Online Metals Blog

With the recent fire in our server storage building, and the new OLM location opening up, we thought it was time to update our office’s safety signs.

Here were some of our favorites:

What would you Twitter? “I’m on fire?”





Side Note: We do not sleep on the job! (We nap.)





Oh yeah, that’s going up at lunch!





Love it!

News bulletin: Marketing Director promises to inform customers in spite of the IT guy!!!

In yet another Chris v. Amber battle to the death, the combatants argue over where we should announce that “MTR’s, test reports, and certs are all FREE at OnlineMetals!”

The question is where should the message go, and when will the actual code updates take place!

Yes, we’re busy. Yes, we’re opening a new location. But damnit, the people must know about our amazingly awesome, FREE services.  (And that fact that other un-named competitors don’t offer free MTR’s and aren’t at all awesome!)

So maybe, I can’t put it in text. Maybe I can’t make the message bolder in the shopping cart.

But I DO have Photoshop…and I CAN make a button!!!

And it will go on the home page! Oh yes, Chris. It will!!!

Today in fact!
(If you’ll put it up there for me.)

Pleeeeeeeeease?

That’s what I thought!
Oh, it’s good to be right.

That is all,
Amber

I know I’ve talked about the amazing time we had at MakerFaire this summer, and all of the outstanding people we met. Today, I got an e-mail from one of them, which I had to share with you:

Hi Amber,

My name is James. We met at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. You asked if I would mind sending you some information on how we use your products. Well, I’ve attached a jpeg to this message. I’m the machinist/rocketry nut on the right. 8^)

That little toy has had several test flights, but the big event is coming up on September 21st. Out at the Black Rock desert in northern Nevada, we’ll be launching this completely amateur built two stage rocket to an altitude of 18 miles above the Earth. It will burn 60 pounds of amateur made propellant in under 12 seconds, and achieve Mach 3.1 (2300+ MPH) at it’s top speed. In addition to the 7 on-board flight computers, it carries a digital video camera, and we’re hoping to get video that will include the darkness of space above the atmosphere, and possibly a view of the Pacific Ocean from Nevada. The bird does carry a GPS based telemetry system, to help locate it after the flight. If the recovery systems work as planned, and the jet-stream stays away, recovery should be well within a few miles of the launch point. (We DO have an authorized class 3 waiver from the FAA to launch this. Getting that waiver wasn’t easy.)

As to your metals in the project, the nosecone tip, the sustainer airframe coupler and recovery attachment bulkhead are all Online Metals 6061 T-6 aluminum. The sustainer motor casing and bulkhead were turned from some 4″ 6061 we bought from you. And there are several parts in the booster airframe supporting the booster motor that were turned from aluminum we purchased from Online Metals, as well as the piston head inside the interstage coupler. That piston forces separation of the stages at booster motor burnout, 3 seconds before the sustainer motor ignites. All of this is controlled by the on-board computers.

I have full confidence in the design and all of the metal parts we used, but we’re not allowed to use all-metal construction. I hope the fiberglass and carbon used in the interstage coupler are up to the task. The booster motor will produce a ton of thrust at start up, and this beast will pull 12 G’s off the launch pad. That’s a lot of pressure on the ISC. Essentially, at launch, that sustainer will weigh over 460 pounds for over five seconds. We’re going to find out if the ISC is up to the task. That’s for sure. 8^)

After the flight, I’ll let you know how it went… Wish us luck!

James,
HOW COOL!!! Thanks for sharing this project! Everyone here at OnlineMetals wishes you the best of luck! Kick some butt, and share a few more pictures when you’ve got em’! We’d love to hear about the flight itself, and everything you learned after your rocket returns from space.

Here’s a sample of what’s new…

But you can click here to see all of our NEW PRODUCTS:

(And yes, I do think it’s pretty funny that the first thing listed is a link right back to our blog. Some people still don’t know about it, so we’re keeping the link up there!)

We’ve got a Yelp profile, with WAY too few reviews. If you’re a Yelper, please rate us. Tell people what you think!

Thanks in advance,
OnlineMetals.com

OnlineMetals Yelp Profile

Ballard is one of Seattle’s neighborhoods. OK, so it’s the best neighborhood in Seattle, if you ask any of the OLMers who live here.

IT Chris, and Marketing Amber (me) swap stories about local events, and get the latest scoop on MyBallard.com

Well today, I came around the corner to find Chris grinning from ear to ear about something…and I had to know what.

Turns out he was blogging on MyBallard.com. He’d suggested that a new neighbor come visit us, and this was the thread that followed:

• royhobbs
  Shopping for stainless sheet? Should have come over to OnlineMetals or bought it on our website. No sharp edges!

  /full disclosure: I work there.
• Silver
  Hey Roy! I’ve been to your shop! And your website ROCKS!
  This is my favorite quote:

  “Proper Steel Handling Instructions…

  Kids, I can not stress enough the importance of properly maintaining your steel products.

  When steam cleaning your tank car, do not immediately seal it up, and then leave for the night.

  This is what happens: ”

  http://blog.onlinemetals.com/?p=134

So now I’m grinning from ear to ear too. When Chris and I set up the blog, we wanted it to be a place to share genuinely cool information, in a fun and witty way. It’s great to see that people really are enjoying what we’ve posted so far.

So welcome to Ballard Delancey Pizza, and thanks to MyBallard, and Silver. You rule!

Click on our name to become a fan!

John Page makes some AMAZING guitars.

He’s been an OnlineMetals customer for years, and we know he’s done some beautiful things with our Nickel Silver sheet, so we asked for pictures that we could post on blog.

Boy…did he come through!

For this project, he used nickel silver plate as a full pickguard, hand cut with a Celtic Knot motif, polished to a high gloss.

Here it’s used as a pickup trimguard, with a brushed finish.

This is also a pickup trimguard, but this time overlayed with Abalone shell. The luster of the nickel silver shines through the thin layer of Abalone and the highly polished edge sets off the whole thing.

Here he’s used the nickel silver sheet, again overlayed with Abalone, as a truss rod cover on his peghead.

All of John’s guitars are hand-built and can be seen at www.johnpageguitars.com

Thanks John, these are amazing!!!

Yes, we’re doing both. We’re opening a second location in Toledo. (This fall!) and we’re selling Tygon Tubing by the foot. (Any day now?)

But all of this new location stuff is getting in the way of my per foot Tygon Tube launch.

…and I wonder if you’re as frustrated about that as I am!!!

Well? Are you? Do you want tygon tube by the foot? Let us know!

Cause fishpond building season is coming to an end…and there are so many computer nerds who can’t build their water cooling systems without OnlineMetals per foot tube!

In our never ending quest for more customer resources at OnlineMetals.com, we decided to pay some attention to the links page.

Now, although I feel like I’ve mentioned this before, I want you to have a real life example of how helpful our site really is!

Today a customer called and asked about 1.5mm rivets. Yeah…seriously teenie tiny stuff!

“I need to fabricate 8 of them. Do you have stainless steel wire that small?”

So, I could’ve said yes…but I knew this guy had options, and I wanted to give him the best options possible!

“Well, yeah! Our 302 Stainless Wire is that thin, even thinner if you need it. We sell it in 1lb rolls.”

I e-mailed the link to him as I said it.

But if you only need 8, maybe I should put you in touch with one of our Affiliates, who handles super small rivets, specifically.

(And yes, I CAN say that three times fast!)

So, while I had him on the phone, I bopped over to our links page, and found the link for Scale Hardware, www.scalehardware.com A company who’s been an OnlineMetals affiliate for years, and who I knew, sold 1.5mm rivets, pre-made. In packets of 100, so there are plenty of spares.

I say “spares,” as in, “I’ll need the spares, when I accidentally drop half the bag into the carpeting in my living room because I was too excited when I opened the package.”

But anyway, the customer thanked me for being so helpful, ordered some other material, and spent the evening deciding which option to chose in his rivet fabrication project.

…and I went back to my marketing tasks, feeling good about the call.

Because, although we want to earn your business whenever possible, we want you to know that we’re looking out for you too. OLM is doing well because we offer low cost, small quantity options, and we work hard to find the right fit for your project.

Whether it’s with us, our Commercial/Industrial divisions, nation wide. (When you need a couple of pallets of something) or one of our affiliate companies. Customer service is #1.

So anyway, that’s my story. Check out our links page, and sign up for the affiliate program! Earn cash and customers! Yaaaaaaay!