Metal Fabrication Nation
Metal Fabrication Nation is real talk for welders, fabricators, shop owners, foremen, estimators, and the people building the metal fabrication industry. Hosted by Greg Sheldon, the show covers shop-floor lessons, field work, business, leadership, technology, AI, American manufacturing, and the future of the trades. Real shops. Real metal. Real talk.
Episodes
13 episodes
Stop Blaming Junior Estimators You Never Trained
You hired a junior estimator, handed them a spreadsheet and expected accurate quotes. But nobody had time to teach them... so where were those skills supposed to come from?In this episode of Metal Fabrication Nation, Greg Sheldon breaks ...
Why Good Fabrication Jobs Lose Money | FabProfit Webinar Replay
You win the job. The price looks good. Then the extra hours start adding up, and the profit you thought you had starts disappearing.In this episode of Metal Fabrication Nation, I’m sharing the audio from my FabProfit webinar about estima...
Are YOU the Reason Your Shop is Hell? (The Brutal Truth)
“Nobody wants to work anymore.”“Young people have no work ethic.”“Welders aren’t loyal.”“Fitters will go down the road for a dollar or two more.”Sound familiar?But here is the harder question: What if YOU are the p...
OFF TOPIC, Kinda: Could One Person Take Down the Alcohol Industry?
Yes, I’m talking about alcohol again. Last episode I talked about addiction in the trades and what the person trapped inside it is actually going through. This time, I’m going after the culture and the industry that have made alcoho...
They Promised They’d Stop. They Meant It.
Yes, this is about the metal trades. But this episode goes somewhere our industry rarely goes. How can someone swear they are finished in the morning, then return to the same substance that night, while meaning it both times? I take you inside ...
Two Factions: Are We Building Our Own Prison?
As AI becomes woven into every part of society, are we building the greatest tool in human history, or something we’ll one day regret?This episode explores the questions surrounding AI, privacy, convenience, power, and the future we’re c...
Two Factions: AI or Anti-AI?
As AI becomes part of everyday life and work, are we heading toward two distinct groups; those who embrace it and those who choose to avoid it?In this episode, I explore whether that divide is already forming, what it could mean for the ...
The Chinese Belt & Road Threat and How to Protect Your Shop
Are you tired of losing bids to dirt-cheap overseas suppliers? The Chinese Belt & Road Initiative is a massive global machine designed to undercut your local fabrication shop. But slashing your margins and racing to the bottom is not the an...
Why Talented Tradesmen Get Fired
Nobody owes you a career. In this episode of Metal Fabrication Nation, Greg Sheldon drops a massive wake-up call for young tradespeople.Why do highly talented welders fail while average workers become indispensable? Greg reveals...
Men Carry More Than Steel
In this raw, personal episode of Metal Fabrication Nation, I talk about divorce, fatherhood, court pressure, anger, control, faith, and what men in the trades carry when nobody is watching.This is not a polished episode.It is real...
Great Welder. Bad Leader.
Some foremen aren’t leaders. They’re just good welders with a title and a bad attitude. This episode calls out the promotion mistake too many shops keep making.#Welding #MetalFabrication #ShopLife #BlueCollar #SkilledTrades
Nobody Wants to Work? Or Nobody Wants to Lead?
The welding and fabrication industry keeps saying it wants young people, but too many shops are terrible at training them. In this episode, Greg Sheldon calls out the excuses, weak leadership, toxic shop culture, and old-school attitudes that a...