Hey Look Ma, No Wheels!

In the last post I pointed out that the wheel under a gate could be eliminated if the gate were built rigid enough to support itself. 'So what', you say? There are probably millions of gates out there with a wheel under the swing end. In this post we'll look at some of the reasons that may not be the best way to build a gate.

Rather than looking at gates with wheels and why they are built that way, let's look at sound gates and how they are made so they don't need wheels. No matter what material is used to build a gate, there are certain principles of physics that apply to all gates and will affect how they should be designed.

There is a lot of opinion about bracing on gates, and most of it is based on anecdotal evidence. You will often hear a gate builder say something like, “The man who taught me this business has forgotten more about fence than most other guys know, and he said do it this way.”

   That's great, as long as he forgot all that fence stuff after he taught you! All kidding aside, it is a truth in life that the worst reason to do something in a particular way is that it has always been done that way. There should be sound reasons behind what we do, not just tradition backed by emotion. Henry Ford's dad taught him to hitch a horse to a wagon to move stuff on the farm. Fortunately, Henry didn't let that stop him from building something far better.

  In order for a gate to be strong and long lasting, it needs to be rigid.  Flex in the system will tend to loosen the connections between components of the gate, and as this looseness grows, the gate gets weaker and starts to sag and flex and even lay over. Often it is at this point that a wheel is added to keep the leading corner from dragging. This is not a solution. If I break my leg, the doctor can give me a crutch, and I can get around. If he doesn't set the bone and cast it so it can heal, (be rigid again), I'll use that crutch the rest of my life, and the longer I do, the more I wear out my shoulder, and the other joints in my body because I'm compensating for the weak leg.

In the next post we will look at the geometry of a gate and how proper bracing makes a gate stronger, and improper bracing just makes it heavier.

Some is Good, More is Better? (part 2)

The question is, “How do I hang a heavy gate”? The answer starts long before that in the design phase of the job. Simply put, the farther apart you can place your two hinges, the stronger the overall system will be. This means designing a gate with hinge points as close to the top and bottom of the gate as possible.

  Whether you are building the gate from scratch, or you already have the gate, once you know the distance between the hinges, the next factor in the equation is the width of the gate. How big is the opening? With these two numbers, and the overall weight of the gate, it is possible to compute how much rotational force, or “moment” the gate produces. This is the force that destroys hinge systems. Choosing a hinge designed to carry a given “moment” is crucial to making a strong gate system.

  The wider the opening, the longer the gate, and the greater the leverage exerted by the gate on the hinge, and the gate post. Spreading that leverage over a larger hinge distance lessens it's overall impact on the system.

I only know of one manufacturer that rates hinges using these calculations. You can find their “Proportional Load Charts” by registering at their website, www.mftfence.com, and downloading their 2013 Catalog.

  I started this installment with the statement that the farther apart your hinges are, the stronger the gate system will be. There are several ways to optimize this distance. For ornamental gates, gusseted corners can help support that weight. Never place a hinge in an unsupported area of the upright, as it will flex under load. For wood gates, consider placing hinges where top and bottom rails of the gate meet the upright. Chain link can offer some interesting variations. In industrial and commercial applications, one way to gain strength for gates on very wide openings is to build an “extension”. Extend your gate post above the fence line to the distance you want to gain between hinges, then extend the gate upright to the same height, bracing it to the top rail with a brace at no more than 45 degrees, for rigidity). 

If you look closely at this gate, you can see that it is almost as described.  The gate builder has added an extension to the top of the gate to gain strength.  Unfortunately, he is not taking advantage of this height.  He has kept the top hinge just below the top horizontal rail of his gate.  It would be a much stronger system if the top hinge were at the top of the extension.  The other flaw in this design is that the angle brace comes down at an angle greater than 45 degrees, which prevents taking advantage of it's strength to keep the gate rigid.  Notice the addition of a wheel at the bottom of the gate.  It could be eliminated, and the gate would be much stronger, if the top angle brace were attached to the top horizontal rail of the gate at the point where the lower angle braces meet in the center of the gate.  But that's a topic for the next post!

Some is Good, More is Better? or, Why Three Hinges on a Gate Isn't a Good Idea

In the past month I've talked to several fence contractors who shared the same misconception. In each case they thought that adding a third hinge to a gate would allow a heavier gate to be hung safely. There are several reasons why this is not so.

The first is that, no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to get all three hinges aligned in a straight line. There will always be a straight line between any two of the hinges, but to get all three in perfect alignment would be a tough job with a laser in perfect lab conditions, much less in the field. Why does that matter? Because the “odd man out” hinge will tend to push or pull on the gate frame, twisting it and leading to damage to both the gate and the hinge affected. To make matters worse, the hinge that is odd man out can change, depending on how far open or closed the gate is in its arc of travel.

Several of the contractors I talked to pointed out that the doors on their house have three hinges. That's often the case, and as someone who worked as a carpenter for nearly twenty years, I can say that the chief reason for that is wood doors are not stable without a third hinge. The center hinge on a door is there to make the door more rigid, not to support the weight of the door. See the following article for deeper understanding of this. http://bit.ly/1hgisiZ

A second reason is that the weight of a gate is primarily borne by one hinge, not two, or even three. Unless you spend a lot of time perfectly balancing the hang weight of the gate from the hinges, one hinge will likely carry the bulk of the weight, most of the time. Think of an old wrought iron gate installation. The ring and pin hinges used for hundreds of years work well as an example. The bottom pin carries the weight, the top pin serves as a pivot to guide the gate through its arc and keeps it from tipping over.

“So how do I hang this heavy gate”, you ask? That's the subject of the next installment.

American Made Case Study

Give us a spin...

  Fabrication costs money. It's a fact of life when you are dealing with PVC fence. Vinyl is hard to cut, and most bits just won't stand up like the bits we had specifically designed for the punishing work of both manual routing and CNC routing machines. Our open flute design gets cut material out of the way fast, so it doesn't build up and make “hotspots", and the 100% super- fine grain carbide construction makes them strong and wear resistant as anything on the market.

  These bits are designed to run at faster feed rates, which means you cut faster, and they stay cooler in high output environments. Modern Fence Technologies' router bits cut better, last longer, and put less wear and tear on your routing equipment than any other bit available.
  If you are a fabricator, you know that downtime is like a hole draining cash out of your business. Running your router longer between bit changes is only one advantage to these bits. Because they cut so effortlessly, they put much less side strain on your router, even at higher feed rates. This reduces bearing wear and prolongs the life of your equipment.
  Because it cuts more efficiently, less energy is wasted making loud noise.  These bits cut more quietly than others on the market.
  Call your MFT Rep today to learn how you can start making more
money, using the quality American made products from Modern Fence Technologies.


Cut cleaner
Cut quieter
Last longer
Run faster

Less wear on equipment

It's Not Easy, Bein' Green...Or Is It?

Modern Fence Technologies Working Toward a Sustainable Environment

Kermit the Frog said 'It's not easy bein' green', but Modern Fence Technologies is proving him wrong.

• 

Cargo ships burn low-grade "bunker fuel".

“We can afford to use better quality materials because we're not paying to ship materials and finished goods halfway around the world.” Mark Knudson

East Troy, WI (PRWEB) June 13, 2013

Recently the media has paid a lot of attention to the state of the environment and the potential for health risks and even global warming. Modern Fence Technologies is announcing its commitment to combating the destruction of the environment. “Part of our commitment to making our product here is that the people who work here want to be good stewards of the resources that we have been blessed with,” said Marge Knudson, a principal of the company.

Modern Fence Technologies practices green manufacturing to reduce the amount of waste and saves money doing it, while making gate hinges and other hardware for the fence industry. By shifting to a four day/ten hour schedule, the cost of lighting and environmental control in their manufacturing facility has been reduced significantly. In addition, all scrap materials are collected and recycled. By watching the market, scrap metals can return enough money to make a big difference on the bottom line. Even paint has been addressed, by using powder coating technology, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) associated with traditional “wet paint” are eliminated.

All of this adds up to savings for Modern Fence Technologies. “We can afford to use better quality materials because we're not paying to ship materials and finished goods halfway around the world,” Knudson's husband Mark, another principal of the company pointed out. "Using better materials means replacing them less often, which also helps the environment," he added.

Another key component of the equation is the environmental cost of international shipping. According to portoflosangeles.org, the Los Angeles/Long Beach complex receives roughly 60% of the goods imported to the United States. The California Air Resources Board has studied the effects of pollution originating in the Port, including rail and truck traffic and pointed out:

“Air Pollution from international trade and goods movement is a major public health concern at the statewide, regional and community level. Adverse health impacts from the pollutants associated with goods movement include but are not limited to premature death, cancer risk, respiratory illnesses, and increased risk of heart disease.” (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2006 April; 114(4) A-204-A205)

Modern Fence Technologies avoids these hazards by making their products in the U.S. of domestic materials, avoiding both the financial and the environmental costs associated with overseas manufacturing. “We're saving money by manufacturing here, and we're doing our part to preserve the world we've been given.” Mr. Knudson finished.

Modern Fence Technologies' April Move to Carson City Part of Long-Term Expansion Plan

Modern Fence Technologies moves into new facility with goal of expanding manufacturing to area.

In April, after nearly fifteen years, of working from rented facilities, the Modern Fence Technologies Facilities and Fleet team purchased a new property and relocated their West Coast Sales and Distribution center from Reno, Nevada to nearby Carson City. The move was undertaken to take advantage of a larger facility better suited to their operations and is a preliminary step in the long-term plan to establish a manufacturing division in Nevada.

Serving customers from the west coast and ranging to the western plains states, the sales office is managed by David Silvernale. “The move took a lot of work, but it's worth it because the space is all our own, and it's arranged to fit our needs better than before.”, Silvernale said. The new location offers flexible storage and warehouse options, while providing a spacious sales office. Contacting Modern Fence Technologies West Coast operations is just as easy as it has always been, with phone numbers remaining the same. Call (775) 331-3331 to speak to David any time, or toll-free during business hours at (888) 613-8146.

While there are still improvements being made to the exterior of the building, the office is open and ready for business. “Most customers didn't even notice the move because there was no downtime,” David Silvernale pointed out. “Phones were forwarded to our East Troy headquarters so customers were able to place orders during the move.”

As a manufacturer and distributor of American made hardware and accessories for the professional fence industry, Modern Fence Technologies has seen business surge recently on modest gains in the U.S. economy, coupled with rising costs associated with importing and a growing awareness of the distinct quality advantages of American made products, and found the need for more efficient space to keep up with customer demand. The ability to process and ship orders out of the West Coast Operations Center is critical to meeting Modern Fence Technologies commitment to controlling shipping costs and lead times for customers.

Modern Fence Technologies: Taking the Guess Work Out of Choosing the Right Hinge

Modern Fence Technologies announced today that they are once again improving the fence industry by making it possible to select a gate hinge based on the dimensions and weight of any gate. Until now, selecting a hinge was largely based on experience. Knowing that a hinge had supported a similar gate in the past allowed a contractor to “guess” that a similar hinge would support a current gate.


Over the past year, Modern Fence Technologies has taken a scientific approach to the problem, working out the physics of hinges to determine the true load that a gate generates. They have then gone the next step and rated their entire line of hinges based on these calculations to allow fence installers and job specifiers to determine exactly which hinge will be best for their application.


“The simplest way to describe the way this works is to say that knowing the width of the opening, the weight and style of the gate, and the distance separating the two hinges, it is possible to determine how much force is exerted on the hinge. Remember, the wider the opening, or the closer together the hinges are, the more load is placed on each hinge,” said Mike Jacob, a representative of the company.


The purpose of this research was to help fence professionals save time and money by selecting the proper hinge for each particular gate. It has already been used by several Modern Fence Technologies customers to eliminate the possibility of hinge failure due to undersized hinges.


In an early application of the new calculator, Roger Aronson of Aronson Fence in Wauconda, Illinois recently called on Modern Fence Technologies looking for a hinge to hang a four hundred pound gate that is six feet tall and fourteen feet wide. Using the formula devised there, it was determined that the gate in question would generate a load of nearly 2,800 pounds on the hinge. Mr. Aronson chose a hinge from the offerings available, based on the results of the calculator, to meet his needs. "This gives me confidence that the gate I put up won't start sagging, " Mr. Aronson pointed out.


This greatly reduced the likelihood of being called back to service a gate that may otherwise have been hung on a smaller hinge, one chosen to save on initial cost. The savings realized by reducing call backs justifies using the calculator, even when the contractor ends up using a more expensive hinge than was originally planned. The calculator has also proven a valuable tool to prevent “over-hinging”, the use of heavier, more expensive hinges where a more economical hinge would suffice.


The most seen and used portion of any fence is the gate. Moving parts need to be strong enough to endure the outdoor elements and to do the job they are called on to accomplish. This new calculator tool is one more way that Modern Fence Technologies leads the industry in value engineering.

Sell Quality to Earn Profit, and Satisfy Your Customer at the Same Time

  Is your customer willing to pay $50 more to get American made, high quality hinges and post caps on their vinyl fence?  $100?  You might be surprised at the answer you get when you ask.  Offering an upgrade to your standard line of products doesn't need to sound like an admission of guilt.  Your bid wasn't designed as a bait and switch, it is an attempt to offer a fair comparison with the bids your customer got from other companies.
  The advertised price on a new car is a base model, just like your fence bid.  Point out to your customer that you also offer a higher quality product with a lifetime warranty and superior appearance and function.  If the bid is typical, it will be in the $2500 to $4000 range.  If you offer to upgrade for $100, it will cost you $15 to $50 more for product, depending on the job, but that's $50 to $85 profit in your pocket, plus you have a better chance of landing the job, because you differentiated yourself from all your competitors.
  Try it, and when you land that job with upgrades, call me, and I'll hook you up with the best caps, hinges, latches and drop rods in the business!

The Race to the Bottom, In Real Time...

We've discussed market building and the effect of market destroyers on markets here before. I just heard about a scenario that is related to this discussion, and points to the fact that healthy competition can cause prices to be kept more reasonable, but when the players are not on a level playing field, market destroyers often self destruct while trying to compete.

Having competitors in a market segment is a form of accountability. No one seller can get away with overcharging or under-delivering for very long, because the consumer has an alternative. Where competition is absent, you usually see both bloated pricing and unresponsive customer service. (Think cable TV providers, and the Department of Motor Vehicles).

When all players in a market are seeking the same things, market share, profit, and growth, the forces governing their decisions are roughly equal, and their costs of doing business are based on the efficiency with which they carry on their operations. Whoever controls costs and sells products, wins.

The situation I just looked at is a little different. It involves a big player,that until recently, was practically the only game in town offering the services it offers. This organization operates on a business model which uses revenues from services sold to its members to promote the organization and to support its large staff. This promotion includes marketing the services of it's members to the public under its seal of approval. Because there has been little or no competition, there has been no check on the prices they could charge members for the services.

When a new player entered the market working on a different business model, the reaction of the big player reveals where they fall in the realm of market building vs. market destroying. See if you can follow. The new group is focused on serving its members and operates as a volunteer, not for profit group. They offer similar services to their members, and charge much lower prices, and they have no paid staff, which means much lower overhead.

Once the big player noticed that there was “competition”, they responded by drastically reducing their prices for the services they sell. How long can they hope to do this? In a previous post I described a similar situation in which Dow Chemical found a way to undersell European chemical producers, who then reduced their prices to a level below Dow's cost. Dow knew that they were losing money on every unit sold, so he began buying as much as he could from them at prices below his cost, selling to his customers at his regular price and made even more money selling their product than his own.

These two situations aren't identical. Dow was selling a commodity, something that is identical, no matter where you get it from, so his customers didn't care where it came from. They were interested only in price, which, for commodities, is all that matters. In our present case, the services sold are similar, not identical, and the profit motive present for the big seller is not present in the new organization.

As long as the volunteer organization is offering a service to its members and the community that is of equal value to the offerings of a paid staff business, and does so at a lower cost, it holds down the prices of both organizations, thus improving the market for their members and the community. They both offer value at a reasonable price.

It also should serve to drive the big organization to improve their product, adding value , and allowing them to charge more. Ultimately, with the chosen business model, that is their only road to success. Currently, the path is to engage in a race to the bottom against themselves.

Let us help, if we can...

  Modern Fence Technologies will be hosting free webinars this spring to teach the principles and practices, as well as the benefits of job costing for small business.  While aimed primarily at fence contractors, this information will be helpful to anyone operating a small manufacturing or contracting business. Stay tuned to this channel for more info, or call Mike at 888 456 6786 to schedule a free session for you or your staff.
 This service is designed to be educational, and is offered free of charge to help our customers build their businesses. Tell your friends!

Everything Chinese is not...

                          Definition of Junk: Chinese Trade Vessel

In the following email exchange, Mark Knudson, owner of Modern Fence Technologies was seeking relief from excessive emails from an exporter. He responded to the email with a request that the sender stop spamming him and other members of the North American Fence Contractors Association.

The sender apologized and promised to stop sending. Mark pointed out that he had heard from four members, complaining of this one sender spamming them. The sender then apologized again and said that the goal was to put information in front of potential customers, and started to defend the quality and price of the product offered, and again promised to not send email again.

Mark then responded by inviting the sender to consider joining NAFCA, which would accomplish the goal of putting product in front of potential customers through the regional and international Expos. The response was friendly, with the sender stating that because there is a cost to join, approval from a superior was required, then went on to try to differentiate from all the “many similar emails everyday”, and asked if Mark had ever bought from China and was he satisfied with quality and delivery time.

Mark's response was that the emails are referred to as “spam”, because they are junk. He pointed out that the market is full of junk, and no one likes to put out money for junk. He went on to encourage the sender that there is a right way and a wrong way to do business, and only one way that is sustainable.

Apparently, he struck a nerve. The response was all out of proportion to the discussion, and quite revealing. I'd love to dissect the message in full, but I'll leave that to the reader. I have heard the objection in point three hundreds of times. And not just about Chinese suppliers. U.S. Suppliers run into this same attitude all the time. Everyone wants something for nothing, or at least that's what they want to leave you with. The suppliers that survive this constant struggle are the ones who refuse to sacrifice their integrity or the value of their products to demands for lower price.

The final point devolves into a rant about the U.S. and, if it weren't so serious, would be funny. The sender touches on a faint glimmer of understanding of the point Mark was trying to make, in the line “our quotation is not cheap,but we can guarantee our quality.” Once the sender understands what that statement really means, selling will become much more rewarding.

The fact is, price is never the only objection. It is just the first one that most people will throw at you. Especially in the U.S., where we are conditioned to want to have one of everything, and most people are willing to sacrifice the quality of the things they have in order to cross more lines off their list of things they don’t have.

The only way I can see to reconcile Mark and the sender of these emails is to teach the sender how to sell quality, integrity, service and value instead of price. Until that happens, spammers will be annoyed, and Mark will continue not buying Chinese imports.

          The email exchange is posted here.

Consumers respond to value when it is offered. They respond to price when it isn't.

  How did Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's, get rich? What about Warren Buffett? Or Henry Ford? They didn't do it by clipping coupons and settling for generic ketchup. They did it by offering the best product in their categories, at the best price possible, (Best, not lowest. A fair price that offers value to the consumer and profit to the producer.), and by building a reputation for offering useful, reliable products.

  Consumers respond to value when it is offered. They respond to price when it isn't. That means that as a business owner, you must offer value to your customer, or forever let your price be set by the guy up the road who is always trying to undercut you. Learn to sell quality products at a fair price and never wonder again if you can make payroll, (or buy name brand ketchup).