Editor-in-Chief
- FMA
- The Fabricator
- FABTECH
- Canadian Metalworking
Categories
- Additive Manufacturing
- Aluminum Welding
- Arc Welding
- Assembly and Joining
- Automation and Robotics
- Bending and Forming
- Consumables
- Cutting and Weld Prep
- Electric Vehicles
- En Español
- Finishing
- Hydroforming
- Laser Cutting
- Laser Welding
- Machining
- Manufacturing Software
- Materials Handling
- Metals/Materials
- Oxyfuel Cutting
- Plasma Cutting
- Power Tools
- Punching and Other Holemaking
- Roll Forming
- Safety
- Sawing
- Shearing
- Shop Management
- Testing and Measuring
- Tube and Pipe Fabrication
- Tube and Pipe Production
- Waterjet Cutting
Industry Directory
Webcasts
Podcasts
FAB 40
Advertise
Subscribe
Account Login
Search
Their lips aren’t sealed
Small Iowa shop uses a waterjet and a local network of craftsmen to create the Great Seal of the United States
- By Dan Davis
- October 25, 2017
- Article
- Waterjet Cutting
It’s no secret that craftsmen in small towns all over the U.S. are capable of really big things. One example is Creative Metal Works Inc. in Lockridge, Iowa, a town of fewer than 300 about 125 miles southeast of Des Moines.
Mary and Shawn Skillman opened their shop in 2001 after moving from the West Coast. They had spent about 12 years working for a sign-making company there until the employer decided to dismantle the department that Shawn oversaw. The move to the Midwest was spurred by a desire for a change of pace, and when the couple launched their business, Mary said that they were motivated to hear from people who once worked with Shawn.
“When he started up again, people were just elated to have him back in the industry. Now they knew where they could go to get the quality work that they were used to,” she said.
Now customers seek out Mary and Shawn for custom waterjet cutting and metal finishing of solid metal letters, logos, and architectural elements for designers and sign-makers. That reputation led APCO Signs to ask Creative Metal Works to take on a special assignment.
APCO Signs wanted a large replica of the Great Seal of the United States (see Figure 1), which was to be hung on the side of a federal building. The company wanted the sign to be striking, at least 4 in. thick and made of stainless steel.
Mary, an artist who has learned to create plans for realistic fabrications from customers’ desires, knew that such a sign would be too heavy as a 4-in.-thick object.
“So you take those things and you tweak the design,” she said. “I suggested that they use a back plate of 0.5-in. aluminum because that would weigh less than stainless steel. We could then paint it and that would create a barrier between the aluminum and the stainless steel front. Plus it gave us a contrast of texture and color.”
Creative Metal Works cut all of the pieces for the 10-ft.-diameter Great Seal using its Jet Edge waterjet cutting machine. The 0.5-in.-thick aluminum backer was cut into two pieces to accommodate the raw material stock that was available.
Using their small-town connections, Mary reached out to her shop’s neighbor, Steffensmeier Welding in Pilot Grove, Iowa, to handle the welding (see Figure 2). The fabricator welded the backing piece and rolled and welded the 3-in. bar to the plate’s edge. The bar helped to provide the girth that the customer was looking for in its 4-in.-thick sign.
Another local business, Four Seasons Auto Body & Frame in Fairfield, Iowa, painted the back plate and other aluminum parts on the Great Seal.
As the back plate and bar were being painted, Shawn was drilling, tapping, countersinking, and applying the various finishes to the top layer of the stainless steel graphics. Mary said the brushed finishes on the stainless steel were the crowning glory of the Great Seal project (see Figure 3).
When the sign’s components were complete, Creative Metal Works rented space from another Jet Edge customer, Creative Edge Master Shop in Fairfield, Iowa, for final assembly and crating. It was time for delivery.
On-site, the Great Seal was to be hung on 18 mounting rods that were already embedded into the building’s exterior wall. Those rods matched up perfectly with the 2-in. holes on the sign. (To hide the mounting hardware, Mary designed caps for the holes that sat flush with the face of the Great Seal. The caps, cut on the waterjet, were machined by Bodenham Machine in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, so that they would sit down in the holes and be flush with the stainless steel surface.)
“We are honored to have been chosen for this very prestigious, high-profile project and are very appreciative of the efforts of our local southeast Iowa businesses,” Mary said. “It’s true. Sometimes it takes a village.”
Where is the Great Seal hanging? That’s a secret. Seriously, it’s the federal government, after all.
Creative Metal Works Inc., 319-696-2605, www.creativemetalworksinc.net
Jet Edge, 763-497-8700, www.jetedge.com
About the Author
Dan Davis
2135 Point Blvd.
Elgin, IL 60123
815-227-8281
Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.
Related Companies
subscribe now
The Fabricator is North America's leading magazine for the metal forming and fabricating industry. The magazine delivers the news, technical articles, and case histories that enable fabricators to do their jobs more efficiently. The Fabricator has served the industry since 1970.
start your free subscription- Stay connected from anywhere
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Welder.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Tube and Pipe Journal.
Easily access valuable industry resources now with full access to the digital edition of The Fabricator en Español.
- Podcasting
- Podcast:
- The Fabricator Podcast
- Published:
- 04/30/2024
- Running Time:
- 53:00
Seth Feldman of Iowa-based Wertzbaugher Services joins The Fabricator Podcast to offer his take as a Gen Zer...
- Industry Events
Pipe and Tube Conference
- May 21 - 22, 2024
- Omaha, NE
World-Class Roll Forming Workshop
- June 5 - 6, 2024
- Louisville, KY
Advanced Laser Application Workshop
- June 25 - 27, 2024
- Novi, MI
Precision Press Brake Certificate Course
- July 31 - August 1, 2024
- Elgin,