Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/138965
42 • JULY 2013 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Fencers are very giving folks Dear World Fence News: Coming into the fence world after 20 years as a carpenter, I had a serious deficiency in my skill set. While I understood structures and materials and building techniques, I was never exposed to the specific jargon and methods that fencers deal with every day. The background I had made picking up techniques and processes easier for me than, say, someone with a At Western Tube & Conduit customer satisfaction and quality are the first order of business. Our Fencepost and Fencerail production is ISO-9001:2008 certified - and our products are manufactured to meet all the applicable state, federal, industrial and regulatory specifications and requirements. While we regularly stock standardized products and sizes, we are happy to provide custom dimensions as well. All our Fence products are galvanized with high purity zinc. We use high frequency welding (ERW) to turn the highest quality strip steel into tubing, and then a continuous hot-galvanizing process to zinc-coat the products smoothly and evenly. A zinc-rich interior organic coating, a chromate conversion coating, and a clear exterior organic coating provide the complete finish package that gives them superior protection against the elements and long life as a result. Gal-Z serves customers looking for shaped Fence tubing as well as corrosion-protected mechanical tubing. It can be purchased in squares and in rectangles, and it provides excellent environmental durability while also fulfilling the need for strength and weldability. background in life insurance, but the fence industry is complex and as varied as the terrain across this great country. Even regionally, there are differing opinions among fencers about tools, techniques and materials. Fortunately, fence people are very giving folk. They will give you a hard time when you need it, they will give you their opinion, whether you need it or not, and most important, they will give you their time, when they have it, to school you in the ways of the fence business. I've spent the last year-and-a-half learning about fencing from some of the best. Last February I had the privilege of attending the NAFCA Fence Training School in Sebring Florida, which brought together experienced instructors from all over the country to teach installation, tools, and techniques to a widely varied group of students. It was great to put all the "book learning" I'd gotten talking with fencers into use as we built wood, vinyl, chain link, ornamental steel and aluminum, two kinds of agricultural wire fence, and a cantilevered gate with operator. What I learned doesn't make me an installation expert, but it gives me a much better handle on the challenges faced by installers in the field. Students who came from installation companies learned a lot more than I did about the specifics of their jobs, because their prior experience gave them context from which to ask intelligent questions. The instructors did an excellent job of providing intelligent answers as well. I've also learned in the last yearand-a-half that fence folks really care about their industry and work hard to share their concern with those they work with. It's a great industry, and those in it have every right to be proud of what they do! Mike Jacob Modern Fence Technologies East Troy, Wisconsin Editor's note: The school that Mike referred to was sponsored by the North American Fence Contractors Association (NAFCA), and was held Feb. 7–9 in Sebring, Florida. There is another NAFCA Fence Training School scheduled for Feb. 2014. The specific dates and location will be announced in the near future. Check the NAFCA web site – www.4nafca.com – for updates as they are available. Check out some of the best web sites in the fence industry at World Fence News Online! www.worldfencenews.com