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

Pallet Of Ductwork

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.

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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!

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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 the Exit Air Unit ductwork and filter cabinet.

Installation of Make-up Air Unit duct.

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.

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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 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.

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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.

 

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