Zabko Welding & Inspection Services

Zabko Welding & Inspection Services Welding, Fabrication, Inspection, Code Compliance Consultation & CNC plasma cutting based in NEPA

Here’s a little photo dump from a driveway gate build we’ve been juggling for the last few months. The plan was to get i...
10/30/2024

Here’s a little photo dump from a driveway gate build we’ve been juggling for the last few months. The plan was to get it built and installed by the end of July, but some surveying issues caused a long enough delay that the install date has now been pushed back into next spring.

This was a fun project but it’s a big relief to finally have it out of the shop. It’ll be stored at the customers house until the install date finally arrives in the spring. Im sure by the time spring rolls around we’ll have some new found motivation to get it wrapped up.

This project was especially challenging in aligning the layout of all the picket holes across the curved and diagonal sections of the frame. Consequentially this was one of the most satisfying parts of the build.

I’m anticipating getting the gates hung on the posts and squaring them up may be a bit more satisfying, but we’re gonna have to wait for that.

Have a look at a few photos of a new condensate receiver tank build for the brewery. This is a non-pressurized part of t...
08/24/2023

Have a look at a few photos of a new condensate receiver tank build for the brewery. This is a non-pressurized part of their system and therefore doesn’t require hemispherical ends.

The brewery uses steam as their main source of heat to process their wort for making beer. This tanks sole purpose is to collect the used steam (condensate) which is mostly just hot water. That water is pumped back into a boiler to make steam to send to the brew kettle, and the cycle continues.

Here we have another installment of concept to design and then final product. If you’ve followed my last two posts, this...
08/04/2022

Here we have another installment of concept to design and then final product. If you’ve followed my last two posts, this one should make sense. Otherwise if you really care enough, take a look back.

The Lauter Tun that we’ve been putting all this work into was purchased as an empty shell. Since there was no existing motor/drive components included, the brewery owner procured a motor and gear reducer to fit. This will eventually drive the center shaft which spins the mixing rakes inside the tank.

The mounting bracket shown in these pictures required some strange geometry as it was mounted offset from center on a domed lid. It’s alignment with the center shaft is crucial to keep the whole mechanism from binding as it spins.

I have nothing but the utmost respect for previous generations of fabricators that managed to accomplish tasks like this without design tools like AutoCAD. In my case, AutoCAD mostly eliminates the need for time consuming trial and error. It’s a costly software but is well worth every penny.

As usual, the first pictures show the design and final product, while the others following show some of the process in fabricating the bracket.

A little late on the follow up from my last post, but here’s a look inside the Lauter Tun that we just finished wrapping...
07/28/2022

A little late on the follow up from my last post, but here’s a look inside the Lauter Tun that we just finished wrapping with aluminum and copper.

The stainless bars inside the lauter tun are known as rakes. During the process of creating wort, the lauter tun is filled with a bed of grains and hot water is sprayed over top of those grains. As the rakes slowly spin through the grain bed, they cut passageways through the grain that allow the water to work its way through. This raking insures an even distribution and flow of hot water through the grain bed.

Once the water reaches the bottom, it seeps through the brass floor plates. These plates are perforated with small holes that allow it to act as a sieve and keep the grain bed intact.

Anyway, this lauter tuns original rakes weren’t included with its purchase, so we designed and fabricated a new set.

The following pictures show some of the progression from initial design to the final product.

We finally got the insulation jacket wrapped up on this tank at the new brew house project. As usual, the first picture ...
06/16/2022

We finally got the insulation jacket wrapped up on this tank at the new brew house project. As usual, the first picture shows the finished product, and the following pictures show some of the process in fitting/mounting the insulation jacket.

This particular vessel is called a lauter tun. It’s used to extract the wort from a mash. The wort eventually becomes beer after some more fine tuning and fermentation.

Much like the rest of the components in this project, this lauter tun was salvaged from an old brew house somewhere in Germany. Most of the vessels components were scavenged years ago, so we’ve invested a bunch of time in custom design and fabrication to get it brew worthy.

I’ll cover some of those custom components in another couple posts to come. In the mean time, enjoy all the shiny metal!

Here’s some photos of a section of chimney pipe from an old German brew kettle that needed a little TLC. Some burnishing...
05/18/2022

Here’s some photos of a section of chimney pipe from an old German brew kettle that needed a little TLC. Some burnishing, polishing and a little bit of an acid wash really brought this thing back to life.

To the best of my knowledge, this piece was cast into a floor at a German brew house years ago, and as such was covered in plaster, rust and who knows what else.

In the last photo, you can see how this piece sits above the brew kettle. Eventually there will be a motor mounted on top which will drive the mixing paddles in the kettle, and the steam will be piped through the roof from the horizontal outlet.

In this episode of random stuff built, we have a stainless steel grain chute used to funnel grain into an elevator. Ther...
01/04/2022

In this episode of random stuff built, we have a stainless steel grain chute used to funnel grain into an elevator.

There is a pneumatic hammer mounted externally on the chute which continuously shakes the grain and keeps it from binding up. The old chute needed to be replaced as it had begun to break apart from excessive hammering.

This new chute will likely meet the same fate as the old one, as all metals have a finite fatigue lifespan. With that in mind, we attached a sacrificial plate between the hammer mount and chute which can be cut off and replaced once it starts to crack. Time will tell how well that works.

As usual, the pictures show the progression of fabrication. All internal seams were TIG welded to maintain a sanitary surface for the grain, and the external seams were welded using a dual shielded fluxcore.

Earlier this spring we had the opportunity to build another roadside sign for a friends mechanic shop. We cant claim the...
11/18/2021

Earlier this spring we had the opportunity to build another roadside sign for a friends mechanic shop.

We cant claim the the logo design as that was already created sometime before. However, we still had to re-draw the logo to make it compatible with our cnc plasma cutter.

As with most of the other concept builds that we’ve done, we created a model/rendering of the finished product to review with the customer before construction.

This is a service we offer to anyone interested in any customized signs, rails, monograms, you name it!

Also, if you’re ever in need of an excellent mechanic shop in and around the Conyngham valley, call Jared down at RT93 auto repair Route 93 Auto Repair. Excellent service and excellent pricing. Thanks Jared for the business!

Some shots of a flatbed build from this last week for a local landscaping company 👍🏻👍🏻
10/26/2021

Some shots of a flatbed build from this last week for a local landscaping company 👍🏻👍🏻

Address

Sugarloaf, PA
18249

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 3pm
Tuesday 7am - 3pm
Wednesday 7am - 3pm
Thursday 7am - 3pm
Friday 7am - 3pm

Telephone

(570) 582-6071

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Zabko Welding & Inspection Services posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Zabko Welding & Inspection Services:

Shortcuts

Share

Category