Temper Metal Fabrication

10/12/2026

This is a steel assembly that we fabricated for JDs Stage Bistro to store and display their merchandise!

10/07/2026

We fabricated and welded this custom guard rail to provide a strong, durable solution built specifically for the space. We built the panels in the shop and welded them together as we installed them on site.

10/05/2026

We recently had a customer come to us with a zero turn mower deck that had worn completely through after years of service. Instead of spending a fortune on a new deck, we rebuilt the worn-out area and reinforced it to be stronger than it was from the factory.

We also fabricated a new deflection bracket out of 1/4” steel, replacing the original 16-gauge material.

The customer was thrilled to be able to save the deck and get many more years of use out of it.

09/30/2026

Last week, the Michigan Flight Museum called us with a rush job on the fuel tank for their Douglas C-47 Skytrain.
Manufactured in 1944, this main fuel tank had developed a major leak and was leaving puddles all over the hangar. We were excited to help, and had the tank repaired and returned in less than 24 hours!

Keep reading if you’re interested in how we approached this repair:

- First, we thoroughly flushed the tank with water to remove any remaining fuel and contaminants.
- Next, we performed a dye penetrant test to identify and confirm the ends of the crack.
- We prepared the crack for welding by drilling a hole at each end. This helps prevent the crack from continuing to grow. We also ground the repair area down so the added material would not extend beyond the original tank dimensions. This is especially important because these tanks have an extremely tight fit inside the aircraft.
- The most critical step was purging the tank with argon. Removing oxygen from the tank is essential before welding. Since argon is heavier than air, we introduced it at the low side of the tank and created a vent at the high side, allowing the argon to displace the air inside the tank. We calculated the tank's internal volume at approximately 27 cubic feet, so we flowed argon at 27 cubic feet per hour for one hour to achieve our calculated purge volume.
- With the tank properly prepared, we welded the crack. The tank is constructed from 3003 aluminum, so we used 4043 aluminum filler rod for the repair.
- Finally, we tested the repair. We fabricated custom caps to seal the sending-unit port and fill port, then pressure tested the tank at 1 psi while spraying the entire tank with soapy water to check for leaks. The crack repair held with no leaks.
During testing, we did find two leaks in the sealant around the fasteners. We were able to show these to the client so they could be resealed in the hangar. We also performed a dye penetrant test on the completed repair.

It’s not every day we get to work on a piece of aviation history!
Thanks to the Michigan Flight Museum for trusting us with this unique project. We’re always excited to take on a challenging repair and put our skills to work.

08/05/2026

Emergency truck repair we completed last night for a local company. The bearing that the hood rotates on to open seized up so when they tried to open it, it ripped the mounting brackets off. Every minute that this truck is off the road is lost money for this company so we got right to work and had it ready for pickup the next morning.

08/01/2026

The last few weeks we have been working with a local transport company to help improve the toolboxes on their trailers. These trailers are on the road all week so they are only available for repair from Saturday afternoon until Sunday evening.

The toolboxes hold hundreds of pounds of chains and binders and unfortunately the thin aluminum construction does not hold up under the heavy, repeated road vibrations. We have been welding up the cracked areas on the boxes, adding extra supports where needed, and then fabricating and welding steel frames directly to the trailer frame to support the toolbox. Now, the aluminum box can contain the contents but the steel frames will carry the load safely.

07/31/2026

Check out our latest YouTube video!

Welcome to my channel! Almost a year ago I started building this en...

07/28/2026

We recently repaired some equipment with a process that is worth sharing! These hydraulic pallet jacks were manufactured by a company in Canada, supplied by a company in Pennsylvania and purchased by a company in Michigan. The company bought 3 of them and immediately 2 of them failed. The pin that the steer tire mounts to snapped clean off. We were contacted by the supplier in Pennsylvania to repair all 3. We immediately recognized that this was a design issue, not a weld issue. Unfortunately, the supplier opted to go a different route and had another weld shop perform the repair by simply re welding the pin on. The repair weld looked great but unfortunately this repair required more than just a weld on the surface. 5 minutes into use one of them snapped again. See the description below each photo for a detailed explanation on how we went about this repair.

TMF appreciates the business and being trusted with this repair. These machines are ready to go back to work and earn their keep!

06/21/2026

Check out our newest YouTube video! Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments and subscribe to the channel if it looks like content you'd enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmnQgC0lL4k

05/24/2026

No welding involved in this project but we were excited to help this local customer get his backhoe back up and running. While pulling out some large stumps, he broke the factory linkages on the rear bucket. We started with 1.5” thick 4140 chromoly plate that was fully annealed so that it could be cut into the required shapes. Then we had the 4 arms heat treated to 34 BHN to make them a bit stronger and harder than they were in the annealed state. Our friends over at Detroit Architectural Metal helped bore the holes for the new bushings. Lastly, we drilled some bolt holes, added some grease fittings, and made a few new pins.

Back to moving dirt for this backhoe!