Whether you've spent six decades in a sheet metal fabrication shop or you're learning the trade basics, Kaempf & Harris’ list of sheet metal techniques helps pros and beginners. 

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Metals, Sheet Metal Fabrication

Like many sheet metal terms, soldering and welding are used interchangeably. However, while these two operations are similar, their process and sub-techniques are different.

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication

While many people use “welding” and “fabricating” interchangeably, others confuse “welding” and “brazing”. However, neither is quite the case.

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication

According to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “Working with sheet metal requires attention to many safety and health issues.” Kaempf & Harris outlines sheet metal, welding, handling, and power press safety:

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication, Safety

When it comes to welding, it’s not always about helmets and sparks. Kaempf and Harris gives you a glossary for the different types of welding in fabrication shops:

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication

We’ve explained the difference between metal fabrication and welding, but do you really know about the latter technique? Kaempf and Harris looks into its history, industry projects, where it’s most popular in the United States, and more:

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication

Do you know how many welders are female? Or which states offer experienced metal fabricators the highest salary? How about the number of steel grades that exist?

Topics: Education, Welding, Tools & Techniques, Metals, Industry, Safety

Many people use fabricating and welding as interchangeable verbs, but that’s not quite the case. In its most basic sense, fabrication is the process of creating a project out of metal, and welding can be a singular operation during that process. 

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Metals, Sheet Metal Fabrication, Apprenticeships

Sheet metal fabrication can be a hard concept to grasp because there are many different processes and tools necessary to complete a project. To help you better understand what sheet metal fabrication is, which processes are used and which tools are necessary to get the job done, here is Kaempf & Harris’ quick glossary to basic sheet metal fabrication terms:

Topics: Welding, Sheet Metal Fabrication

A well-prepared sheet metal fabrication apprentice has all of the top tools of the trade ready to go. Their backpack should come with a 4 ½–inch angle grinder, various grinder disks, wire cutters, an auto-darkening helmet, welding glasses, a pair of combination wrenches, wire brushes, gloves, a jacket, and a chipping hammer -- or so some apprenticeships think. 

Topics: Education, Welding, Sheet Metal Fabrication, Apprenticeships

We mentioned in another blog post that there’s an ongoing great debate about whether or not apprentices should purchase their own tools. However, no matter which side of the fence you stand on, there are a few tools of the trade that every sheet metal fabricator should own at any level of experience. Here’s a comprehensive list of the tools everyone in this business should own:

Topics: Welding, Tools & Techniques, Sheet Metal Fabrication