NOMMA Newswire

Give back to the industry by spending Saturday, October 3, at the Metal Museum Service Day in Memphis, Tennessee. We need about 12 volunteers and 3-4 service trucks. The Metal Museum was founded by NOMMA members, and this event is a great opportunity to connect with and maintain one of NOMMA’s greatest projects. Read about the Museum's History. 

When:   Saturday, October 3, 2015
               9:00 a.m.- 5 p.m. (approx.)

2) Fab handrails for Gazebo, Install rails that have been finished (spray paint)

3) Paint Gazebo

*The Museum staff will pressure wash handrails and gazebo prior to the service day. We already have a welder—please disregard our earlier request to bring one. 

 What to Bring:

• Welding helmet
• Safety glasses and face shield
• 2" paint brushes latex and oil base paints
• 4" paint rollers 3/8" nap maybe ¼"
• Angle grinder with wire brushes, cup brush
• Hand wire brushes
• Gloves
• Your Expertise
• Paint cup gun/ with filters spray oil base primer

Visit http://www.aisc.org/content.aspx?id=34196 to view the full article online.

NOMMA is partnering with Naylor Association Solutions to create an Online Verification System (OVS)

As a NOMMA member, you will have the opportunity to use a unique username and password, which will be given at a later date, to log into an online portal to update your listing information. The OVS is a user-friendly and safe portal to use, and none of the information stored will be used for anything other than gathering information for the 2016 NOMMA Membership Directory & Buyers' Guide. With your help, your most up-to-date information will be included in this valuable member resource. 

When the time comes to update your listing, please be sure to log in and update every field included in the OVS to ensure your listing is correct and complete. It will help us accurately showcase your information in a year-long publication. 

When the OVS is ready to be rolled out, we will individually send out your username and password with the deadline in which we will need the updates made. Look out for more information to come regarding the OVS. 

Thank you for your help in making this happen!

This category is open to any unusual ornamental fabrication not specifically classified elsewhere including but not limited to signs, mailboxes, arbors, sundials, crosses and other specialty items.

Gold Winner:
Artistic Iron Works Inc.
Las Vegas, Nevadad

1938 Hudson Train Replica
Artistic Iron Works was commissioned by "Dental Express" in San Diego, California to design and build an Art Deco 1938 "Hudson" 4-6-4 scale model steam engine approximately 25' x 8' x10' with light gauge rail track. The fabricator designed the train, using plate steel, .065, .095 tube steel, spun steel 4' diameter cone, 14 gauge sheet metal, taking approximately 285 man hours to complete. The fabrication techniques used were steel cutting, rolled sheet metal, riveting and welding. Powder coat E141-BK19 was used as the finish to resemble black cast iron and 38/91020 silver wheels and trim. The greatest challenge faced in this build was making sure the internal super structure was able to support overall weight of 7500# and have the ability to move the train. Installation involved shipping and placing train via crane on rail tracks in permanent position.

Visit Artistic Iron Works Inc. on the web.

Silver Winner:
C.T. and S. Metalworks
Irving, Texas

Primary Entry Sign for Major Residential Development
A primary entry sign for a major residential development was built with LED back lit channel aluminum letters on a Corten box beam. The box beam is made out of rolled ¼" Corten plate and is 74 ft. long x 4 ft. high x 1 ft. deep. The radius is 138 ft. With the total weight being 13,000 lbs, they could only support this eccentric offset load with (2) columns because of a gas easement underneath. The honey-comb structure internally is 1" thick Corten plate. It is sandblasted and pre-rusted with C.T. and S. Metworks' secret formula. They built in (2) pieces in their shop and welded together in field.

Bronze Winner:
Flaherty Iron Works Inc.
Alexandria, Virginia

Hand Forged Iron Work Garland
This ornamental hand forged iron work garland was designed as decoration for a Memorial constructed over the historical site of a slave cemetery. There is 60 LF of garland. It is 20" high. The vine is fabricated to simulate the American Bittersweet vine. The fabricator was given photos of American Bittersweet and asked to make a vine motif to its likeness to decorate the top of the Memorial. The vines are hammered 1 ½" pipe.  The leaves are formed from ¼" plate and the berries made using 5/8" round stock. We used the Tnemec primer and paint system to finish. Total man hours spent was 720.

Visit Flaherty Iron Works Inc. on the web.

Thank you to everyone's invaluable feedback in answering a member's question about a dilemma with an unclaimed piece of furniture.

Some of the great advice from members was the following:

1. Never order a single piece of material without a non-refundable deposit first and a signed contract. 
   • This was the most popular recommendation from fellow NOMMA members. A 50% deposit, or 25% deposit for larger jobs, seemed to be the common consensus. This amount should cover the materials at the very least. If the item is not claimed after the deposit is paid, then you can sell it to make up for any other lost time and funds already invested. 
2. Make sure you put it all in the contract.
   • Include payment information, completion date, non-refundable deposit information, etc. 
3. If you are already in this predicament where a customer has not claimed a finished piece, you can always auction it off  as a nice NEF auction item!
4. For $30, you can take your customer to small claims court. 
   • You will have a better chance at getting your money back if a contract was signed. Be sure to keep a paper trail of attempts made to contact the customer with the payment information, description of item(s), dates, and any other pertinent information. 
5. Give the customer a chance to respond.
   • Just in case an unforeseen emergency has come up, it might be a good idea to allow for some time to pass. Follow up with your customer with multiple calls and emails to ensure enough contact has been made. 
6. Lastly, enjoy the piece for yourself! You worked hard and put a lot of time and effort in creating the piece, aside from the costs involved, so why not enjoy your own hard work?