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Greetings
Save the date: November 5-6, 2027
You are invited to join us for the sixth Iron & Steel Preservation Conference & Workshop (ISPC&W), to be held November 5-6, 2027, at Lansing Community College’s West Campus in Lansing, Michigan. Another historic event where participants will acquire, through lectures and demonstrations, knowledge of modern and historic industrial processes for the repair, rehabilitation and restoration of metals. These lectures and demonstrations will conform to the four interrelated approaches recognized in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction.
There are many ways you can help make this conference a success, whether in getting the word out to those who would benefit from this experience, donating to LCC’s Iron and Steel Preservation Program Fund, or contributing to fund-raising ideas that will keep registration fees affordable for all. I welcome phone conversations or email with individuals who have suggestions and recommendations. Future ISP Chronicles will provide details about registration and speakers.
Vern Mesler
June, 2026
| | Past Iron & Steel Preservation Conferences | | ISPC&W2027: Conference Workshop Goal | | |
The theme of the 2027 Iron & Steel Preservation Conference & Workshop is Repair, Rehabilitation and Restoration of Metals, having the goal of increasing the number of engineers, designers, builders and contractors who can confidently specify industrial processes for the repair, rehabilitation and restoration of metals using both contemporary steel fabrication methods and historic technologies. In addition to attending lectures and demonstrations, participants will also gain knowledge through interaction and conversation with each other, having the opportunity to interact with a wide variety of professionals.
ISPC&W2027 addresses current needs, such as those expressed by Kyle C. Kopper in his role as Chief Structure Design Engineer of the Michigan Department of Transportation (personal communication, 2025):
“While I cannot say that MDOT deals with iron or riveted structures on a daily basis, we have had projects where knowledge of these topics was important to successfully designing a project to rehabilitate an existing structure. As a result of relatively constant funding and a reduction in MDOT’s buying power, it is likely that the number of rehabilitation projects in the foreseeable future will significantly outnumber the projects where existing structures are removed and replaced. Because of this, I believe that providing our designers with a more robust knowledge of available rehabilitation and preservation techniques would be a benefit to MDOT as we move into the future”
ISPC&W2027 will help address realities faced by many organizations regarding funding and a reduction in buying power:
· Rehabilitation projects will significantly outnumber the projects where existing structures are removed and replaced.
· It is increasingly important to provide designers with a more robust knowledge of available rehabilitation and preservation techniques.
| | ISPC&W2027: Description and Methods of Instruction | | |
ISPC&W2027 is a two-day, in-person course combining technical presentations and hands-on demonstrations. Presentations showcase a wide variety of successful preservation/rehabilitation projects, and demonstrations feature the use of industrial tools for the repair, rehabilitation and restoration of metals, using processes both contemporary and historic. Demonstrations and the opportunity for hands-on participation include welding processes, cast iron repair, flame straightening of steel, cutting, and hot riveting (using both shop-riveting and field-riveting equipment).
Those attending the course will learn through demonstrations the process of hot riveting and a variety of trades and skills used in industry today that can be adapted for the repair and preservation of metals:
· Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW)
· Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW)
· Oxygen Fuel Welding (OFW)
· Oxygen Fuel Brazing
· Cast iron repair
· Flame straightening of steel
· Oxyacetylene cutting
· Shop riveting with both pneumatic and hydraulic riveters
· Field riveting with hand-held pneumatic rivet hammer
| | ISPC&W2027: Who Should Attend | | |
The Iron and Steel Preservation Conference & Workshop is designed both for those who work with structures designated as historic as well as those involved in maintaining any existing metal structure for continued service.
Engineers in bridge and building rehabilitation and preservation who are responsible for developing special provisions for unique and one of a kind historic structures that require special attention for selecting the appropriate modern and historic industrial processes for successful completion of the work.
State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) personnel responsible for identifying historic structures and materials and making recommendations within the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for their preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. SHPO personnel will learn at the ISPC&W how to identify historic wrought iron, cast iron, and historic steel, and the industrial tools appropriate for their preservation.
State Departments of Transportation (DOT) personnel involved in the maintenance and repair of existing historic infrastructure will benefit from the knowledge of available rehabilitation and preservation techniques demonstrated by skilled craftsmen at the ISPC&W.
General Contractors interested in specialized knowledge and training with an historic industrial process, the selection of qualified subcontractors, and accurate bidding can benefit from the demonstrations of industrial processes at the ISPC&W, especially the demonstrations of flame straightening, advanced welding processes, and the field and shop riveting processes.
Other individuals and organizations who would benefit by attending the ISPC&W: Ironworkers Locals, Historians, Preservationists, and Craftsmen.
| | ISPC&W2027: Industrial Shop Riveting | | |
To provide participants with knowledge of the industrial riveting process, a unique feature of ISPC&W2027 is the demonstration of pneumatic and hydraulic riveters used in shop riveting. These demonstrations will be conducted by experienced craftsmen/fabricators who have completed projects where they produced riveted shop members for reconstruction of historic bridges. For comparison, field riveting will be demonstrated by experienced ironworkers with the field riveting hammer.
Throughout this country there are thousands of bridges, buildings, and transportation structures that are riveted, and many of these structures were mostly shop riveted. However, the popular portrayal of the hot riveting process in the media and online today is what I refer to as the Hollywood version of the hot riveting process: A hot metal rivet is pulled from a bed of burning coals, thrown in a high arc, caught in a conical metal catcher’s-can, and ironworkers with field riveting hammers drive the hot rivets.
While this is the most popular portrayal of the hot riveting process in the media (and could lead many to believe the millions of rivets required in the fabrication of famous riveted bridges were driven in this way), it is not accurate. This portrayal is of the field riveting process used to connect the larger shop-riveted sections together at the erection site, and represents only a modest percentage of the driven rivets in a riveted structure.
Recognition of the importance of knowledge of riveted connections in the engineering and industrial community was cited in the 2001 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) publication Guide to Design Criteria for Bolted and Riveted Joints:
3.1 RIVET TYPES
Riveting is among the oldest methods of joining materials, dating back as far as the use of metals in construction practice. 1.8 Rivets were the most popular fasteners during the first half of this [20th] century, but their use has declined steadily since the introduction of the high-strength bolts. At the present time they are rarely used in either field or shop connections; either high-strength bolts or welds are used almost exclusively in new work. Nevertheless, the increasing importance of evaluation and retrofitting of existing structures will require that the designer be knowledgeable about riveted connections.
| | ISPC&W2027: Rivet Research and Panel Discussion | |
In addition to the rivet demonstrations conducted during the two-day conference, rivet events are tentatively scheduled for the day before and the day after, in conjunction with ISPC&W2027. The pneumatic and hydraulic riveting process will be the focus of an advanced research workshop where experienced craftsmen/fabricators will arrive early to shop-rivet pre-designed assemblies and, as necessary, field rivet the connections. These assemblies will be disassembled for review and analysis, with a panel discussion scheduled to discuss the results.
The rivet research and panel discussion events offer a specific opportunity for sponsorship in order to offset the additional costs of shipping equipment and other expenses related to this work. I’m open for your suggestions and recommendations for funding opportunities to bring this unique experience to conference participants.
| Craftsman's Record: Recent Posts | | Calhoun County Historic Bridge Park | | | | Click on the image to view a video about the Calhoun County Historic Bridge Park, produced by Central Michigan University for Destination Michigan, a program aired through PBS. | | |
Iron & Steel Preservation Program Fund
Lansing Community College Foundation
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Please consider contributing to the Iron and Steel Preservation Program Fund. This fund was established to support projects, research, conferences and scholarships related to the repair, rehabilitation, and restoration of metals. The Lansing Community College Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation. Use the link below, and select "Iron and Steel Preservation Program Fund" from the drop-down menu in the online form. Thank you for your support!
Iron and Steel Preservation Program Fund
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