12/20/99 Sheet metal work

I got some work done on my car at my “day job.” After making templates out of card stock, I brought them to work so my friend Ken Sheehan could help me cut them out of sheet metal. I traced the templates out on some galvanized sheet metal we had laying around the theater, and Kenny began cutting them out with his sheet metal shears. 

Before coming to work on “Late Show” as a stagehand, Kenny was a sheet metal worker, and was over qualified for my floor pans! Kenny showed me how sheet metal shears come in left and right cut snips. He also explained that there was a certain way to cut sheet metal with snips so not to dull the blade. All these tips made me feel better that Kenny was cutting my floor pans rather than me. In a matter of minutes, he precisely cut both floor sections, and all I had to do was bend the tabs.

We got some square channel steel to use as a guide to bend each tab of sheet metal. I clamped the steel in place with some vice grips and hammered the sheet metal to shape. It took me a half an hour to finish my project because I got called away to do some work! I was very satisfied with the results of the floor pieces when we were done. With some primer, paint, and undercoating, these sections should last quite a long time.

François had dropped off some sheet aluminum to do my floor sections, and I originally was going to try making these sections up at my shop, but I’m glad I had Ken do the cutting at work. There are certain things that should be left to professionals, and although I know eventually I would have made an acceptable set of floors made out of aluminum, I now have a set made out of galvanized steel that will be stronger, and pretty durable.

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