The steadfast rule in our shop is that anything we build that people can go into, onto, or under needs to be engineered and then fabricated to those beefy standards. Typically, we design the structural components in-house suggesting what it will be built from and how it will go together. Decades of hands-on experience has taught us plenty. Then we submit these designs to our engineer for review, and he makes adjustments if necessary. On most occasions the changes are pretty minor. Once we have a stamped set of plans in hand we can proceed. Guests will see little of the structures we build as they are largely hidden by the pretty skin we sculpt over them. Even so the welded, structural steel get just as much attention as the outside. Today, I spent my time plasma cutting steel, fitting, and welding many pieces in place on the lower, smaller section of the giant pump body. The steel is 5/8” thick and heavy duty. Each piece needed to be bevelled and then welded in place with multiple passes. These gussets will ensure it stands tall, for many years to come. The large base and gussets will be hidden with a fancy steel skirt. The top gussets will be plated with 10 gage steel so the pump tapers smoothly from the larger upper section. Stay tuned for more progress…