The Sheet Metal Worker’s job is to fabricate, assemble, install and repair sheet metal products and equipment.
Primary Responsibilities:
- The Sheet Metal Worker is responsible to assemble, such things as flashing, pipes, tubes, heating and air conditioning ducts, furnace casings, rain gutters, and down spouts, in supportive frameworks.
- The Sheet Metal Worker selects gauges and types of sheet metal or non-metallic material, according to product specifications.
- The Sheet Metal Worker is responsible for the drilling or punching holes in metal, for screws, bolts, and rivets.
- The Sheet Metal Worker must have a good knowledge in materials, methods and tools used in his trade.
The Sheet Metal Worker fastens seams and joints together with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, and bonds in order to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items. The importance of the job of the Sheet Metal Worker is vital because some of the items that he is called to repair or replace hold together vital instruments that should not be tampered with. The Sheet Metal Worker realizes that often his work may become a safety hazard if not properly done. The Sheet Metal Worker knows that putting together a bridge for instances not done properly could cause cars to plummet into water or another roadway killing many people. That is why that the Sheet Metal Worker must make sure that he does his work with great precision and accuracy.
The bonding of metal objects together is very important in today’s society because we use metal in our buildings, bridges, and other major products. The Sheet Metal Worker may work on skyscrapers helping to drill or punch holes in the proper places for screws to be set in order to keep the structure together. The Sheet Metal Worker may also work on objects like bridges and other high rise buildings making sure that the screws are correctly placed. These are some of the most important jobs that a Sheet Metal Worker may do. There are of course a variety of other jobs that he is responsible for that he may take part in doing.
The making of furnace casings is totally handled by a Sheet Metal Worker and this is a very important job because a furnace usually burns to a very high degree of heat. The furnace must stick together properly or many people could get injured from the intense heat. The furnace casings help in the structure of the furnace. The Sheet Metal Worker is the one who fastens seams and joints together at the joints with welds, bolts, cement, rivets, solder, caulks, metal drive clips, and bonds in order to assemble components into products or to repair sheet metal items. Often the Sheet Metal Worker is called to fabricate or alter parts at construction sites. In order to do this the Sheet Metal Worker uses shears, hammers, punches, and drills to achieve the completed fabrication of the product. The Sheet Metal Worker often uses hand tools to achieve some of the things necessary when trying to fabricate a product. It may require the Sheet Metal Worker to trim, file, grind, deburr, buff and smooth a surface by hand in order to get the parts done. They use hand tools and portable power tools at time to achieve their goal. In order to finish a part the Sheet Metal Worker may need to use a hacksaw or squaring shears. The Sheet Metal Worker at times functions much like the Blacksmith because they have to shape metal material over anvils, blocks, or other forms, using hand tools. It is not uncommon for the Sheet Metal Worker to transport prefabricated parts to construction sites for assembly and installation.
The Sheet Metal Worker develops and lay out patterns that use materials most efficiently, using computerized metalworking equipment to experiment with different layouts. The Sheet Metal Worker is responsible to inspect individual parts, assemblies and installations for conformance to specifications and building codes, using measuring instruments such as calipers, scales, and micrometers. The Sheet Metal Worker determines project requirements, including scope, assembly sequences, and required methods and materials, according to blueprints, drawings, and written or verbal instructions. The Sheet Metal Worker is highly responsible for many of the functions that go on with his part of the job.