543-4311

L.E. Sauer Machine Co. (636) 225-5358

Lavi Industries (800) 624-6225

Lawler Foundry Corp. (800) 624-9512

Lewis Brass & Copper Co. Inc. (718) 894-1442

Lift Master (630) 279-3600

Locinox USA (708) 579-0286

Mac Metals Inc. (800) 631-9510

McNichols Co. (847) 635-5100

Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool (800) 467-2464

Multi Sales Inc. (800) 421-3575

Nationwide Industries (813) 988-2628

NC Tool Co. (336) 674-5654

Ohio Gratings Inc. (330) 477-6707

Orleans Orn. Iron & Casting Dist. Inc. (800) 824-3608

Praxair Mid-Atlantic (609) 882-1300

Precision Glass Bending Corp. (800) 543-8796

ProCounsel (214) 741-3014

Q-Railing USA Co. (714) 259-1720

Ramset Automatic Gate Systems Inc. (800) 771-7055

Ransburg (419) 470-2000

Regency Railings Inc. (214) 742-9408

Robinson Iron Corp. (800) 824-2157

Rockite, Div. of Hartline Products Co. Inc. (216) 291-2303

Rogers Mfg. Inc. (940) 325-7806

Sculpt Nouveau (800) 728-5787

SECO South (888) 535-SECO

Sharpe Products (800) 879-4418

South Camden Iron Works Inc. (856) 423-1107

Stairways Inc. (713) 680-3110

Suhner Industrial Products Inc. (800) 323-6886

Sumter Coatings Inc. (888) 471-3400

Transpacific Industrial Supply Inc. (909) 581-3058

Tri-State Shearing & Bending (718) 485-2200

TS Distributors Inc. (832) 467-5400

Vogel Tool & Die LLC (630) 562-1400

The Wagner Companies (888) 243-6914

Wasatch Steel Inc. (888) 486-4463

West Tennessee Ornamental Door (901) 346-0662

METALfab 2016METALfab 2016METALfab 2016METALfab 2016METALfab 2016Join us for NOMMA’s 58th education conference and vendor exhibit show. For more info, visit www.nomma.org or call us at 888-516-8585.

March 16-19, 2016 • Greenville, South Carolina


We are proud of our members!

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.

n Accent Ornamental Iron & Powder Coating Co., Cambridge, MN

n Alloy Casting Co. Inc., Mesquite, TXn Arc Angel Inc., Dunedin, FLn Artistic Railings Inc., Garfield, NJn Big D Metalworks, Dallas, TXn Julius Blum & Co. Inc., Carlstadt, NJn Bridgeton Drafting Co. LLC, Vineland, NJn Grainger Metal Works, Nichols, SCn The Heirloom Companies, Campobello, SCn Keeler Iron Works, Memphis, TNn Locinox USA, Countryside, ILn Mac Metals Inc., Kearny, NJn O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, IL

Rust-Free Club

Firms that sent a prospective lead to the NOMMA office.

n Greg Bailey, Bailey Metal Fabricators Inc., Mitchell, SDn Doug Bracken, Wiemann Metalcraft, Tulsa, OK n Chet Dinkins, Sumter Coatings Inc., Sumter, SC n Jonathan Falk, Living Design Studios, Lafayette, COn Dave Filippi, FabCAD Inc., White Stone, VAn Francis Flaherty, Flaherty Iron Works Inc., Alexandria, VAn Amos Glick, Compass Ironworks, Gap, PAn Carl Grainger (2), Grainger Metal Works, Nichols, SCn Mason Hains, MoFab Inc., Anderson, INn Chris Holt (2), Steel Welding, Freedom, PAn Maciej Jankowski, Artistic Iron Works LLC, Norwalk, CTn Will Keeler (3), Keeler Iron Works, Memphis, TNn Gary Kervin, Kervin Bros. Ornamental Iron Inc., Portland, ORn Allyn Moseley (2), The Heirloom Companies, Campobello, SCn Mark O’Malley, O’Malley Welding & Fabricating, Yorkville, ILn Dan Nibbelink, Red Hawk Forge, Berthoud, COn Lynn Parquette, Elite Architectural Metal Supply LLC,

Elk Grove Village, ILn Jay Shah (2), Architectural Iron Designs Inc., Plainfield, NJn Mark Sisson, Mac Metals Inc., Kearny, NJn Jan Allen Smith, Allen Iron Works & Supply Inc., Birmingham, ALn John Steel, Steel Welding, Freedom, PAn Dave White Jr. (2), Locinox USA, Countryside, IL

Meet our membersNOMMA is proud of its 550+ 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 June 19, 2015. * Asterisk: Returning member.

NOMMA 2015 Gold MembersNOMMA 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 indus-try and trade association.

We thank them for their support.

n Capitol City Iron Works Inc., Indianapolis, INn Carfaro Inc., Hamilton, NJn Custom Ornamental Iron Inc., Glen Allen, VAn Eagle Bending Machines Inc., Stapleton, ALn Gates That Open LLC (GTO), Tallahassee, FLn Gator Welding Inc., Jupiter, FLn Iron-Works International Inc., Atlanta GAn Majka Railing Co. Inc., Paterson, NJn Moore & Morford Inc., Greensburg, PAn R & F Metals Inc., Clinton, MDn Raysteel Inc., Albuquerque, NMn Sippel Co. Inc., Sewickley, PA

We greatly thank these companies for their two decades of loyalty and support.

n

New NOMMA Members

B & O Machine & Welding* Charles Perez Brookhaven, MS

Fabricator

Bayou Weld & Fab LLC Peter Watzek Monroe, LA

Fabricator

David Perkins Designs David Perkins Newburgh, IN

Fabricator

Deggingers’ Foundry* Tim Degginger Topeka, KS

Fabricator

Dunn Metal Works Eric Dunn North Myrtle

Beach, SC Fabricator

Guardian Gate Hardware* Jesse Lopez Tuscon, AZ

Nationwide Supplier

Honolulu Ironworks Inc.* Frank Vyvoda Honolulu, HI

Fabricator

Impact* Kenny Waugh Washington, DC

Affiliate

Jerico Metal Specialties Inc.* Tyler E. Curry Bloomington, IN

Fabricator

RAMSET Automatic Gate Systems Inc.* David Burr Sun Valley, CA

Nationwide Supplier

United Steel Works Inc.* Ron Fortenberry Leeds, AL

Fabricator

Wasatch Steel Inc.* Lynn Hurst Salt Lake City, UT

Nationwide Supplier

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Industry NewsHot?nWhat’s

Ohio Gratings wins sustainability award

Eberl Iron Works receives safety award from FMA

Eberl Iron Works of Buffalo, NY, was recently chosen to receive a 2015 Safety Award of Honor from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association International (FMA).

Open to all FMA and Tube & Pipe International company mem-bers, the annual awards recognize metal fabrication companies that adhere to excellence in safety.

The Safety Award of Honor is given to companies having per-fect safety records of no recordable injuries or illnesses for the report-ing period.

The award is sponsored by CNA, the endorsed business insurance carrier for FMA. Winners are selected by the FMA Safety Council.

“This year’s winning companies provide world-class safety envi-ronments that deliver each of their employees the highest commitment to safely returning home at the end of each work day,” says Edward Youdell, president and CEO of FMA. “FMA, along with CNA, are proud to recognize these manufac-turers. . . .”

To be eligible to receive recog-nition, companies are required to submit OSHA Form 300A, Sum-mary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, for the period January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2014.

Firms of all sizes are eligible. Winners are selected based on

North American Industry Classi-fication System (NAICS) code cat-egories and BLS injury and illness incidence rates.

The awards were presented at the FMA Safety Conference on April 22, 2015.

News Brief

David Bartley II and John Bartley, principals of Ohio Gratings Inc., Canton, OH, were among those receiving the 2015 Northeast Ohio Smart 50 Award.

The awards are presented by Cor-porate College, a division of Cuyahoga Community College through a part-nership with Smart Business Maga-zine. The annual awards are presented to the top 50 executives and their organizations based on their positive impact on employment, business sus-tainability, and ability to generate new ideas and innovation.

These top executives were recog-nized for their ability to build and lead innovative and “smart” organizations.

The Bartley brothers and Ohio Grat-ings were also awarded the Sustainabil-ity Award for 2015. This award is based on the Bartley’s presentation about how they created a company built to last through the innovation of new products, improved service, and continued focus on being a first choice organization to its employees, customers and markets.

In the metal bar grating market, Ohio Gratings’ products are used in industrial and architectural applica-tions for walkways, catwalks, trenches, stairs, bridge decks, screens, grilles, fencing, mezzanines, and shelving.

Contact 800-321-9800www.ohiogratings.com

John Bartley, President, left, and David Bartley II, Chairman and CEO, right, accepting the Smart 50 Award. Photo Courtesy of Wetzler Studios.

Rocky Mountain blacksmithing meetup August 5-9The Rocky Mountain Blacksmithing

Conference is set for August 5-9 in Car-bondale, CO, at the Francis Whitaker Blacksmith School on the campus of the Colorado Rocky Mountain School

The conference will include demon-strations by Steve Fontanini, Steve Williamson, Dan McNeil and Gordon Stonington.

While there, enjoy the hiking, fish-ing, and, of course, blacksmithing in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.

Also participate in the gallery, tail-gate sales, group forging project, slide shows, forging competition, auction, iron-in-the-hat, and open forge.

Lodging and meals with fresh vege-tables grown on site will be available.

Rocky Mountain Smiths is an ABANA Affiliate and serves black-smiths and metalsmiths in Colorado, Wyoming, and neighboring states.

Contact 303-589-1767www.rockymountainsmiths.org


ProductsWhat’sHot?n

Hole puncher with power reverse

Hougen ManufacturingThe new Hou-

gen-Ogura model 75006PR elec-tro-hydraulic hole puncher features a lightweight sin-gle-body construc-tion, allowing the operator to punch holes in steel in as little as four seconds.

This “Power Retractable” Punch sys-tem provides users the option to power reverse the punch back out of the hole if needed. This is designed to improve productivity in harder, more elastic materials that tend to grip the punch (not allowing it to auto return to the home position) after the hole is pro-duced, the company says.

The 75006PR hole puncher uses only electrical power to operate the motor and the self-contained hydrau-lic system, with no additional hydrau-lic pumps or hoses needed. It provides 26.9 tons of punching pressure to punch round holes up to 15/16 inch (23.8 mm) in diameter and oblong holes up to 11/16 inch x 13/16 inch (18 mm x 21 mm).

The maximum material thickness is ½ inch (12.7 mm). The unit can punch holes in flat bar, H-steel, angle iron and channel. The punch unit weighs 62.9 lbs (28.5 kg).

The machine uses Hougen- Ogura punch and dies that are available in a variety of sizes.

Accurately locating the hole posi-tion is easily accomplished, says the manufacturer, with the punch jog down feature and the adjustable throat depth gauge.

The punch unit is available in 120V and 230V power options and comes standard with a work stand for place-ment of the punch on a work table, and a foot switch for hands-free operation.

Contact 810-635-7111www.hougen.com

Multi-purpose workstationKAAST Machine Tools

The PS 85 DP Ironworker has five workstations for punching, shearing, and notching. It has two independent cylinders allowing for dual operation, which translates to parallel work on the punch and at a second work station. This includes an electric trigger switch up to 1,000 mm for quick workflow of repet-itive work. Each work station includes jog-mode for precise tool- and work-piece positioning, the company says.

The punching station allows for the punching of sheet metal, and flat and angle steel at 25 strokes per minute. This punching station also contains a sturdy table with a working height of 1,070 mm (42 inches) for high-quality cutting results, step-less stroke adjust-ment, and an adapter for punches and dies. It can take a punch up to 4.25 inches in diameter and with punch through material up to ¾-inch thick.

The flat shear has a lower blade with four cutting edges, an upper blade with two cutting edges, and a table with angle and length stop. The Angle Shear allows the user to easily cut angle profiles at different angles and has an adjustable rear stop. At 90°, the cutting capacity is 150 x 150 х 15 mm (6 x 6 x 0.5 inches), and at 45°, the cutting capacity is 80 х 8 mm (3.1 x 0.31 inches).

The sheet shearing station has a maximum capacity of 380 mm width by 20 mm thick (15 x 0.75 inches) and 480 mm width by 15 mm thick (18.9 x 0.6 inches). It also has an angle cut-ting capacity of 120 x 15 mm (4.75 x 0.6 inches) as well as a blade length of 482 mm (19 inches).

The steelworker is used for cutting round and square steel and contains a 1,000 mm back gauge. The notching station includes a table with stops as well as a rectangular notching tool.

All of these features combined allow the user to perform more than one task at the same time to optimize produc-tion with quality results.

The PS 85 DP has a throat depth of 505 mm (19.7 inches) to allow for working with a larger size of sheet

metal. It will punch up to 11/4-inch diam-eter by a thickness of 0.78 inch and has a stroke length of 80 mm (3.2 inches). The machine has 90 U.S. tons of pressing force and a 10 horsepower motor.

Contact 224-215-8886http://kaast-usa.com

Portable magnetic drill

CS UnitecCS Unitec’s

MAB 525 SB por-table magnetic drill features a swivel base for easier position-ing when drilling on overhead or vertical surfaces. When attached to the workpiece, the drill provides 20° movement left and right and 5/8-inch forward and back-ward, allowing the operator to adjust the center for precise drilling without deactivating the magnet and manually moving the drill, the company says.

The MAB 525 SB has a hole cutting capacity up to 2½-inch diameter in structural steel and other metals. The 14.5 amp, double-insulated, reversible motor has a two-speed oil bath gearbox (70-280 and 180-580 RPM) designed for annular cutters and twist drills.

Additional capabilities include twist drilling up to 1-inch diameter, tapping up to 15/16-inch diameter, reaming up to 7/8-inch diameter, and countersinking up to 2 inches. This unit has a quick-change keyless cutter system for ¾-inch Weldon Shanks, saving time and money. With a ¾-inch drill chuck or MT3, the MAB 525 SB easily converts


What’sHot?n

Products

to a standard drill press with a 5-inch stroke for conventional twist drills.

Integrated sensors in the MAB 525 SB include magnet overheating pro-tection, visual magnet adhesion indi-cation, and an electronic safety shutoff sensor to automatically shut down the drill motor if the magnet loses contact with the material.

An internal cable routing system helps protect the motor power cord from external damage. The magnet has a holding force of 8,000 lbs.

Contact 800-700-5919www.csunitec.com

Glass railing systemThe Wagner Companies

Wagner has introduced a new glass railing collection that is designed for easy installation and comes in a range of design options to customize its visual appearance.

The Legato Collection’s straightfor-ward installation process is geared for a range of projects and applications, the company says. The non-weld system requires no special training for instal-lation and minimal glass preparation.

Legato maintains quality as well as safety and code compliance when properly specified and installed. Con-structed with Type 316 satin-finished stainless steel, the metal railings pro-vide low-maintenance durability with superior rust resistance, making it ideal for outdoor performance.

Also deemed a Green-building material and worthy of LEED credits, its sleek, clean lines and glass infill system provide a sophisticated and bright aes-thetic value to enhance the overall look and feel of a space, the company says.

Legato comes in two options: 1) The Legato Railing Collection

accommodates guard, stair, or ramp applications for a range of glass thick-nesses. The glass infill is secured via glass-mounting hardware, and the system is available in an assortment of

post shapes and glass mounting designs, offering surface, embedded, and fascia post mounting options with mid, end, and corner post configurations.

2) The Legato SRP option accom-modates straight guard applications with a ½-inch glass thickness. The glass infill is secured via slotted tube rails that are held in place with con-cealed fasteners. The Legato SRP offers surface and fascia post mount-ing options with mid, end, and corner post configurations.

Legato is available for prompt ship-ping, and all metal railing components arrive together.

Contact 888-342-6914www.legatorailing.com

Liquid metal part cleaners

Birchwood TechnologiesTwo liquid cleaners have been

developed by Birchwood Technologies for use on a wide variety of process lines, including blackening, phos-phating, or electroplating lines. Safe Scrub M and Safe Scrub ST cleaners, designed to remove oil and surface soils on metal parts, are biodegradable solutions that can be used before or after processing, the company says.

Safe Scrub M and Safe Scrub ST emulsify oil from aluminum, brass, copper, iron, and steel parts, and then hold residues in the solution to prevent them from re-depositing on the parts. Both cleaners remove the following types of fluids: mineral oil, grinding coolant, drawing/stamp-ing lubes, and hydraulic oils, as well as water soluble/synthetic fluids. The products can be used as stand-alone cleaners after metalworking opera-tions or as a pre-cleaner prior to metal finishing operations

Safe Scrub M is a non-caustic, mildly alkaline cleaner for use on alu-minum, brass and copper components. Its mild formula cleans thoroughly without oxidizing or discoloring the

substrate. Safe Scrub ST is a heavy-duty liquid cleaner for use on iron and steel components. It has high oil-holding capacity and stability at high tempera-tures for heavy-duty applications.

Safe Scrub M and Safe Scrub ST are environmentally friendly choices, using biodegradable surfactants and no chelating agents, which allows for easy disposal. They are supplied as concentrates that dissolve instantly in water to make the operating bath, and are then heated to 130-170°F operating temperature. When the solutions are allowed to cool, much of the emulsified oil will float to the surface, allowing removal of the oil with an oil skimmer or coalescing filter and maximizing the working life of the cleaning solutions.

Contact 952-937-7931www.birchwoodtechnologies.com

Metallurgical sawKalamazoo Industries

The Kalamazoo Industries Model K12-14MS metallurgical saw is designed to produce mirror-surface cuts that often are necessary for mold proofing in foundries, quality-control labs, and any time metal needs to be cut to a polished finish for assaying. The machine is totally enclosed with flood-cooling wet cutting, semi-auto-matic power-down feed for controlled feed rates to deliver metallurgical cuts, and choice of a 12-inch or 14-inch abrasive wheel, which can be opti-mized for the metal being cut. While optional, the oscillation feature is nec-essary to deliver a cut with the highest surface polish.

The K12-14MS saw features a 5 HP, 3 PH 1725 RPM TEFC motor with a 2,200 RPM spindle speed, adjustable


Product sWhat’sHot? n

abana.org

ABANA259 Muddy Fork Road

Jonesborough, TN 37659423/913-1022

Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America, Inc.

Restoring the Past. Building the Future.

www.period-homes.comwww.traditional-building.com

www.traditionalbuildingshow.comwww.traditionalbuildingportfolio.com

www.tradwebdirectory.comwww.traditionalproductgalleries.com

www.buildingport.com

Questions? Call Peter H. Miller, President: 202.339.0744 x 104. Or email [email protected]

Fabricator RM house ad.indd 1 10/12/2010 1:14:13 PM

2015 Equipment catalog Lincoln Electric

Lincoln Electric has released its redesigned 2015 Equipment Cata-log (E1.10) detailing the company’s MIG, TIG, and multi-process welding equipment, as well as plasma cutting systems, welding automation, fume control systems, training product solu-tions, orbital welding systems, acces-sories, and welding gear products.

Th e catalog is available for iPad and Android devices on the com-pany’s Lincoln Library mobile app, available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play store. Th ese versions of the catalog allow users to link to rich media, including videos and web pages, within the application.

Contact 888-935-3877www.lincolnelectric.com

Media feed rate from 0-12 FPM, momentary rapid over-ride for rapid approach, dual moveable 4-inch screw vises, and removable side access panels for long parts. Th e saw has a capacity up to 2½ -inch solids and 3-inch shapes.

Contact 269-382-2050www.kalamazooindustries.com

Welding tables Strong Hand Tools

Strong Hand Tools has introduced the Professional Extreme 750 Sieg-mund Welding Tables that it says are the hardest and most durable fl at weld-ing tables.

Constructed from hardened steel, the Professional Extreme 750 Weld-ing Tables are fi nished with a plasma

nitride that results in a double-hard-ened table that will last a lifetime, the company says. Th is hardening pro-cess results in a deep, hard case that prolongs the life of the table surface, protects against stroke impact, and provides a wear and corrosion-resistant surface with a glossy black shine. Th e tables have a surface hardness of 750 HV (~60 HRC).

Choose from System 28 (28 mm boreholes) or System 16 (16 mm bore-holes).

Contact 800-989-5244, x213www.stronghandtools.com


Advertiser’s Index

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

n

Pg Company Website Pg Company Website

11 Hebo - Stratford Gate Systems Inc. ..................www.drivewaygates.com

50 Hougen Mfg. Inc. ............................... www.hougen.com

15 House of Forgings ............... www.houseofforgings.net

39 International Gate Devices ..............www.intlgate.com

60 King Architectural Metals .......... www.kingmetals.com

30 Lapeyre Stair ................................ www.lapeyrestair.com

4 Lawler Foundry Corp. ............www.lawlerfoundry.com

2 Lewis Brass & Copper Co. Inc. .. www.lewisbrass.com

3 Locinox USA ......................................... www.locinox.com

20 Marks U.S.A. ......................................www.marksusa.com

16 Mittler Bros. Machine & Tool .... www.mittlerbros.com

50 NC Tool Co. Inc. .................................www.nctoolco.com

45 Regency Railings ...................www.regencyrailings.com

31 Sharpe Products .................. www.sharpeproducts.com

59 Society of Manufacturing Engineers ..... www.sme.org

33 Stairways Inc. ..............................www.stairwaysinc.com

22 Sumter Coatings Inc. ..........www.sumtercoatings.com

56 Traditional Building ..... www.traditional-building.com

28 Tri-State Shearing & Bending ................. 718-485-2200

49 Vogel Tool & Die LLC ...................... www.vogeltool.com

29 The Wagner Companies.......................www.wagnercompanies.com

Beth PalmerLead Sales Rep(800) 796-2638,ext. 3404Direct: (352) [email protected]

CONTACT

Your advertising contact forO&MM FabricatorNOMMA Buyer’s GuideNOMMA website

Advertise in the 2016 NOMMA Buyer’s GuideYour one-stop resource for shop and offi ce personnel

The Buyer’s Guide is available in 3 versions:

1) print, 2) online, and 3) database.

Closing date November 27, 2015Contact Beth Palmer, 352-333-3404; [email protected]

6 A Cut Above Distributing Co. .... www.acutabove.com

23 Albina Co. Inc. ....................................www.albinaco.com

56 Artist-Blacksmith’s Assoc. of North America Inc. .............................www.abana.org

43 Blacksmiths Depot / Kayne & Son Custom Hardware Inc....................www.blacksmithsdepot.com

34 Julius Blum & Co. Inc. ..................www.juliusblum.com

13 The Cable Connection ................... www.thecableconnection.com

49 John C. Campbell Folk School .....www.folkschool.org

25 Carell Corporation ......................... www.carellcorp.com

27 Chicago Metal Rolled Products Co. ... www.cmrp.com

35 CS Unitec Inc. ..................................... www.csunitec.com

17 D & D Technologies (USA) Inc. ........www.ddtechglobal.com

19 D & D Technologies (USA) Inc. ........www.ddtechglobal.com

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

40 Eberl Iron Works Inc. ......................www.eberliron.com

9 FabCAD Inc. ........................................... www.fabcad.com

21 Feeney Inc. ........................................www.feeneyinc.com

37 Goddard Manufacturing Co. ..............www.spiral-staircases.com

37 Hawke Industries .................www.hawkeindustries.net


NOMMA member Richard Twiddy of Unique Iron Design Ltd. posted this question on the NOMMA ListServ:

Does anyone have a recommendation for achieving an even rust finish for a decorative, plasma cut, mild steel fire-pit? We intend to shot-blast after it is finished to get a con-sistent surface and then need an even-rust finish.

Jeffery Presbaugh, Aberdeen Custom Gate & Iron

I like using vinegar, water, and copper sulfate (root killer for sep-tic systems). Mixture is non-criti-cal; then just spray on. It will change before your eyes.

Eric Cuper, Cuper Studios LLCI don’t know what chemicals you

have access to, but if you can get some ferric chloride, water, and a spray bottle you can get an even coat of rust. Muriatic will do in a pinch. After blasting, spray with a coat of diluted acid — let’s say 2 parts water, 1 part acid. Not dripping, just evenly wet. Allow to dry. Then wet again with water only. Keep repeating the water until you get the look you want.

Dan Donovan, Allform Welding Inc.We recently used a formula of 16 ounces of hydrogen per-

oxide, 2 ounces of white vinegar, and ½ tablespoon of salt. Put it into a spray bottle, shake it up good to mix, and then spray it on. We had laser-cut decorative panels hanging verti-cally in the yard and sprayed them several times per day for a couple of days. Turned out pretty good.

Sonya Roman, Outland Steel Inc.

Add some ketchup, which makes the solution stick. It also helps to put a piece of plastic over it. In Idaho, we have low humidity; most of the time, it takes considerable encour-agement to get a rust finish. Of course, if you do a white blast, it goes to rust easily.

Patrick Cardine, Cardine Studios LLCWe do this all the time. Blast, and before spritzing with

the hydrogen peroxide, wash with battery acid/sulfuric acid. The difference is dramatic if you wash it with the acid first. Rusts immediately. Over a couple of days of spritzing the rust will bite better.

Richard TwiddyThanks for your suggestions, I’ll give them a try.I love the NOMMA ListServ service. We are all so lucky.

Ask any question, and so many people try their best to help within a very short time.

For 40 years, all I have tried to do is stop things from rust-ing. Now people want rust. I must be getting old.

NOMMA member Grant York of York Metal Fabricators Inc. posted this question on the NOMMA ListServ:

The photo (left) shows what looks like a galvanized steel sheet metal top. Is there a “term” for that type of finish? I have a friend wanting to recreate it for another table top, and I wasn’t sure if there was a better name other than “galvanized with some shiny flakes in it.”

Bruce Rienks, Evans Metal Products Co.It looks like the normal oxidation process (white rust)

that you would see on hot-dipped galvanized material.

Eric Cuper Hard to say without a closer image, but if that is what it

looks like, it is hot-dipped galvanized sheet. The problem you find is this: hot-dipped sheet had a nice crystal pattern often called a ‘spangle”.

As all things seem to do, the galvanized sheet industry seems to be moving or has moved to electroplating sheet, which provides a uniform non-spangled surface. Last time I tried to get a large crystal pattern, I could not find it.

n

Metal Moment

Recommendations for an ‘even’-rust finish

Something on your mind? Got something to say? Got an idea? Got a tip? Got a gripe? Do you have a story to tell?Send your idea to [email protected].

TALK TO US

From the NOMMA ListServJoin NOMMA to get your questions answered free.

Join NOMMA . . . to get your questions answered on the ListServ

The NOMMA Listserv is an ongoing email dis-cussion list where NOMMA members can get quick answers at no charge to their important questions. Obviously, it is a most valuable benefit for NOMMA members.

If you are a NOMMA member and not subscribed, contact [email protected].

If you are not a NOMMA member, we encourage you to join your industry’s trade association.


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NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST METAL FORMING, FABRICATING, WELDING AND FINISHING EVENT

NOVEMBER 9–12, 2015 | MCCORMICK PLACE | CHICAGO

fabtechexpo.com

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As an industry, we make cool stuff. We provide safety, convenience, comfort, energy and much more. The products you make improve daily life—and once a year you have full access to the people, processes and solutions you need to make it all possible.

FABTECH is all about metal. Experience action-packed exhibits, top-notch education and invaluable networking. Ask questions, get answers and find new uses, techniques and trends to drive you to unparalleled levels of productivity. Find details and register at fabtechexpo.com.


This isn't just the way I make a living and provide for my family. It's a calling. I can't imagine doing anything else.

I have to bring my A-game every day. That's not just my skills, it's also my materials.

Rolling the dice with consistency and quality isn't an option.

Neither is my reputation.

800.542.2379 / KINGMETALS.COM FACEBOOK / PINTEREST / YOUTUBE

I'm an American

craftsman.

KingMetals_Fabricator_MayJune2015.indd 1 5/8/15 4:17 PM

Jul/Aug 2015 O&MM Fabricator

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