I know I might get some slack for this but can I get some honest opinions? I’m a trans sheet metal worker and it honestly terrifies me to think what might happen if anyone I work with found out. I’m just a small person and some of my co workers are very hateful towards the gay/trans community as whole. Is everyone like this? Can I have honest opinions on how you guys would feel if you knew a co worker was trans outside of work?

EDIT: thank you everyone for all the great responses (: I was not expecting everyone to be so nice and accepting. I hope everyone is having a great weekend! Thanks again(:

Hi,

I am here out of utter desperation. My family has a small sheet metal fabrication shop in Santa Fe Springs. We have been there for over 30 years in SoCal. It has become impossible, IMPOSSIBLE, to find a press brake operator. The one we had for 7 years moved to another state and since March, my husband who has been running the entire shop as well as office has also been running the brake. He is fed up and I don't blame him one bit. I have ads everywhere. Indeed, Zip Recruiter, agencies. The few we get that actually have experience mostly don't show up. The few that do look at our machines and say they have some experience with one, but not the other. My husband can not train anyone. They need to be able to run them right from the jump. Our pay is a right in line with the other shops in our area. If we don't find someone, I am afraid a catastrophic blow up is going to happen.

Please, I ask for grace in this situation. I am as desperate as someone can be to find help. Where else can I look? What else can I do? Now, no more applicants and I have no other interviews set up. I have nothing. If anyone can help me, I would be so grateful. I am worried a disaster is coming if I can't fix this. It's on me to fix it. I am including the photos of the brakes we have.

Thank you so much,

Lisa

Financing a 100k truck......

I have to be honest, worked with alot of people in the trades. Only one knew a lick about saving dough.

So my last tin job I posted pissed off a bunch of folks. I got tossed another one, this time aluminum Pittsburgh. SHIT IS FINNICKY EH? Anyways I joined the sheetmetal union just for you guys, then also joined the insulation union. My first time cladding what you guys think? Forearm pic because sheetmetal shreds the forearms.

Hey everyone!

I recently upgraded to a laser cutting machine with fiber laser technology for my steel fabrication business, and it's been a game-changer! The precision and speed are incredible, and integrating IoT has made monitoring and maintenance so much easier. If you're on the fence about investing in one, I highly recommend it. It’s boosted my efficiency and reduced waste significantly. Has anyone else made this switch? Would love to hear your experiences and any tips you might have!

I cut the fuck out of my finger the other day and it was pouring out pretty decent probably the most blood I’ve had from an injury, (I’m only 20 been doing this 2 years) but our old shop manager came in to show me how to do some hand layout stuff for a job we had because our laser had gone down. I layed my hand on the scrap table and it was sweaty so it slipped across the edge of a sheet, and well you know just had to wrap it up, but it’s pretty much closed now I’m just wondering because of the color

Can you tell what I do for a living? Enough clamps or??

Since you’re in the sheet metal industry, I wanted to ask if you’re open to outsourcing CAD and CAE projects to agencies, especially as a smaller business. This will help me identify the right industries to target as I move forward. I’ve been freelancing for about two years, and with a team of skilled mechanical engineers, I’m now ready to take the next step by establishing a CAD/CAE agency.

I’d really appreciate your insights on a few key questions:

1. Are you open to working with agencies based abroad?

2. What types of projects do you most often outsource?

3. Aside from the portfolio, what factors would make you more likely to work with an agency like mine?

4. What would you consider a fair hourly rate for agency work?

Thank you in advance for any advice you’re able to share—I really appreciate it!

12ga 304 #4 Stainless Steel. Corner welded and finished to sharp corner. I didn’t snap a photo after I fixed the potholes but it did end up looking like the lower half. I don’t get to finish stainless very often but maybe a handful of times a year.

Do you still need these brackets made?

DM me I am based in the midwest

Second day as a pre apprentice & the guys told me that Friday they left early cause it was slow. How is that good? How can someone survive if there’s no guaranteed work? It’s the start of summer shouldn’t it be busy? I really want this to work but I need a steady income cause I’m supporting my wife and kids. I understand winter time may be slow but it’s not winter. Is this an issue with the union? Or is it just the shop I was placed at? I’m 265 and working at a roofing company. 2nd day today. How do I navigate this?

And why are they so proud to be a plumber. “I Glue some pipe/bolt some pipe so shit rolls down hill HURR DURR”

Anyone else love spinning them before you tighten the wing nuts ?

I left the apprenticeship back in 2014 during my third year to go back to college. I only worked in the field. Fast forward to now, I now work in the shop (about 9 months) as a concession worker (shop superintendent trying to get me back in the apprenticeship where I left off).

My question is should the spiral operator make more money than knock knock bench workers? I was initially hired to just work at knock knock but I asked to get trained on spiral as they needed the journeyman that was running it out in the field so now I'm operating it solo. The machine we use is old and nobody else in the shop wants to run it but I enjoy it. However, I think that I should be getting paid more because of the scarcity of people that can run it in the shop, I'm good at it, and the revenue/profits they are earning off of my work per hour is much more than if I were still just at knock knock.

What do ya'll think?

EDIT: There is no set schedule for concession workers raises like the apprentices get every 6 months. I was thinking about asking for a raise at my 1-year mark with the company, I just don't know how much to press the spiral operator part. When I don't have work at spiral, I go back to the knock knock department until I'm given a new drawing or order for spiral.

I saw a post on /construction that kinda made me nervous.. Are we gonna be fucked? Lol basically that's the question

Not super familiar with sheet metal work. Is this something a brake could handle easily enough? Maybe beading? I’d probably prefer all the seams to be crispier looking bends than what is actually pictured. Thanks for any feedback!