RockMountainFab - Build and Burn - My Experience

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Bought some Bad Dog Metalworks files, and they came out sweet. Haven’t got them painted yet, but thought you all might get a kick from my add. Snowing again here so I hope they sell quickly.
I’ll make more…:shushing_face::laughing:!

Set the doubters straight when you tell them how much snow you have at your place. Send them a pic of your gauge while staying inside and warm. Makes a great gift too…
Made of heavy gauge steel so they will last. Taller sizes and custom toppers are available. Message us for details.

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Got to deliver another piece of wall art to a couple of happy local repeat customers. He wanted to give it to her for Valentines Day, but couldn’t squeeze it in to only 2 days…LOL
So she got it a few days later, He still got the credit…LOL
Couldn’t find one with 5 bears to represent their kids, so got to tear a different one apart and modify… Was a learning process, but feel more confident about taking on the challenge next time. He’s already thinking of a small project for himself now. Gave a discount as repeat customer for $190 total. I’m happy, They’re happy… Win Win!
It’s 47.5 x 15 inch, 14 gauge, Primer and satin black with clear satin to seal it.

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That’s super!

I was just thinking about something similar. We wanted a custom look to the stairs - thought we could do something like this instead of balusters.

Is this 4ft long? Full table or is it longer & you indexed it?

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I just used all the width of the table. I will index if needed though. Haven’t tried it yet, but the procedure is easy to figure out. Figure I can handle a 4x10 fairly easy, as long as it ain’t 3/8 or better…lol

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That’s one reason I don’t intend to get a really big table. How I would move material around alone isn’t something I want to futz with. Sheets of steel are heeeaaaavvvvyyyy! :slight_smile:

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That was my battle as well. I put my table together in July, 3 weeks out of my 3rd back surgery, and material handling has been a chore. I did install a HF 3500# 12v winch, that runs up to the rafters, where the load is spread with 4x4s, over, and back down to the front of my table. I also made a rolling sheet cart / work table, that I can roll under the hoist and clamp onto the sheets. I added the wireless remote for $40. Also I have 4x10 sheets sheared at 40". But they are still awkward getting on the table. 1/4" would be about as far as I’ll trust it though. (my hoist system)
I like using that size because it’s cheaper to buy for me and they only charge $10 to shear a few sheets. It also leaves me a bit of scrap on the end, to use on other jobs with smaller parts. I try to nest pretty tight, which leaves about 8"x48" scrap at the back of the table. The only down side is, being larger than the water pan, it tends to splash a lot of water outside. I put a rain gutter on 2 buckets under it to solve that… LOL
Some times it just takes Low tech to solve problems…

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That is cool

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That is my plan too. Have to fiddle with a few files, as deer need to remain upright, but be on different levels because of the angle. Guess I need to start with a hillside, and add from there…lol

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I got really lucky on an auction and was able to set up a full X-Y crane ($80 on auction, but I had to remove)

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My plan is to use magnets & the crane to position sheet material.

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nice LARGE workshop…with a crane!!!
I hope to be do more that turn around in my shop soon…hehehehehe

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Thanks!

The shop is 27’x38’ with 17’ sidewalls, size determined by the craigslist trusses I got from a guy just down the street. It seems large until I have a vehicle inside, then I have to shuffle around sideways.

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I’m in a 34x30 15ft to bottom of truss, 14x14 roll up door. Full of stuff right now. 40ft to the living room through 1 door. Was supposed to be a garage, but things change. :wink:

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That looks awesome, I have a much smaller system similar to this but with Unistrut and I will tell you that the problem I had with 1 large magnet was that the metal could warp enough to pull it off the magnet. This was with 14ga, I have not come up with a great solution but I know a lot of places also use suction cups 2-4 to hold metal on a crane system. I am not sure I am going to give up on my magnet yet but just thought I would give you some heads up.

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Good advice on the magnet, I haven’t done a full sheet yet, just 1/4 sheet of 1/8"

I did one of the 660 pound of these:

I think I saw somebody who did 2 or three of them on a frame, that might be a good idea to avoid the steel bending.

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Anyone experimented with the effects on the arc because of magnetism left in the sheet? I read a post somewhere awhile back, about cut quality, and that question came up.
Maybe chalk line around the magnet, or mark somehow, and the check the cut results as it passes those areas…
I currently store vertically, so I would use a plate clamp, but still curious…

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FIRST EVENT OF THE YEAR…:smiley:
We were invited to be a vendor at the Jet Boat Race Pits for a 3 day event this year! They’ve never had craft vendors there before and 1 other showed up for 1 day.
The first night was 3 hours at a Show and Shine on 3 blocks of main street. It was pretty busy. Saturday and Sunday were 9-4 at the Pits. The traffic surged as the racers prepared and left the start, then subsided for an hour or so, then would pick back up as the boats returned. 4 surges per day total…
We had a great time, and cleared $1500 in sales. I am so glad we had the ability to accept debit and credit cards. Minus expenses and material costs, it’s about $1100 net profit. Not bad for 17 hours of selling time.
We also held another raffle for charity, with a 34 inch 2 layer jet boat going to the winner.
Here’s a few pics…

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The inspiration for this large piece was the smaller one below. It was really fun to design and create this 16 inch, 14g, sprayed in 6 different metalcast colors.
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Not knowing how these would sell, I only made 8. Big mistake. We sold out in the first hour of the Show and Shine on Friday…damn… I got home and fired up my Pro at 11pm and let her fly on 18 more. (my THC had been acting up the other day and I was worried​:grimacing:, but when I fired it up everything ran flawless… wierd…:thinking:) Stayed up all night and cleaned, sanded, primered, and sprayed all 18 in metalcast paint, and had them dry by 7am, right before we left to get set up and open by 9am on Saturday.:sleeping:
Was tired as hell, but sold 12 more for another $240! Turned out to be my best seller. Acounted for almost a 1/3 of the total sales. Think I started something here. Now I need to come up with another limited edition commemorative piece for next year. Have also decided to follow the races for a bit next year, with an emphasis on nautical themed garb. :speedboat::anchor::sailboat:

PS. Saltwater ball bearing spinners and some bailing wire are great for hanging your art around your canopies. The will rotate in a light breeze, drawing attention to your stuff.

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We have already received 3 ($100-$200) custom orders during and since the show. One of these I designed on my laptop at the show during the lulls in the traffic and is ready to cut.

Hope this gets other owners excited about getting out there and pushing your work… :smiley::smiley::smiley:

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Just found us another show. A first ever 4th of July, 4 Day event in our area, with an emphasis on outdoor land adventures. Bikes, Quads, 4x4’s, Side by sides, and the like. A carnival, A treasure hunt for a $10k prize. and various other contest for $1,000 prizes. Should bring lots of people.
Between that, the Friday Farmers Market weekly, and Labor Day 4 day event, it’s going to be a busy summer…

So… I have about a month to restock my supplies, create, burn and finish a shit load of event themed items… :thinking:
On the bright side, I’ll make some cash to put toward the XR! (didn’t see an Emoji for Drooling…LOL)

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First Farmers Market event of the year. People realy liked the wind spinners we made, but only sold 3 cheap ones. Might have sold more, but they (the few I opened) weren’t spinning to get their attention.

What’s the damn trick to get a Wind Spinner to rotate in the wind?
They were cut ready files, and used ball bearing swivels, but didn’t spin much at all (if any), during a rather windy day, of 10 mph steady with 15-20mph gusts. Yeah I did use 16 gauge, but still…

Anyone else made any? What gauge did you use, and material? Trick on how far to open? Number of vanes? Width of vanes? An appropriate magic spell…LOL?
Feel like I should curb these, until they work good…:unamused:

Had three more tables of stuff, but these spinners were the let downs…

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set something like this up in your tent…direct more air movement on it…

https://www.amazon.com/GOODSOZ-Outdoor-Chicken-Gazebo-Ventilation/dp/B0756BBSPG/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=solar+powered+fan&qid=1622897045&sr=8-10

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I’ve only seen them made of much lighter stuff - 22 or 28ga?

16ga is much heavier and may be too heavy for the cross-section subject to air currents to move easily. Although you could direct a fan at them, once the buyer gets them home they’ll probably find they don’t work and be unhappy.

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