Smelter Aluminum Scrap Price Steady at 17 Cents a Pound

[caption id="attachment_845" align="alignright" width="145"] Smelter Aluminum[/caption]

As you may know, metal is a limited resource here on earth and much of the metal produced today comes from recycled sources. There is a website called Scrap Monster which lists the different types of scrap metal and it's US market value.

Mixed Irony Aluminum "shall consist of assorted scrap aluminum contaminated with Iron, the aluminum content must be a minimum 70% and iron may not exceed 30% Must be free of excessive plastics, oils and other materials prohibitive in the sweat furnace operation."

Just a thought that your new aluminum fence may at one point in time have been the hubcap on your 1982 Oldsmobile - or were those made of plastic?

Fence Misunderstandings and Miscommunications

[caption id="attachment_814" align="alignright" width="250"] Fence Miscommunication Cartoon from http://www.worldfencenews.com[/caption]

In any sales or contracting endeavor, communication absolutely has to be the first step. We hear stories of fences being erected outside of regulations, as in this story from Morocco, Indiana where between the cities board, employees, the property owner and contractor - all with the best of intentions - a privacy fence was erected that exceeded the towns height regulations.

There's a story in Yahoo's Law & Ethics forum from a few years ago where a contractor actually demolished the client's neighbors fence and the property owner was liable for replacement.

So let's all remember to take a deep breath often, and take our time to communicate properly in any transaction - especially if regulations, ordinances or other peoples property are involved. Well communicated fences make better neighbors.

 

 

Fence Climbing Big Foot Video!

Well you never know what we're gonna hit you with in the word of fence news and trivia, and if there ever was a reason to be sure you have a tall, secure fence this is it!



One of a series of films taken in a Texas Habituation site, this is the best known. Known as the Fence Climber, it has caused a stir recently. Some say it looks too much like a human to be a Sasquatch but the fact is that the fence is just over four foot tall, making the figure very large.

As you can - barely - see, it's impossible to tell even what kind of fence old Sasquatch is climbing here, but I recommend at least a twelve foot fence with two layers of barbed or razor wire as protection. If you are one of the people unfortunate enough to have neighborhood, city or county regulations to recon with you may have to settle for wood fence, aluminum fence or vinyl fence, but with this guy running around - and believe me, he's out there - well... Some people recommend leaving peanut butter sandwiches at the edges of your property as a distraction.

More info on our friend Big Foot here at the Big Foot Forum.

Pre-Barbed Wire (Thorny Fence) Settlements in America

[caption id="attachment_611" align="alignright" width="300"] Cattle Drive - photo: Longhorn Alliance[/caption]

Although these days not everyone celebrates Christopher Columbus' "discovery" of America, today seemed like a fitting day to look at how fences played a role in European settlement in North America and this article on the History of Longhorn Cattle is illuminating.

As many of us memorized, it was in 1492 that the first ships reached the shores of the Americas. As soon as the following year in 1493, Spanish settlers accompanying Christopher Columbus brought the first few long-horned Iberian cattle with them to the Antilles Islands (Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and Hispaniola). It wasn't until November 1868 that barbed wire was developed (Patents for improvements to wire fencing were granted to Michael Kelly and Joseph Glidden). So all the way through to the late 19th century, missionaries, followed by private ranchers would raise cattle on open plains.

Through the 16th and 17th centuries Iberian Longhorn cattle were imported to Mexico, as far north at 200 miles from the border of what is now Texas. Ranches were established quickly, and soon large populations of Iberian longhorns were seen throughout the Panuco Delta as well as south and west of the port of Vera Cruz. From there, long-horned cattle gradually migrated, with Spanish explorers, settlers, and mission priests, north along both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The first known cattle in Texas arrived in the early 1700s with Franciscan missionaries as they began to build a chain of missions extending through the San Antonio River valley and out to the present city of Goliad. Spanish expeditionaries brought sheep, goats, horses and “horned” cattle on their overland voyages both as food on the hoof to sustain them during their travels and also as seed stock for settlers once having arrived at their destinations.

Before barbed wire, the lack of effective fencing limited farming and ranching practices, and the number of people who could settle in an area. The new fencing changed the West from vast and undefined prairies/plains to a land of farming, and widespread settlement.

It's also notable that during the 18th and 19th centuries, the commercial importance of longhorns (since they were at that time the predominant breed of cattle) was to supply the hide and tallow industries of Europe and, after the Revolutionary War, of New England as well. Before the advent of electricity in the early 20th century, candles were the world’s chief source of night light. Tallow, the main ingredient in candles, soaps and lubricants, was obtained by rendering animal fat. Hides were important to the shoe, boot and leather industries. Therefore, “Hide and Tallow” companies became the major users of cattle carcasses, first in California and later in Texas and other southern states. In the absence of refrigeration, meat was largely a byproduct and of little commercial value.

Moving Baseball Fence for an Environment that is Fair for Both Hitters and Pitchers

[caption id="attachment_603" align="alignright" width="300"] Safeco Field - Flickr photo by matt garber[/caption]

We need to do a whole blog on what goes into a baseball fence one of these days, but in the meantime, here's an interesting one from the News Tribune.

The Seattle Mariners announced today that they are moving some of the fences in at Safeco Field for the 2013 season.

“Our goal was to create an environment that is fair for both hitters and pitchers,” general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. “Considering the current field dimensions, as well as the climate in and around Safeco Field, we feel this will be accomplished with this new layout.”

The specific changes, as written about by Greg Johns on MLB.com:

• In the left-field corner, the distance down the left-field foul line remains the same, at 331 feet.

• Instead of jutting out quickly to 341 feet, the corner of the left-field wall will jut out to 337 feet.

• The hand-operated scoreboard will be moved, and as a result, the height of the outfield wall will be eight feet from foul pole to foul pole.

• From the left-field corner to the power alley in left-center, the wall will be moved in four feet.

• The distance at the left-center-field power alley will decrease from 390 feet to 378 feet.

• From left-center to straightaway center field, the distance the wall will be moved in will vary from four feet to a maximum of 17 feet. At straightaway center field, the distance will decrease from 405 feet to 401 feet.

• From straightaway center to the right-center power alley, the wall will move in four feet. The distance at the power alley will decrease from 385 feet to 381 feet.

• From the right-center-field power alley to the right-field line, the dimensions will remain the same.

The Mariners are last in the American League in scoring (3.0 runs per game), home runs (0.68 per game) and batting average (.218) at home this season through 79 games. On the road, they are sixth in scoring (4.5), tied for sixth in home runs (1.15) and ninth in batting average (.247).

The team has hired Populous, a Kansas City design firm, to figure out how to move in the fences and make the other changes to left field.

The Mariners solicited bids from contractors to do the work but have not awarded a contract.

The cost is expected to be over a million dollars. They should be using Academy Fence installers, of course, even in Seattle.

Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/mariners/2012/10/02/mariners-announce-safeco-field-fences-coming-in-for-2013/#storylink=cpy

Costs of Galvanized Steel may Rise after Elections

[caption id="attachment_559" align="alignright" width="300"] Galvanized Steel Pipe - photo: http://smallbusiness.chron.com[/caption]

Galvanized steel prices may begin to rise again as construction and automobile manufacturing begin to recover. According to Metal Center News - a trade publication for the metals distribution industry (centers that warehouse, process and distribute carbon and stainless steels, aluminum and copper and brass) - earlier this year, "demand for galvanized steel continues to suffer from a weak construction sector. Despite price hikes announced for January and February, suppliers are concerned that new and restarted production capacity will put downward pressure on pricing in 2012."

This could translate into lower prices on galvanized fence products for us, but contrarily, the construction market has been showing some recent signs of growth. Bill Sternard, executive vice president of Viking Materials Inc., Minneapolis states, “I’m not saying it is picking up significantly, but the numbers are improving.”

The automotive market’s growing need for galvanized steel is a whole different story. “We are seeing demand strengthen as automotive builds recover,” says Jim Mortensen, general manager of automotive sales for Dearborn, Mich.-based Severstal North America.

North American automotive production is expected to reach 13.8 million to 14.0 million light vehicles in 2012, up from just under 13 million in 2011, says John Anton, director of the steel service at IHS Global Insight, Washington, D.C. That’s a major improvement from the 8.6-million-vehicle pace at the depth of the economic downturn. Anton expects annual auto industry output to return to 15 million vehicles by 2013.

As we all know prices are affected by supply and demand. Earlier this year it was reported that major steel suppliers had announced plans to raise galvanized prices by $80 to $110 a ton in three separate rounds, two effective with January shipments and the other with February shipments.

Richard McLaughlin, steel practice director for Hatch Beddows, Pittsburgh inferred that prices could rise significantly, “after the presidential elections and... banks become more confident about lending money” .

So if you are considering galvanized chain link fence products, you might want to make a move before November.

 

Watch Welded Wire Fence Being Manufactured

Check out this awesome video of Oklahoma Steel's Fencing Materials Plant complete with ripping bluegrass sound track! We love robots! Thanks to Louis E. Page for posting on their great blog.

Sometimes Fence Installation IS Rocket Science

[caption id="attachment_512" align="alignright" width="300"] NASA Space Fence Graphical Interface Representation[/caption]

Michael Cooney of NetworkWorld reports on a $3.5 billion Space Fence to be installed by NASA, which is expected to be operational by 2017.

Construction is expected to begin September 2013 and is planned to take 48 months to complete construction and testing, the Air Force said.

The Space Fence is part of the Department of Defense's effort to better track and detect space objects which can consist of thousands of pieces of space debris as well as commercial and military satellite parts.  Approximately 19,000 objects larger than 10 cm are known to exist, according to NASA.  The Space Fence will replace the current VHF Air Force Space Surveillance System built in 1961.

Lockheed Martin reported earlier this year that a prototype system it is developing to track all manner of space debris  is now tracking actual orbiting space objects. Raytheon and others are involved in that Space Fence development process.

And we thought we built some fancy fences.

Barbed and Razor Wire Fence Laws

A recent post by Dottie Smith on Redding.com mentions a California Law from the late 1800's making it a misdemeanor to erect a barbed wire fence adjacent to a pubic road without also erecting "in a substantial manner a board or a rail closer than three feet from the ground on such fence, equal in strength and size to a pine board six inches in width, one inch in thickness, and sixteen feet in length".

This brings up the issue of balancing security and esthetics, because no one wants to live in a neighborhood that feels like a prison.

[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignright" width="300"] The owners of J&L Auto Sales and Service, has had his lot robbed many times since having to remove the razor wire from the fence around his shop. - photo: nj.com[/caption]

This article on NJ.com a few years ago addresses some issues that came up in regards to this in Newark when the city began enforcing a 1966 law that banned barbed-wire. The comments bring the various strong feelings of readers to light.

 

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Antique Barbed Wire Society?!?!

[caption id="attachment_390" align="alignright" width="450"] Popular Antique Barbed Wire Styles - photo: farmcollector.com[/caption]

Guess it makes sense. What isn't there a society for these days. Call it a stretch, but today in fence history in 2006, the antique barbed wire society website was accessed for the Wikipedia article on Barbed Wire. Seems like a more interesting post than a thief in Mobile Alabama cutting two fences to steal $5000 worth of copper and welding supplies.

Check out the Best of Antique Barbed Wire article on the Farm Collector website.

Morning Glories add Beautiful Accent to Coated Chain Link Fence

[caption id="attachment_367" align="aligncenter" width="860"] Vickie Dalton shares this photo of morning glories growing on her chain link fence.[/caption]

The gorgeous morning glory vine accents a simple coated chain link fence as presented in Greenville, North Carolina's Daily Reflector.

 

Chinese Steel Fence Protects Japanese Embassy

[caption id="attachment_357" align="alignright" width="300"] Steel Fence Protecting Japanese Embassy - photo: AP[/caption]

To the right is a picture from the Associated Press of Chinese paramilitary forces using a portable fence to protect the Japanese Embassy from protestors, expressing anger at Japanese wartime occupation of China.

The US Embassy next door was also subject to some of the protests, with about 50 protesters surrounding the car of U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke and trying to block him from entering the compound.

The incident came amid heightened vigilance for American diplomats following violent attacks on U.S. embassies in Libya, Yemen and Egypt. The embassy said it has asked China's government to do everything possible to protect American facilities and personnel.

The large and sometimes violent anti-Japan protests that roiled many Chinese cities over the weekend were triggered by the Japanese government's decision last week to purchase some disputed East China Sea islands from their private Japanese owners. More demonstrations followed Tuesday, the 81st anniversary of Japan's invasion of China, an emotional remembrance that further stoked the outrage.

Due to China's censorship of the internet, Users couldn't search for "anti-Japan protests" on China's Twitter-like site Sina Weibo on Sunday morning, and many of the previous day's photos had been taken down.

According to the Japan Times:

[caption id="attachment_356" align="alignright" width="300"] Protestors Against Steel Fence - photo: Japan Times[/caption]

In the largest anti-Japan protests since China and Japan normalized diplomatic ties in 1972, more than 70,000 Chinese staged rallies Saturday in at least 28 cities to demand that Japan surrender the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands to China. The largest demonstration, in Qingdao, Shandong Province, attracted as many as 30,000 people and evolved into rioting as protestors torched as many as 10 Japanese enterprises, including a Panasonic factory. In Beijing, police deployed more than 100 officers as well as 100 vehicles around the Japanese Embassy to prevent protesters from taking violent action. But clashes ensued as an estimated 1,000 protestors busted barricades, blocked traffic and hurled plastic bottles and eggs onto the embassy grounds. Carrying Chinese flags, they chanted "Protect the Diaoyu Islands" and "Slap economic sanctions on Japan." When there are protests against China's government, the Chinese security forces clamp down hard, but these rallies appeared to have the tacit approval of Chinese authorities.

Fence Irresponsibility Caused Child's Death Yesterday

[caption id="attachment_350" align="alignright" width="300"] Caution Tape - photo: NBC News[/caption]

We are saddened and frustrated to learn that yesterday afternoon, according to Fox and NBC News, an 18 month old boy who was playing at the beach near a chain link fence suffered a severe head laceration and died early this morning after having been air lifted to the hospital.

It happened Monday at 4:55 p.m. in Ransom Beach.  Nassau County police say the chain link fence was unattached before it fell.

Why do people think it's acceptable to approach construction in irresponsible and dangerous ways?

The name of the child has not been released. Investigation is ongoing.

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19571656/long-island-boy-dies-after-fence-falls#ixzz26poAnfPg

Read more: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Toddler-Dies-Fence-Long-Island-Beach-170166616.html

The Case of the Stolen Fence

Now they're stealing fences! In Nashua, New Hampshire, according to the Nashua Telegraph, a bistro was forced to shut down it's patio after the fence was stolen.

Apparently the fence was dismantled at the time due to the extensive construction on the sidewalk which was pretty much discouraging diners from enjoying the patio anyway.

What will thieves think of next, stealing the front door?

This Ain't No White Picket Fence

[caption id="attachment_324" align="alignright" width="300"] US Mexico Border Fence - photo: allamericanpatriots.com[/caption]

Today in Fence history, Representative Peter T. King (Republican from New York) introduced the Secure Fence Act of 2006 with the goal of helping to secure America’s borders to decrease illegal entry, drug trafficking, and security threats by building 700 miles (1,100 km) of physical barriers along the Mexico-United States border.

The Bill passed the following day and was signed into law be President George W. Bush on October 14th of the same year.

American sentiment spans the spectrum between a kill-on-sight policy and those who feel the world should be border-less. We'd like to know how you feel.

Chain Link Fence Saves Car from Fall

[caption id="attachment_304" align="alignright" width="300"] Car Being Pulled over Fence from Rock Ledge - photo: Vera Johnson, West Seattle Herald[/caption]

According to the West Seattle Herald, a young driver was saved by a chain link fence last night from having his car fall off of a fifteen foot rock ledge. The Herald reports an eye witness account: "The cab pulled back into the lane, causing the swerving car to spin out," which sent that car through the fence on Johnson's property. He ended up hanging precariously over a 15 foot rock wall, suspended by the fence. "He crawled out and he is a young man, about 25 years old maybe who lives down the street."

Ribbons on St. Paul Chapel Fence Commemorate 9/11 Attack Responders

[caption id="attachment_296" align="alignright" width="300"] St. Paul's Chapel Fence - photo from DNAinfo.com[/caption]

You may remember that the old iron fence around St. Paul's Chapel in Downtown Manhattan is decorated with ribbons in memory and honor of the responders to the 9/11 attacks.

It's been 11 years since terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center towers, and more than a year-and-a-half since President Barack Obama signed into law a bill meant to compensate responders and survivors sickened from exposure to the hazardous debris and toxins of Ground Zero.

According to the Huffington Post, they may have to wait more than a year more before seeing any of the funds authorized in the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

"It's going to be a process, and I think it's going to take a year or two until that process really gets moving," said Sheila Birnbaum, the special master of the $2.775 billion 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. "People have to get medical records, they have to do all kinds of things, and they're going to have to get certified that they meet the criteria."

See a slideshow from DNAinfo.com here.

24 mile long Art Fence on this Day in 1976

[caption id="attachment_289" align="alignright" width="300"] Running Fence by Christo and Jeanne-Claude[/caption]

On September 10th in 1976, exactly thirty-six years ago today, the married artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude completed a 24.5 mile long art project called Running Fence. It project was installed in the hills of Sonoma in Marin County, California. The 18-foot (5.5 m) high fence was composed of 2,050 panels of white nylon fabric hung from steel cables by means of 350,000 hooks. The cables were supported by 2,050 steel poles stuck into the ground and braced by steel guy wires anchored to the earth. It was removed by the builders 14 days after completion, leaving no visible trace.

[caption id="attachment_290" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Color photograph by Wolfgang Volz[/caption]

 

250 Mile Electric Fence to Stop Elephants

 

[caption id="attachment_280" align="alignright" width="300"] Elephants challenging an electric fence. Photo: L. Osborn from african-elephant.org[/caption]

According to the BBC, the Kenyan conservational charity Rhino Ark are going to build a fence around Mt. Kenya to prevent elephants and other wild animals from venturing down into farmland and destroying badly needed crops.

The fence will encircle over 700 square feet of indigenous forests, which also includes many rivers outflowing in all directions down the mountain.

The fence, which will have five electrified strands, will discourage wild animals from straying from the mountain's forests and devastating crops on the small holdings on the other side of the fence.

It discharges a shock, but not one that endangers people or animals.

Building the first phase of the fence, which will be 50km long, has already begun and is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2014, Rhino Ark says.

Minister of Finance Njeru Githae is to drive a post into the ground to officially inaugurate the project on Friday.

BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the scheme may seem wildly optimistic, but Rhino Ark has already fenced in the Aberdare mountains, which provide water for Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

That fence took 12 years to complete. This one is expected to take 5 years.

An Old Tom Sawyer Trick gets the Fence Painted

[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignright" width="300"] Tom Sawyer Art Fence outside of the Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum - photo by Alan Warren from YourHoustonNews[/caption]

When Mark Twain's classic character Tom Sawyer was faced with whitewashing a fence on a summer day, he made the task look so appealing that his friends begged to help. Soon Tom was rolling in wealth, and the fence had three coats of whitewash.

Like Tom, those going to the Altharetta Yeargin Art Museum (AYAM) are faced with “thirty yards of board fence nine feet high,” but co-curators Leann Newton and Kathy Goss rose to the challenge of calling attention to the museum.

Tucked away at the back of The Westchester Academy of International Studies and behind Spring Branch ISD’s south transition campus, the museum can be hard to find.

So Newton and Goss turned to Spring Branch ISD art students for help. Now the fence (made of wire in this case) is covered with banners of art from students at 30 Spring Branch ISD schools.

Read more at YourHoustonNews.com