Would this be the Dixie Sheetmetal in Falls Church VA. by any chance? I went there to get the 3" square tube to fabricate my hitch bumper for my Vanagon. The guy at first told me I had to buy a 20' section for $995.00. I told him I just needed 6' and the was no way in hell I was buying a 20' piece. As we walked around the place, I noticed in their dumpster a piece of square 3x3" sticking out. It was 7 feet long. Perfect. Now, this had been "trash" but suddenly it was worth $30.00! A fair price I figured, but the guy did joke that had I come by after closing time I could have had it for free. I told him I was making a bumper for a pick up truck. Saying it was for a Vanagon only would have confused him. I have bought other stuff from them over the years, and when I was learning to weld they let me have scraps out of their dumpster to practice on. 

Jeff Stewart 

----- Original Message -----

Rust Demons IV- Sheeetmetal 

Yesterday I went to Dixie Metalwork to get some sheet metal to replace a 
piece of paneling on my truck. With a special THANX to Ken W. for finding 
me the panel, I decided to try my hand at cutting and patching first. So in 
I go to Dixie Metalwork not knowing what kind of metal I needed but thinking 
this should be easy with these experts to help me. So of course I meet a 
fine specimen of Southern Hospitality I shall call BillyBob, and the 
conversation gets as mired down as a Westy Syncro in the bayou with all our 
toolboxes on board. When I was growing up in New York the longest word in 
the English language was antidisestablishmentarianism. Down south they have 
an even longer word, I won’t spell it out in this polite company, but 
BillyBob sounded out sheet metal as “sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetmetal”. For 
the brevity of this post and to save a lot of letters, I’ll abbreviate my 
new word as sh*tmetal for the duration of this post. Now you know what I’m 
talkin’ about. I must admit I ain’t got no accent, but BillyBob gots 
hisself some kinda speech impediment, ‘cause we is not communicating. As 
the man once said, “What we have heah, is a failuya tocommunicate.” After 
much gesticulation and pointing on both our parts, my sheet metal never 
linked up with BillyBobs sh*tmetal. In desperation I took BillyBob out to 
my truck and pointed at the rusty panel. His only comment I could 
comprehend was, “That ain’t no truuuuck, get you a Chevy.” So I left Dixie 
Metalwork empty handed and almost empty headed, but I got a new word out of 
the deal, sh*tmetal. We are a common people separated by a common language. 
. 
Perhaps I may have wondered just a Wii bit from the topic. (Hey, did you 
notice that clever word play nod to the digital age?) (Let’s not start THAT 
again!) 
Anyway, when I got home I remembered there were old junker cars in the class 
and I could get metal from them. So I was ready for my auto body class, and 
didn't have to go to a store and learn a new word in the first place. So 
please don't bother reading the first part of this post. 
. 
Last night I had to cut a rather large chunk out of the louvered panel on 
the passenger side of the truck. I tried to reach the inside of the panel 
from the engine compartment to facilitate cleaning and to access the total 
rust problem. No matter how hard I tried to reach the sh*tmetal from the 
tight engine compartment, I kept banging my head on the lobotomizing framing 
member blocking me. Since this beam is in the engine compartment of my 
truck, I will call it the Auto-lobotomy Beam of Destiny. (snicker, 
snicker). With many more sparking rooster tails flowing over the bed of the 
truck, and a mental note NOT to wear open-toe sandals next week, I did the 
grinder/cutter trick again and removed a healthy chunk of the panel from the 
outside, leaving me access to clean and neutralize the remaining rust before 
welding. Then I cut a replacement panel from the hood of a junker Toyota to 
use on my truck. I hope the list won’t think less of me, or the truck for 
that matter. 
. 
Next week I will meet "Mr. Box and Pan Brake" to bend the sh*tmetal to my 
will, and I will be prepared for the Auto-lobotomy Beam of Destiny. I shall 
study either "The contortionist guide to VW maintenance" or the rather more 
adult "The 15 positions of mechanical bliss in the Karman-Ghia-Sutra." I 
shall then sneer disdainfully as I slide over, around, and pass the 
Auto-lobotomy Beam of Destiny on my way to tack weld the new sh*tmetal in 
place. 

ed- I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy