Gasflow Through Your Soldering Iron

Your soldering iron is not a complicated unit. Look at it as a gas vessel. Your regulator, you guessed it, regulates gas that travels through your hose and then up through your soldering iron. The “gas nozzle” is what filters the gas flow so that it can be ignited properly in the chamber of the soldering iron. If you are not getting strong gas flow, it’s 99% of the time because this gas nozzle has been clogged with impurities.

One More Tip – When you are soldering, remember to turn down the heat once your copper tip has become hot enough to melt solder. An iron that runs at full heat will not only wear out the copper tip at a faster rate, but will also create a tougher environment to create a clean soldering job.

Use Less Roof Brackets

Notice how easily staging can be set up when utilizing the Slator.
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Back in the day, one of the most depressing sights on a hip roof was to see one slate missing way up high. A hook ladder wasn’t an option because there was no ridge and setting up jacks was a pain for 1 slate. The Slator is a long overdue roofing accessory that clamps on to the bottom rung of a ladder. A steel plate that extends about is nailed safely in to a rafter. It makes for a quick slate repair in awkward places.

Wuko Handle for Deep Bends & Support

It’s relatively rare to make deep bends with the uni bender but it does come with this handle that can be grabbed for leverage. Some people think that it should be used when using the tool regularly and that is not the case. Gripping the Wuko from the underside is the ideal position to bend. It gives you the leverage to turn upward when the rolling occurs. It will also deliver Popeye forearms.

Snow Guard Selection & Installment

Snow guards should be installed at a much higher rate than they currently are.  Are contractors unaware of their importance?  Is up-selling snow guards a sensitive topic?

It is safe to say that majority of homeowners are clueless to the issues that arise from failing to install guards and it is up to you, the roofer, to explain this to them. Snow avalanches from a roof can destroy gutters/downspouts, decking/shrubbery, and with unfortunate timing can cause bodily harm.  In the picture above, the Berger #100 series copper snow guard is installed.  You can see that the amount of pressure put on these guards over time has caused guard failure.  A better option would have been the PRO100 Berger Copper Snow Guard with an extra gusset for additional support. Give credit to the installer for not totally ignoring the installation, but keep in mind that snow guard selection is important.  These kind of issues ultimately reflect on you and your companies reputation over time. This picture was provided by DVC Roofing who see poor installs on a daily basis and has garnered the reputation for fixing mistakes.

Understanding Metric – 25mm to 35mm

How can one of the most forward thinking countries be stuck on the imperial system? Even the name sounds old. Quick make a bend that’s 25 mm. Huh? Americans are not used to this. The US is one of 3 countries that still use Imperial. Believe it or not, Metric makes sense with round numbers. 10 millimeters make up a centimeter. 100 centimeters make up a meter. This means nothing though when we use inches and feet.
Some of the tools we import come from Europe and they will have a metric scribe on them. How can we quickly convert inches to MM? Rule of thumb, 25 MM = 1 Inch.. Technically it’s .984252. When dealing with metal bends, the most common depth is 25mm and 35mm. This is what all of the seaming anvils are designed to accommodate. Hopefully this blurb makes looking at millimeters less confusing.

Perfect Bender Offset & Spacing

The Perfect Bender is a roll bender which is offset to allow to bend past 90°. This is ideal when working with painted steel as your wheel will not scratch the material. You can also notice the spacing in this picture which is wider than 3/8″. This is useful for bending up profiles and hems.