New shelf for my cavalier 55d

[BrianB]

What a great day I had on monday! I went to go pick up my new shelf for my Cavalier 55D. The old shelf (that's what I call the piece of metal that seperates the refrigeration deck from the liner) was totally trashed and needed to be replaced. The guy that did the work is a Menonite that lives south of me by about an hour, but only about 15 minutes from where I work! I was kinda apprehensive about what the quality would be and how it would fit. The only reason I was a little bit weary was because I had a pretty bad experience with another fabricating shop here in So. Indiana. To make a long story short, I picked the part up and b.s.'d with the guy for awhile and made my way home to see if it would fit properly.....It fit like a GLOVE!! I couldn't have asked for a better fit! Here are some before and after pictures:

[BrianB]

Here's the after!

[BrianB]

Here's a side by side comparison:

[loman4ec]

Wow can I ask what he charged?

Wow! What a great resource you found. I sense the beginning of a beautiful friendship. '>

[BrianB]

I was astonished at the price....$50!! I took the original to him on the 25th of February and went on travel for a week and when I got back, it was done. I shot the primer just to keep it rust-free until I spotweld it into place.

[Bob K]

That's pretty amazing.  I must start looking for a menonite dude of my own... '>

[Eric]

Heck! for that price if I ever need anything can I send it to you for him to make?
He could have quite a line up of work just through here.... and We pay to ship it there and back!

[BrianB]

Eric - Sure thing! In fact I had a great conversation with Tom (the fabricator) the other day about good business practices and he mentioned to me that he relies on word of mouth. I told him that the biggest problmes I have encountered since I started fooling around with soda pop machines wasn't locating somebody to do the work but somebody that was not only turning a good product but was also timely and RELIABLE!! If you say your gonna call....CALL!!! Don't fool around with me, If you can't do the job and do it well and have it done when promised, save me the trouble. Tom agreed with me and says that he makes it a point of pride that he delivers on time and if he doesn't (rarely happens) it had better be because something serious happened.

So, I have to go see him on Monday to pick-up my refrigeration deck mounts from him. I'm sure he'll be super receptive to the idea and I'll ask him what he needs to do specific jobs (spec. sheet/dimenions/drawing) I know when I first called him, he said just a basic drawing and dimensions are good enough. Mind you though, he does not own a spot welder. He seems to make do without one though! Let me know what you think.

[BryanH]

Brian - I'd be interested in what he would charge for a set of legs for my VMC56.  Pretty simple job - 3 bolts holes to secure the leg to the base of the machine and a bolt for the leveller on the bottom.  Just needs to be strong not necessarily identical. Would be willing to let him get creative if he felt so inclined.

I've been meaning to look locally but seems like your guy might be just as easy?