Richard Mangelsdorf proved more than his abilities as a sheet metal worker when he brought the first place trophy home to BC from the competition at the Annual Canadian Conference of Sheet Metal Workers and Roofers, held this summer in Quebec City.   He also proved he’s an all-around nice guy to work with.

Mangelsdorf, an employee of Austin Metal Fabricators LP who turned journey on March 28 of this year, says winning the award was partly about skill and partly about good planning.

“I put in  a lot of hours practising because I’d not done much work with copper. I’d come in after work and practice special seams and things too. They told us what to expect, and there’s usually a wired edge, a grooved seam and an elbow lock, so I thought I’d get those down pat and take the rest as it came.”

The two-day competition comprises of a theory test, a drafting exam and a shop project – a copper and brass lantern. Jud Martell, training co-ordinator at the Sheet Metal Workers Training Centre where Mangelsdorf was trained says competitors are judged on drafting, quality of hand skills, machine skills and other competencies, and that it was no surprise when Mangelsdorf won.

“It was all him,” says Martell. “Richard put in the extra effort to come in on weekends and practise. He won our annual contest last October in the HVAC field and from there went to the International Training Institute’s regional competition where he was our strongest competitor. That’s how he won his spot at the Canadian.”

Mangelsdorf says his meticulous work in the drafting section was probably what won him the award. 

“In drafting you can lose marks very quickly, so I spent every last second making sure my drawing was perfect. I was doing a squared to round elbow, and I even drew forming instructions on the pattern and spent 15 or 20 minutes erasing all the extra lines. I made it as perfect as possible, so I knew that as long as I didn’t screw up the project I’d be all right.”

Mangelsdorf’s project was anything but “screwed up.” The base is a taper with a wired edge on one end and an elbow lock on the other. The following piece is a round to hex, and everything is done with grooved seams. It has a quarter-inch out on it, and a standing seam in brass, and the piece that attaches is a six-sided brass piece with alternating fleur de lis and maple leafs. 

The top is another hex to round and a two-inch collar on top with a brass centre  –  a sort of collar within a collar. The copper collar has a double seam on both sides and the piece is finished with a copper handle.

Regarded by some as a higher achievement, Mangelsdorf also took the Congeniality Prize, voted by the other contestants for workmanship and personal achievement. “It’s the award that says, ‘This is the guy I’d want to work with,’” says Martell.

“That was pretty cool because it had nothing to do with skill,” says Mangelsdorf. “It’s nice to get that sort of award. I’d practised a lot so I knew I’d do decent on the competition, but the Congeniality Award really surprised me.”

But he seems to be the only person surprised by the honour. “Not only is he a good sheet metal worker, he’s also a fantastic person,” says Bob Pascuzzi, chief instructor at the Training Centre. “That was his character in class too. He spent time helping the instructors and with students who were struggling.” 

Mangelsdorf says he wasn’t nervous going in because he’d received a lot of support from his employers at Austin Metal Fabricators LP and from others in the industry. “I knew that no matter how I did, everyone just wanted me to go and learn new things and have some fun. 

“It was a great experience,” says Mangelsdorf. “I was really proud to be able to represent my local so well and it was really good to have both Brad and I come back with the first prize plaques.” Brad Wall, also a member of the Sheet Metal, Roofers, and Production Workers Local 280, took first place in the roofing competition.n