One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money

by Harold Morse Dunphy

PLAN No. 921. SHEET-METAL WORKERS

Demand for Workers.

The sheet-metal worker is the survival in modern industry of the village tinner or tinsmith, and the demand for these workers is large and increasing.

In the building trades, in ship building, in automobile and airplane construction, and in the manufacture of furniture, kitchen ware, heating and ventilating apparatus men of skill and experience in sheet-metal working are required.

What the Worker Does.

Workmen at the trade are mainly occupied in cutting out shapes or patterns, bending and forming these shapes on machines or with hand tools, and assembling the parts by hand. Edges are fastened together by riveting, soldering, or by lock seams. For example, a shaving-exhaust system consists of suction pipes, an exhaust fan, and a large pipe leading to the outlet, at which point is a dust separator called a cyclone. Practically all of the system is built of galvanized iron in sections, which are first constructed in the shop, then erected and supported in place in the factory where it is to be used. All of this work, including the erecting, is done by sheet-metal workers.

It is the work of the journeyman in a job shop to use the common machines for cutting and forming the sheets of metal, to rivet or solder the parts together, and to fasten them in place on buildings or in any location where the product is used.

This job-shop worker is, therefore, commonly both an outside and an inside worker. He must know how to place on buildings all the roofing, skylights, gutters, down spouts, cornices, metal ceilings, etc., needed in the construction. He installs air ducts for hot-air furnaces and for ventilating systems. He may be called on for a variety of repairs on sheet metal—to line tanks with lead, copper, or zinc, and to make and attach guards for machinery. The material for this work is bought in the form of sheets of various sizes, and the workman spends a large part of his time in the shop cutting up his material and working it into the required form.

Extreme accuracy of measurement is seldom necessary, and not much attention is paid to finish since much of the work is immediately painted.

In the building of ships there is a great variety of sheet-metal work done. Heavier gauge metal is used than on most architectural work and the joints are more often required to be oil and water tight.

In the automobile and motor truck industry many men are employed in the making and assembling of bodies, fenders, tanks, and radiators. Much of the formed work is drawn to shape in large presses, the finished shapes being assembled by hand.

Large factories now produce most of the kitchen utensils and stamped sheet-metal ware. This ware is coated with enamel or japan, or plated with nickel. Tin plate is still used, but sheet aluminum and enameled steel ware are fast taking its place. The manufacture of metal containers for canned fruits, meats and fish, oils, and sirups is an important industry. Very few machines for any purpose could dispense with sheet-metal parts without increasing the weight or the cost. In building construction the use of sheet metal is increasing, and when properly protected with paint it is both durable and inexpensive. Sheet metal is taking the place of wood for lath, sash, and trim for fireproof construction in large office buildings. It is used, also, in the manufacture of metal furniture for schools and offices.

Tools and Machines.

Tools and machines used by sheet metal workers include the following:

Hand tools.—Hammers, punches, chisels, hand snips or shears, rivet sets, rule, soldering outfit, and a variety of stakes of different shapes and sizes.

Hand and power machines.—Turning, burring, forming, setting, grooving, double seaming, beading, wiring, and folding machines, circular, rotary and squaring shears, cornice brake, and presses for drawing hollow ware.

Requirements.

Shopwork in sheet metal does not require men of great strength or quickness of movement. The machines are operated with the right hand and the stock supported with the left. To be of value to the shop a man should know something about pattern drafting, but many workmen are unable to lay out new work, and must work from old patterns or depend on the foreman for help. A sheet-metal worker needs fairly good eyesight, two hands with strong fingers, and on construction work a clear head and good use of his limbs. Requirements for outside work are quite different from those for inside work in the shop.

Hours and Wages.

Hours of labor average about nine a day, but in Government work the standard is eight hours.

Wages range from 45 to 85 cents per hour, but will average about 65 cents, with 68 cents as the union scale on Government work.

Future of the Employment.

There seems to be no reason for doubting that this occupation will remain a very stable one. After the war it may be difficult to absorb into industry all the men who have been trained as sheet-metal workers for shipbuilding, but it is certain that the normal requirements of the building trades, the automobile industry, and airplane construction will take many men.

Reeducation.

No single course of instruction will fit all cases. If a man can shift from general outside and inside work to inside work exclusively, it will be possible for him to learn the drafting of patterns to great advantage to himself and to the shop. Skill in soldering may also be acquired by practice and will increase the man’s earning capacity. Competent foremen are very much in demand, and they should be trained in drafting and in estimating the cost of construction.

This ability to estimate costs on job work can be attained by special training and would make a disabled man more independent of his handicap.

For the disabled man any course which provides only the theory will fail absolutely in making a man useful to the average employer. It will be necessary to locate the man in a selected situation where his handicap will count for the least and then train him to overcome entirely the handicap. If the school can help with this training the man should go to school, but in a majority of cases it will be necessary for the shop to provide the training, supplemented by evening courses or correspondence-school work. The latter would be quite satisfactory in pattern-drafting and cost-estimating courses.