Why Young People Should Join the Trades: Building Real Skills, Real Things, and a Real Future

Every fitting tells a story.

This photo might look like a stack of shiny metal boxes to some, but to us, it's a week of progress, planning, and precision. Each piece sitting on this pallet—offsets, reducers, elbows, takeoffs—is the result of a design process that begins with tape measures in tight basements, field notes scribbled on scrap paper, and digital cut files run through our plasma table.

Here’s what you’re looking at:

• A mix of custom transitions, each fabricated to fit unique site conditions

• A couple of rectangular elbows, carefully bent to maintain airflow and minimize pressure loss

• A set of square-to-round reducers, which help marry mismatched systems

• Stacks of unformed blanks, labeled and ready to bend, notch, and hem

All this galvanized sheet metal will be installed in real homes and buildings within days—maybe even hours. It will hide behind drywall, above ceilings, and inside mechanical rooms. And though you may never see it again, your comfort will rely on its craftsmanship for years to come.

Why It Matters

Most homeowners never think about their ductwork until something goes wrong. But behind every well-ventilated space is a network of sheet metal fittings fabricated by hand and eye—cut to spec, sealed tight, and installed by a crew that knows airflow is as much art as science.

These aren’t generic pieces pulled off a shelf. Every job has quirks—maybe the furnace sits low, or the joists don’t line up, or the return drop has to squeeze past plumbing. That’s where skilled fabrication makes all the difference.

From Shop Floor to Air Flow

This pallet is ready for delivery, and the team who built it will probably never see the finished job. That’s just how it goes in this line of work. But we take pride in knowing that when someone turns up the thermostat or gets a blast of cool air in a second-story bedroom, this pile of metal helped make it happen.

So here’s to the overlooked, the hidden, the hard to reach. Here’s to ductwork that fits like a glove.

A Trade Worth Learning

If you’re a young person out there wondering what to do with your hands, your head, and your future—look again at that photo.

Those fittings didn’t come from a factory overseas. They were made right here, by people who know how to read a job, cut a pattern, fire up a plasma table, and build something real. There’s value in that. There’s pride in that. And there’s opportunity in it, too.

The trades are full of aging experts and open jobs. The work is steady, the pay is solid, and the impact is immediate. You don’t need a mountain of student debt to get started—you need curiosity, grit, and the willingness to learn.

We need more hands on deck. If you like working with tools, solving puzzles, and doing work that actually matters, this is a career path worth walking. And we’re always looking for people ready to take that first step.

Want to see more behind the scenes?
We’re planning a photo series showing how fittings go from CAD file to cut sheet to installed product. Follow along on the blog or sign up for our newsletter to get updates.

📸 Photo taken in our shop last week. Every job is different, and every fitting gets made with care.
🔧 If you’re a homeowner planning a retrofit or a contractor needing fast turnarounds, reach out. We build to fit, not force.

SaraSpa Rod & Gun Club Duct Fabrication

After installing the filter boxes and elbows shown in my previous post, it is now time to fabricate the next set of duct and transitions that will run up the wall. There are three total units and each will need a 90" drop. Below are the in-progress fittings lined up in a pretty little row.

Our next task is to cut and install the Ductmate Flange System on each section of duct for easy installation when we get to the jobsite.

Wolla!

We finished up a few 90 elbows with turning vanes for the job as well. Probably could have managed a better photo but I had to assist my helper uncle with that tub of screws :)...JK

SaraSpa Rod & Gun Club Duct Installation Photos

Here are a couple pics from our most recent duct installation at the SaraSpa Rod and Gun Club in Greenfield Center, NY.

Installation of the Exit Air Unit ductwork and filter cabinet.

Installation of Make-up Air Unit duct.

The job has been progressing nicely with a lot of custom duct and fittings. Each section is fabricated with 24 gauge metal and secured together with the Ductmate Flanging System.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel regarding finishing up the installtion and fabrication. I hope to get all the photos gathered together and share them after the project is completed. With our move to a new fabrication shop space and other jobs, time has been at a premium. We are finally getting back to a somewhat normal schedule.

4 Resources You Can Use to Find Specialty Metals Online

Finding specialty metals locally can be a difficult task, no matter where you live. You can go to your local hardware store, but chances are they only stock small sections of limited gauges and alloys of metal sheets. So you try the local metal distributor, only to find they are far from receptive when it comes to small quantities of steel sheets or structural metal. So where do you go when you only need a small lot of steel or sheet metal for a minor project?

Here are four online metals sites you can use to find specialty metals for your small project.

Cut 2 Size Metals

Cut 2 size metals is an online metals provider of aluminum, stainless steel, brass and copper. They also provide structural metal and many different kinds of metal fabrication. 

From their website:

Cut2SizeMetals.com, your source for online metals, is powered by ESMW, a leader in custom fabrication of metal since 1946. We focus on industrial and specialty fabrication using aluminum, stainless steel, brass and copper. Whether you have a sketch on a napkin or a 3D CAD drawing, our craftsmen have the experience to solve your problem. We use a wide variety of contour cutting equipment as well, including laser, plasma, and waterjet cutting.  From our midwest supply & metals depot in southern Indiana, we offer speedy metals shipments to all 50 states. You can specify your metal by the inch, or order full sheets and lengths.  And while we don't stock discount steel, you can order it and wide variety of other metals online

Online Metals

Online Metals provides a nice selection or aluminum, brass, stainless steel, copper, along with hot and cold roll steel options. The nice thing about their service is providing the customer options for smaller size lots. This can be very helpful for someone looking for specialty metal options in smaller quantities:

From their site:

The Web's superstore for small quantity metal orders welcomes you to explore exceptional metals sales and service from metal buyer's guides, to metal project ideas. At OnlineMetals.com, no order is too small for our high standards.

Simply put, OnlineMetals.com is an internet-based small quantity metals supplier. We specialize in orders for less than full bars and less than full sheets, but carry a variety of materials rivaled only by the largest metals service centers.

Speedy Metals

Speedy Metals boasts a large selection of everything from specialty metals to structural steel. They pride themselves on exceptional customer service, which is logical for a site called Speedy Metals. 

From their site:

Supplying over 50,000 customers WORLDWIDE !!!

* Unsurpassed Service

* Highest Quality

* Best Selection

Over 5,000 Grades, Shapes and Sizes

Metals Depot

Metals Depot continues the trend with a large selection of specialty metals, structural steel with many size quantities available. They also have a nice selection of diamond plate, metal grating for walkways and perforated steel for a plethora of applications.

From their site:

MetalsDepot, the retail division of Ledford Steel Company was established in 1999 to fill the ever-growing need of a reliable "Small Quantity Metals" supplier throughout the United States. Our concentration is to provide a wide selection of metal, in smaller quantities, with no minimum orders, and fast shipping. In 1999 we also created MetalsDepot.com to simplify and speed the ordering process, and to make our products available to a larger audience. Over the years our distribution has grown to over 60,000 customers worldwide

Whether you're a job shop like ours needing small quantities or a layman looking for specialty metal to complete a small project around the house. Any of these online metal suppliers can help to get you what you need and answer the questions you may have on different alloys of metal. 

 Good Luck! 

Old School Custom Trunk Duct Fabrication

Currently I am fabricating some custom transitions to marry a new heat pump system to this existing trunk duct. The customer emailed these photos this morning to give me an overview of what I would be hooking the new duct transitions up to. Always helpful when a customer is willing to take the time and snap a few shots of what the job looks like.

The ductwork in this house is absolutely fantastic! Yes, it's old and may be sagging in some area's after hanging for years and years. All of this is normal. Should it be changed? Maybe, but all in all it looks ok. 

I have only come across a few jobs with duct where this much time and effort was placed into the fabrication and installation. The time needed is easily double, maybe even triple of what lead times would be today.  Plus, the man hours into laying out the duct needed to complete the job. 

The cool part is the way the duct line is laid out and how each heat run is a rectangular or square branch with multiple rounded offsets and risers. Today, all of these heat runs would be round and branching off the top of the main trunk line. And the fabrication time would be minimal because much of what you see would be standard, stock sizes that can be purchased at your local Home Depot.

However, the time and effort in the fabrication, with rounded inner throats is completely custom and just fabulous. My father and I completely appreciate the craftsmanship that went into this amount of bespoke trunk duct and fittings. Very cool.

Custom Galvanized Sheet Metal Ash Box

The benefit of our fabrication shop is the ability to fabricate small numbers of custom projects for a range of products. Our main focus being HVAC custom ductwork and fittings, but we fabricate a lot of specialty items for many of our customers.

Last week I received a request through our website for a custom 15" x 15" x 15" ash box with a sliding top cover. For some reason my immediate thought was urn or something like it. However, I was completely wrong, the customer was only looking for a box to rake old ash and embers from an outdoor grilling station. 

I had a tiny idea of what he might be talking about, growing up in a house with a wood stove and many family members with the same. Nevertheless, asking for any documentation or drawings is always worth asking. I emailed a request for a picture or something he could draw to give me a starting point. Surprising to me, he had a picture of exactly what he needed.

Receiving a quality photo of what the customer needs is rare, with me usually coming up with something on the fly or deciphering a crude drawing on a scrap sheet of paper.  This is a rare and extremely beneficial occasion. 

The customer requested I do my best to keep it as waterproof as possible because the box would reside outside most of the time. My goal was to keep the simplicity of the box he had sent me thereby keeping the cost down.  Needless to say this was not the most difficult of fabrications, but that doesn't mean I don't keep all customer requests in mind and do my best with each order.

I got to work and basically made the same box with a few minor adjustments to the original design with the biggest one being to the sliding cover. The extended handle was unnecessary, so I simply rolled a hem flange up with a 1/2" extension down to help keep any water from running down inside the box.  You can see this depicted in one of the photos below.

The finished box is not completely waterproof mind you, but any chance to keep water out is a good thing and something I kept in mind. Hence the cross break on the cover, helping runoff of any water, keeping it from pooling on the top. There is also a 1/4" extension at the opposite end of the cover to help with water drainage.

My goal with any customer is to make sure they get what they're paying for no matter how simple the request may be. It's always fun to fabricate the more intricate items, but the simple pieces are the ones people remember because they usually solve a simple problem. Every customer is important.

Plus, they're the first ones to promote you when things come up in conversation.

Sheet Metal Fabrication Shop Panorama

A few things jump out at me when looking at a panoramic photo of the shop. 

1. We are running out of room....quickly!
2. Would it kill me to put together a scrap clean-up day. 
3. A little more lighting probably would not be a bad thing