Tough Decision

Hey Everyone. I want to start by saying it has been a pleasure working with everyone in the maple syrup community over the last years. Developing my line of equipment has been a challenge and rewarding task. This last year was a great year for us, and by how the weather turned out it sounds like it was a good season as well.

As some know from previous posts, I work full time as a welder at a local manufacturing business. Managing  Wegner Metal Works which has turned into an almost full time job in itself, working full time, and trying to properly fulfill my role as a husband and father has been getting harder by the year.  My wife and I sat down and looked over all the details and decided that it would be best for our family if we closed.  It was a difficult decision to close something that was running so well and that I worked so hard to get established. I think the long term effects will be far more positive this way, than having a few more dollars in the bank at the end of the year.

God has always provided for us and will continue to in the future however He sees fit.
Psalms 37:23-24  23The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way. 24Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholds him with his hand. 


Thank you for all the kind words of support and for choosing Wegner Metal Works as your equipment choice.  I may pick this back up after the kids are in college or older so you may see them again in the future!

Andy Wegner
Wegner Metal Works LLC

Special size pans

We have 9 custom dimension type pans available. They measuer 19.5"w x 37.5"l x 12"h.  The material is our typical 22ga polished stainless. The seams are TIG welded as usual, and can have fittings welded per your request. These would work great for either a large finishing unit or evaporator pan. They also come with a lid to cover your contents. I originaly posted a price of $400 and would be willing to lower to $375 for pan with lid + fitting of your choice and location. Might be open to offers. $75 for filter tray. Contact me to get one!! 920-660-6646 or by email andy@wegnermetalworks.com.

Getting ready and some exciting updates

Its been a while since my last post....sorry.  Alot has been going on in the shop this last couple months. That and having a busy family we needed to take some time to enjoy the summer weather and the outdoors. Its time to get a move on with equipment and ground myself..not literally because taking a shock from a TIG welder hurts and would prefer the table to be the path to ground...  :-) 

Anyhow. One hard decision we had to make this season was that of how to approach it. Being that I still do work a full time job at a local manufacturing facility we did from time to time hire friends to help during the busy times. Several factors played into our decision, but my wife decided she would like to take a more active role at WEGNER METAL WORKS. She put her career on the back burner and is working as a team with me. For now she is doing mostly prep work, finishing, and shipping. I will remain the welder/fabricator while she takes on some logistics, accounting and various secretarial duties. She and I are very excited to now be more focused on the same goal.

The last couple weeks have been dedicated to getting caught up on orders and get our inventory of hydrometer cups built.

 

 

 Also, didnt want to say too much until it actually happened. There will be some new products "rolling" out of our shop. Blitz Cycleworks is the new handmade bicycle frame builder in Green Bay. I took a couple week trip to the west coast for a framebuilding course.  The first Blitz bike was born there. I will be specializing in Titanium handmade cycles. Steel is always a more economical option too.

My first Titanium build. Custom geometry 29er to fit me. Sram X9 2x10 parts group, Rock Shox Reba RLT fork. Chris King headset. A nothing special stock set of DT Swiss wheels with Tubless tires. The frame weighs in at 3lbs 8oz. Weight with steel pedals and heavy wheels is 25lbs. Could easily be lighter with some carbon upgrades. I raced it last weekend and finished the 40 mile 4,000 ft climb, course 14 minutes faster than last year. I'm in love with the smooth and light ride a Ti bike has to offer. 

 

If you are a cyclist or would just like to check out what's going on at Blitz Cycleworks you can follow on Facebook.  https://www.facebook.com/BlitzCycleworks. I'll be ready to accept frame orders in the next month. Still getting equipment installed and misc pieces ready to go.

 

 

LIVESTRONG FOUNDATION

Last year I had the opportunity to ride in the Tour de Road America

For the last few years I was able to make a donation to the LIVESTRONG foundation through the Tour. Riding as many laps on the beloved track Road America!!  This year I would like to raise $2,000 to support the foundation.Follow this link if you would like to contribute to the foundation. LIVESTRONG GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISER. All donations made will be matched by a generous donor until 5/31/12!! TWICE AS STRONG!!! 

A little history in from my family.  Shortly after my wife and I were married my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. She lost her battle a few years later. I also have an aunt who was diagnosed with cancer and also lost her battle a couple short years later. 

Since that time I have had several family members and friends who have won their battles with cancer and some who have, unfortunately, lost. Cancer is now the worlds leading cause of death. However every year the technology that is being developed is helping prevent, or cure cancer like never before. Please consider making a donation today!!

Now what!?

Well as everybody experienced, it was a very short season. We didn't produce much syrup at all... A little disappointing but was a good R&D year for us with the equipment. Time to clean up the shop and start working on next year's products.  Being that I spent so many hours in the shop and working during the winter... I need something to get back in shape right?

Well this early warm weather has proven to be quite accomidating to my other favorite activity.... Cycling.Riding on a local team, the Titletown Flyers, puts me back to race diet and plenty of saddle time.

This weekend a few of us will be biking a 100 mile race called the Dairy Roubaix and will be a challenge. Mostly on gravel and maintanance roads, I will be riding my Cyclocross bike(pictured).  WORS is the big Wisconsin off road racing series and will be doing a few of those.  The ones I'm really excited about are the Wausau 24 hr race and the Chequamegon Fat Tire 40.

 This year I am working on making and racing my own bicycle frames.  Starting with chromoly until I finish my Titanium tig course in August. Then will be making custom Titanium and Chromoly frames.

As of now I am getting tooling and parts to complete my first frame. So kind of taking things as they go.

Let it begin!!

Some of our plans have changed and we didnt have much time to get our things together. We are tapping our own trees this year, instead of just helping out on others.  I couldnt decide which heat source I wanted to go with, propane or wood. We are only doing 20 taps and aren't going too crazy. I did end up deciding this week we are doing wood and made a simple cinder block arch today. If we had known all along that we would be tapping our own trees. I would have made myself one of the sweet arches that I made for sale last year.  We tapped yesterday and checked this afternoon. Not much doing but weather wasn't prime either. We ended up with a gallon or so of sap so nothing worth cooking.  We did want to do a test boil on the arch to see how it was and what we need to tweak before the real stuff is on.  We had a good boil in about 25 minutes and hard boil in 30-35. This being said, I am not the best fire starter and some of that time was me trying to get the fire going. Gasket for the top is in order this week. Flue slots on the front plate, and dividers in the pan are also called for. Overall I'm satisfied with the start and look forward to the fun we will have this season.

Shop pics

 A good friend of mine designed this label for me and we just received them back from printing. We are excited to have these on our pans from now on!!

 I got this idea from another blog of a fabricator who also works with stainless. Thought the concept was great. Saves paper, laquer thinner wipes it clean.

 This pan is for the same friend who designed the logo. He is a photographer and I thougt he would like the perspectives and abstract pics of this phase of the pan.  Its a 3 x 4 continuous flow pan with a draw off box.

A little fun

Thought I'd post a fun picture.  This fall I tried my biking skills in Cyclocross and found it to be one of the most exciting type of bike racing that I've done so far.  European influence in this sport is proven through the ringing of bells. You've probably heard them in the Olympics when held in European countries.  Well the size of the bells is typically small and have a mid to high pitch sound.   A friend of mine and I had the idea, while watching our first cyclocross race, to make the MEGA BELL.  I acted on that and came up with this. The common sized bell is pictured in front of the bell I made.  My family rang, as best they could, as I raced in Milwaukee and man is it loud!!  It turned some heads and got some serious attention. It measures 22" tall and weighs 15lbs. Made of 14ga stainless and then grained by hand.

Finishing pans/ hydrometer cups

Things have been steady around the shop and its been a while since I've posted pictures so here we go.

Stack of 15 x 15 finishing pans waiting to be polished and have fittings welded in. There's another stack behind but I was trying to be creative with the best angle(trying not to catch the shop clutter in the picture)

Showing one of the stages of a partial order of some hydrometer cups for a customer. These are 1.5 x 9 that this customer prefers. I do also offer the 2 x 8 cups. These will all have handles welded on and be polished before shipping.

New Year Sale

I have run specials on a couple of my pan sizes and now its time to run the 2 x 2.  From now til January 8 I am offering them for $230. Normal price on the 2 x 2 is $250.  Be sure to mention this post to get in on the deal.  I do also have stainless valves available for $25 each. I found a new supplier this year and these are even better than last year's valves.  Both are good quality but I like these better.

Recovery

Happy new year...early.  Well anyway, I hope you had a great Christmas with families and friends. I know it is usually hectic trying to fit all the visits in. 

My wife is still in the hospital recovering and we are hoping she will be home today or tomorrow. Praise the Lord the surgery went very well and the doctor was very pleased with the results. Luckily I have some great friends who have been available to help in the shop while I was away with my wife.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! I hope you enjoy this season with friends and family. Remember what this season is for and that Christ is Christmas.  

We did enjoy our day yesterday with my mom, dad and brother. Lots of traveling and eating...good combo.  Dylan and Parker will be in the Christmas morning program at our church then off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for yet another Christmas.  This year we are really enjoying the time with family and relaxing before Abby's surgery on Tuesday.  Thank you for your notes and emails letting us know you are praying. They have been encouraging.   God has been good to us through everything!!

Time to finish my coffee and get going.... have a great day everyone.

Well December has proven to be a busy month so far!! I love this time of year when we can look forward to snow, seeing family, and being together. Can't wait to see the reaction on my boys faces Christmas morning. We are keeping things smiple this Christmas and focusing on the real reason why we celebrate.
My youngest is having his tonsils,adnoids removed and tubes put in his ears on Wednesday so please pray for him. My wife will also be having a major operation on the 27th and will be recovering for 4-6 weeks. Please keep her and me in prayer at that time. One of the things I love about the people I have had the oportunity to meet and talk to in the maple syrup community, is that I have been encouraged from other Christians, and hopefully was an encouragement also. We know that God will provide, and take care of us according to how He sees fit. I'm good with that.

I finally was able to fix some pricing, picture, and product things that needed to be addressed. I added the 16 x 30 pan set, and 2 x 4 pans to the product listing. Updated a few pictures, and prices on the upgraded design that we implimented for the upcoming season.

We are shipping to Canada

I've had several emails lately asking about shippments to Canada. We will happily ship our smaller pans via USPS to Canada. Although we are unable to ship our 2 x 3's or larger.  Email for a quote on shipping prices if interested. Andy@wegnermetalworks.com

2 x 4 flat pan

As of today Sunday, December 4. I'm down to my last 2 x 4 flat pan. These have sold better than my predictions this year. $350 + shipping will buy you a pan that you will love the look and performance of.

I know you will be satisfied when you open that brown box.  Due to my work schedule and my wife having major surgery at the end of December I most likely have all my stock premade for the season.  We have a full inventory of all my stock sizes 2 x 3, 2 x 2, 16 x 30, preheaters, and 15 x 15 filter/bottling pans.  Email me or call for order info  andy@wegnermetalworks.com, 920-660-6646

Email

I apologize if any emails have been kicked back to you.  In this day and age of mobile technology, I've been doing most of my emailing on my phone, and not on my webserver. Well anyway, my email box was full of 900+ emails. So I emptied and tested, and we are good to go.  If you have received an email kick back, please re-send and I will reply promptly.

Thank you
Andy

Holiday special 16 x 30 pan sets

We will be selling our 16 x 30 pan sets for $300 from today until the end of the month.

The set includes a 16 x 30 x 7 main pan with 1/2" Npt fitting for drain, and a 16 x 10 x 6 feeder pan with 1/2" npt fitting for drain.

(stainless ball valve are available seperately for $25 ea)

Winter fun

Well we've been busy plugging away in the shop. We have a good inventory of standard pans, and have wrapped up a few custom jobs as well. We've been receiving great feedback from our customers on the improvements we've made to our design. I'm very satisfied with how things are looking for 2012 sap season.

Those who know me, know how much I love racing. Well this year was a good year of racing.  I started with running the Bellin 10k. Then I ran the Tough Mudder which lived up to its claims of "probably the toughest event on the planet". That was 11 miles up and down ski hills with 25 military obstacles. The week after I ran the Lambeau 5k, which was cool because it had us run through the Packers tunnel and around the football field to the finish line.   Then to Cycling.  The reforestation ramble was a 24 mile cross country mountain bike race. We use that as a gauge to what shape we were in for the Fat Tire 40 which was a 40 mile point to point cross country bike race. I felt like dying during that one.  I raced the last of the 2011 WORS series race in Sheboygan about a month ago. Somewhere in the middle there was the ALMS races at Road America. I had the opportunity to participate in an awesome fundraiser called the Tour de Road America. We got to ride the race track for a few hours and proceeds went to the Livestrong, and Austin Hatcher foundations.

 





 Cyclocross season kicked off and I did my first race in that series in Milwaukee at Estabrook park. Next is the Wizard cross in Madison on December 4. That should cap off the cycling race season. Then my sole focus will be on our pans and syrup season.  Well that and staying in shape for next racing season.

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 My next experiment will be including some pieces that will have some smiliarities to this....

Putting things in full swing

Things are in full swing in the shop, and I believe seeing the progress being made is giving me more entheusiasm for the upcoming season. We are working on a few new things, but don't know if it will make it for spring 2012.  Thank you for following. I hear weekly from people who have been watching us grow, and like where we are going.  Another great thing is hearing from customers who purchased last year or the year before, wanting to expand and purchase larger pans.  I'm looking forward to a new prospective place to boil this coming season. I know the boys will love it too!!

Please refer to our pricing on the blog for current pricing. I'm not too tech savy and trying to get around to new pictures and pricing on the website.

Coldstone Creamery pan

I've been busy trying to juggle, overtime,family and the buisness. I've been in the shop as much as possible, and trying to keep up with orders. I apologize for any delays in shipments. I'm looking forward to what the next season will bring. My syrup is getting low and can't wait to get some more fresh. I'm still limiting custom orders until I feel more comfortable with my stock sized pans.

While working on stock size pans and inventory for the 2012 season I also have done a few custom stainless pieces. One I just finished is a Freezer drain pan for the Coldstone Creamery.