You dream it, Kevin will create it. Baas
metal craft is a unique company specializing
in
small or large production of unique custom
made steel
items per the customers request. Cool
business
signs, custom bike parts, unique steel
furniture are
all possible with the CNC plasma cutting
technology
Baas metal craft incorporates. Owner Kevin
Baas is a
high school Technology Education instructor
at John F.
Kennedy High School in Bloomington
Minnesota. His
passion for metal work and fabrication started
as a
youngster working with his father's scrap
around the
yard.
Kevin's dad is still sheet metal
worker and garage
machinest and his skills and passions for
metal
had a firy impact on him. As a little boy
Kevin was exposed to the biker lifestyle riding
in his
father's side car of the 1964 Police
special Panhead
that was the family vehicle for the better part of
every summer. Watching his dad build and
rebuild his
old Pans and Shovels got into his blood and
molded him into what he is today.
After graduating college in 1996, Kevin
took the job
as a shop teacher at Kennedy high. One of
the courses
he taught was in an old run down metal shop
that
only enrolled enough anxious students to
support one. Kevin immediately set out to
improve and
modify the program knowing what the future
could hold
for his students. Through many hours of
work the
lab was completely remodeled and housed
serious
high tech equipment students use on their
projects and assignments. One of these
being the new
CNC Plasma cutting system.
Kevin was
familiar with Plasma cutter but after working
with the latest technology he
needed one for himself, as well as his
students.
The CNC unit in the classroom was
donated by a neighboring
company and allows all the students to make
the same
levels of products Baas Metal Craft produces.
This is one
of rare, trade, state high school programs
containing this level of state-of-the-art
equipment. Enrollment has since
tripled after incorporating the new technology
as well
as building choppers in class (see Bikernet
article on the High School Panhead Project).
BAAS plasma cutting machine.
The Baas Metal Craft plasma cutter is
similar to
the students' with a cutting table
measuring 4 foot x 4
foot. Steel up to 3/4-inch thick can be cut and
designs are limitless. In the summers, while
Kevin is off of school, he works hard behind
the
scenes with Baas Metal Craft filling orders
and managing an e-bay store with sample
items for sale.
The increase in garage built choppers
had a positive impact on Kevin's
business.
He was said, "I really enjoy working with the
guys who are building their own rides, helping
them
create unique parts and accents for their
projects is
a blast. I enjoy each new challenge, and
I'm always excited
to watch the ideas come to life. When I get
that
final picture from my client with the finished
part in place, it's the coolest!"
Kevin can scan any logo or designs,
import Cad drawings or create
new designs from customer specifications,
chicken scratch
on a napkin or even from the description of a
vision.
Baas Metal Craft can be contacted through
e-mail at
baasmetalcraft@yahoo.com, by phone at
952-215-1252 or
you can see the website at:
www.baasmetalcraft.com
Kevin and his students manufactured cool
signs for Paul Cox, Billy Lane,
BikerNet.com, Hank Young, Xsspeed, Exile
Cycles, The
Horse, Sucker Punch Sally's as well as
many up and
coming builders and companies.
The process involves
taking the image or design idea and scanning
it onto a
PC and into the CADCAM program. The
design is then
cleaned up and prepared for the 2-d plasma
cutting.
The finished design is then vectorized, turning
the
design into the mastercam part file.
The part is then
run through a post processor which will give
M&G code
that directs the machine where to cut to create
the
image. The steel is lined up on the cutting
table and
the G code is then loaded into the automated
Plasma Cutter and the
cutting begins. Steel, 1/8-inch thick, is
standard for
most wall sign items, but many parts and
thicker signs are made from 1/4 or 3/8-inch
material.
If you have any notions for a shop sign,
club insignia or a silhoutte of your bike sliced
out of steel. Click on Kevin's banner and
roll over to his shop.
Kevin Baas
BAAS METAL CRAFT
Custom made steel signs, art,
furniture and fabricated parts.
www.baasmetalcraft.com
952-215-1252
"When in doubt, burn out!"
