There is lots to observe at this years Winter Olympic games. One fabrication blog takes on the unique metal fireplace screed seen on NBC’s Today Show…

Sometimes the only way to fabricate a custom metal handrail is on the job site. This handmade handrail was welded partially in the shop and finished off at the custom home.
There are several things to remember when considering on site welding. It is best to be well prepared before leaving your shop. [...]

We received an email from Tim in Southwest Oklahoma. He had seen the video we made of our adventures while constructing our metal building house/shop. His main questions centered around our experience with insulation. He wanted to know what type of insulation we used for the home and if we had experienced any problems with home sweating during the winter months. He also asked if Tom had any advice on how to prevent sweating. Thanks for the questions Tim and we will do our best to try and answer your questions. By the way, best of luck with your building project and send us some updates and pictures for our website!

Tom uses a compact bender to fabricate metal handles.

View various metal handrail designs along Boulders Pearl Street Mall.

Tom builds new metal roof finials to match antique finials.

Tom and Karen show you how to build a large metal table. Part two describes fabricating the table top and other finishing touches.

Tom builds a custom screen and topper for an outdoor chimenea.

A metal bending ring roller is a great tool for metal shops. See how the Shop Outfitters #238 Ring Roller works.

Brother-in-law, Dave, was in town over the weekend and filmed Tom welding up a few metal posts for Summit Structures out of Laramie WY. Summit will use these posts to help support structural beams for a house they are building.
The metal posts are designed to rest on the top of a concrete footer. The bottom plate fastens into [...]

In this episode of “Sparks Fly”, Tom fabricates small trailers for portable toilets. The portable toilets belong to Honeywagon Sanitation. Honeywagon Sanitation is owned and operated by Heber and Jennifer Richardson of Laramie Wyoming. The red and blue portable toilets are a common scene at construction zones, job sites and special events [...]

This video shows how Tom built his dream shop/house.  The shell of the building was ordered through Fast Trac Buildings, Inc. in Colorado.  Much of the interior of the shop and home was purchased as was needed through local building supply houses and stores like Builders Square, Lowes, and Home Depot.
The two and a half [...]

Tom built a custom welding table for his shop.  His old welding table was built out of 1/2 inch steel plate.  After three or so years of use it began to warp slightly.  He used it primarily to weld a lot of jigs.   He ran across a guy in Nebraska who cut apart a press [...]

Tom built a custom metal handrail for his friends at Summit Structures. The job held a challenging element in that the metal handrail was formed on a raduis staircase.

Tom was doing a little window shopping a few years back in Taos New Mexico. As he surveyed some of the shops and art galleries he noticed a theme of “metal art”. Of course, when he returned home he began to think how he could duplicate some of the tables and art work he saw. [...]

Tom often gets requests to build custom metal handrails from both residential builders and commercial companies. His various projects will be posted to this site as they are completed. I thought it might be handy to review a few steps to consider as you begin a handrail fabrication project.
Tom’s years spent as a building inspector [...]

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Tom puts up the skeleton for the new steel building addition.  After the concrete footings and floor were complete, it was time to erect the steel structure.  The main frame steel is put up first.  Those are the large steel girders and serve as the main support for the metal structure.  Tom started in the [...]

Tom builds this unique spinning pot rack using a Shop Outfitters ring roller.

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Today Tom was busy working on a welding job at the University of Wyoming.  UW has experienced an explosion of construction growth in the past year.  Much of the building has to do with the state surplus that Wyoming enjoys from it’s mineral money.  The legislature has seen fit to allow for many upgrades and [...]

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Interesting jobs are always coming into the shop.  Summertime is a busy time around here as local ranchers and land owners are geared up to do those outside projects before the snow falls again.Â
A project that came in this week entails building brackets for a rough on timber footbridge.  The brackets are custom built for a local [...]