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Sheet Metal Technology
by Dave Gingery
Dave's last book! It was written in the late 1980's but is only now being publis
hed. Dave's gone. I miss him. I wish he were still here so I could choke him for
having put such a boring title on such an interesting book. I would have called
it something like "How to Learn to Work Sheet Metal by Fabricating Something Th
at Is Actually Very Useful."
Excerpts from the preface and introduction presented here better explain the boo
k than I can. And the photographs speak for themselves. Neat stuff.
What I find quite interesting are the plans for the 24" leaf brake built primari
ly from hardwood. Before you thumb your nose at a wooden brake, both Dave and I
must remind you that most early sheet metal brakes were wooden. This would be a
great project for the model maker, the radio builder, or an artist who needs onl
y a lightweight unit. Hardwood and piano hinges are commonly available.
Maybe you could build the grill, and from the lessons learned scale it up to bui
ld that monster barbeque grill you always wanted to mount in the bed of your fou
r by four. Well... maybe not.
Great book. Gingery quality as usual. Get one. 5-1/2 x 11 softcover 114 pages
No. 1588 ... $14.95
Dave's Working Sheet Metal --->

Introduction
...The central theme of this book is the vocational application of sheet metal t
echnology, based upon the author's experience as technician, model builder and p
roduct design engineer in the sheet metal manufacturing industry. The intention
is to present the material as it is presented to those newly employed.
...In chapter II we discuss the origin and nucleus of a manufacturing and market
ing enterprise in its most elemental form. This is the source of employment and
there are many vocations within the system that spring from this basic craft...
It is likely that many will feel intimidated by the pattern development discussi
on and exercises in chapter III. In fact, not everyone can absorb such material
and so it should not be a critical grading factor for every student...
...The text in the pattern development section is deliberately brief because suc
h material simply can't be presented in lecture form. It absolutely must be demo
nstrated by the instructor, and the student must do the exercises in order to ab
sorb the material. It is a step by step process rather like crossing a stream on
submerged stepping stones,. You must do it several times to get good at it.
...The procedures and systems for forming and joining sheet metal are infinite i
n number and constantly changing. Little by way of instruction is required to un
derstand any of them. But a discussion of the more common and most interesting s
ystems are outlined in chapter IV.
...The basic shop in chapter V is kept very simple even though a fully equipped

shop might be the preferred teaching accommodation.

...The projects are presented in a series of drawings that very much resemble sh
op drawings that might be used in an actual employment situation. The text on ea
ch project is deliberately brief because it would be extremely tedious to merely
expound upon what one might encounter in carrying out the project...

Preface
...The book you hold in your hand was written in the mid to late 1980's,
but never published. The manuscript has been in my possession since 1994 when D
ad retired and I had actually forgotten about it until recently. The type set of
the manuscript was from one of the earlier dot matrix printers and my OCR softw
are would not recognize it. As a result, the text had to be manually re-typed. A
nd the original drawings, though adequate, were hand drawn so I took the opportu
nity to recreate them on the computer as well.
Very little actual editing was necessary and as I worked through the book it was
almost as if Dad were standing over my shoulder talking to me. So bringing this
book to life has been an absolute joy and I have looked on the project as an op
portunity to spend a few more months with him.
You will find the projects to be progressive in nature. That is, as you progress
in knowledge, less information is supplied in the form of written instruction.
The information is still there, but it is in the form of layout drawings giving
you the opportunity to figure out methods to form and assemble the parts on your
own. And that's what Dad had in mind. He wanted us to learn how to use our brai
ns.
To prepare for constructing the projects in the book, I purchased a 24" pan & bo
x brake Model #G0557 from Grizzly industrial for $189.00 and a spot welder for $
300.00. The other necessary tools such as tin snips, scriber and straight edge e
tc., I already had in my possession. I was amazed at what I was able to produce
and the quality I was able to achieve with such a small investment. And that inv
estment could have been reduced to near zero if I had chosen to use the wooden b
rake presented in the book, and pop rivets instead spot welds.
The charcoal grill and the three drawer tool chest were intimidating at first gl
ance, but I just dug in and took the projects one step at a time. Before long it
became clear that what was at first perceived a difficult challenge turned out
to be a breeze. And that's what Dad always emphasized. "Nothing is impossible. Y
ou can know what others know, and you can do what others do." I can testify to t
hat from first hand knowledge....