Customer Reviews

Sheet Metal Pattern Drafting And Shop Problems

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Here we have maybe the last of a good line of Sheet Metal Pattern Development books. The last, as I have said in my other reviews, due to the advances in technology whereby everything in this development book is now done on a CNC operated machine. I actually don't have this edition in front of me for this review, as it is at my place of work, but I have pulled from my bookshelf the 1922 edition which I had handed to me, for the price of a bottle of Gin, when I was an apprentice. This edition, a 1975 printing as shown by the cover, has been updated with some mathmatical formula as an appendix. The book covers the fields of Parallel, Radial and Triangulation development methods for sheetmetal work. It is comprehensive in its scope looking at many different profiles. Cones, Square to Rounds, Lobster Back Bends etc... with good coverage of Joint Lines. Other than that there is little that is different from the 1922 edition. In saying that I believe that there is one very important pattern, added to this edition, that I have not struck elsewhere. That pattern is for a tappering radiused bend which incorporates a "Pittsburgh Lockform" or "Snaplock" on either its throat or heel "Radius". By that I mean a bend that is either square or rectangular which has a radius to it and which turns through any angle and also which can transition at the same time. Now this, to anyone in the ventilation ducting game, should set off alarm bells as I don't believe that this pattern has been displayed before. Meaning folks: no rivetting, spotwelding etc... to join the cheeks to throat or heel!!!
All the developed pieces have a black and white photo of the finished product to accompany the instructions. Besides all of that this reprinted edition, as have all the editions, shows a shortcut method for developing the described patterns.
So I recommend this development book very highly. If one cares to look I have reviewed A. Dickason's book Geometry of Sheet Metal Work which is different to this but they are, in my mind, comparable. You will need them both if you want to be proficient. They both overlap in areas but you are looking at the end of an era, I believe, in the fact no one seems to want to teach apprentices these skills anymore.
I have recently stepped down from a Foremans position and I made it mandatory that apprentices did every single development by hand and then threw it in the rubbish, only for it to be redone when another pattern was required. This was done for the duration of their apprencticeships as it is this repartition that is required with this often difficult subject for people to learn and remember. However I would take these tradesmen, now, with me anywhere as they have a more rounded skill base which is sadly lacking in our industry.
Just as a correction to the Author in the Amazon write up. The original author was James S. Daugherty from the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Not McGraw Hill which was the publishing house. This later edition does I think have two additonal Authors or maybe Editors which I am unable to name currently.
Buy it before it's gone!!

Query:
Are my vouchers JKDW-R67JBG-7H9J
G762-C7GZX9-QLFT
AND RGN4-BUBXWZ-7D8V

still floating around, waiting for me to claim them?

Thank you

Helena Postmus
hpostmus@hotmail.com