Supporting Operations & Secondary Machining in Ontario

Supporting operations and secondary machining at WeFab in Leamington, Ontario, keep sawing and light machining in the same shop as cutting and welding.

Every stage of fabrication depends on the work happening behind the scenes. Our supporting operations prepare materials, complete secondary machining, and ensure components are ready for the next step in production.

With dedicated saw capacity for tube, bar, and structural stock up to 40 feet, along with in-house lathe and mill capabilities for drilling, tapping, threading, turning, and facing, we complete many secondary operations without relying on outside suppliers. For more advanced machining requirements, we coordinate with trusted partners while remaining your single point of contact throughout the project.

By keeping these supporting processes integrated with production, we improve efficiency, reduce lead times, and help keep projects moving from raw material to finished assembly.

What Supporting Operations Cover

Supporting operations at WeFab are the cut-to-length and light machining steps between raw stock and the weld table: sawing tube, bar, and structural sections, then drilling, tapping, threading, turning, or facing the small details that a laser or press brake does not finish.

Saw cutting of tube, bar, and structural stock up to 40 ft long, on an automatic-feed saw rated to a 30 in square cross-section
Drilling and tapping for threaded holes in plates, brackets, and fittings
Threading on rods and small parts that receive nuts or couplers
Turning and facing on small round stock
Light milling on small parts

Most holes, copes, and weld preps on a WeFab job are cut by fiber laser in the same setup as the profile, with sheet and plate hole positions held to ±0.005 in on Sheet and Plate Laser Cutting. Secondary operations fill the gaps those machines leave, rather than replacing them.

Equipment, Capacity, and Scope Boundaries

The WeFab saw takes stock to 30 in square and 40 ft long with automatic feed. The lathe and mill are small manual machines for light secondary work. Blast and paint are not done in-house; deep-hole drilling is coordinated with partners, and galvanizing and powder coating are subcontracted.

Operation	In-house at WeFab?	Specification or note
Saw cutting	Yes	Automatic feed, up to 30 in square cross-section
Saw stock length	Yes	Up to 40 ft
Turning, facing, threading	Yes, light work	Small manual lathe
Milling, drilling, tapping	Yes, light work	Small manual mill
Part handling at workstations	Yes	10 jib cranes, 1,500 lb each
Heavy lifting and truck load-out	Yes	88,000 lb overhead bridge crane
Deep-hole drilling / large-hole boring	Coordinated with partners	Arranged by WeFab through a trusted partner
Shot or sand blasting	No	No in-house blast
Paint booth	No	No in-house paint
Galvanizing	Subcontracted	Coordinated by WeFab
Powder coating	Subcontracted	Coordinated by WeFab

Secondary operations: Work performed on a part after its primary cut or form, such as drilling, tapping, threading, or facing. Keeping them in the same shop removes a hand-off between vendors and the shipping time that comes with it.

Tapping: Cutting internal threads into a drilled hole so a bolt or set screw can thread directly into the part. Tapped holes are common on brackets, equipment supports, and adjustable fittings.

Facing: A lathe operation that cuts the end of a round part flat and square to its axis. A faced end sits flush against a mating plate, which helps fit-up before welding.

How Secondary Ops Fit Into a Fabrication Package

At WeFab, sawing and light machining are scheduled inside the same work order as cutting, forming, and welding, so prepared parts reach the weld bay in sequence instead of waiting on an outside machine shop’s queue.

Step 1: Drawing review

The drafting team reviews shop drawings and flags every part that needs sawing, drilling, tapping, threading, or facing, and any feature that falls outside light secondary work.

Step 2: Cut to length

Tube, bar, and structural sections run through the automatic-feed saw from stock up to 40 ft, cut to the lengths the drawings call for.

Step 3: Light machining

Parts that need threads, faced ends, or tapped holes go to the manual lathe or mill, then move to fit-up.

Step 4: Welding and inspection

Prepared parts join the package in the weld bays under CWB W47.1 Division 2 welding (Company Code DENDE1, held by parent company SEF), with inspection by an on-staff CSA W178.2 Certified Welding Inspector. See Structural Steel Fabrication.

Step 5: Finishing hand-off

Where the specification calls for galvanizing or powder coating, WeFab sends parts to its subcontracted coater and keeps the schedule and paperwork under one point of contact.

Why Project Teams Choose WeFab for Secondary Operations

WeFab keeps routine sawing and light machining under the same roof as cutting and welding (208,000 sq ft in Leamington, with fabrication history back to 1994) and is direct about where its in-house machining ends.

One work order, one shop: cut-to-length and light machining happen beside the weld bays, not across town
Saw capacity to 30 in square and 40 ft stock with automatic feed
Clear scope: small manual lathe and mill for light work, not a production machine shop
Clear finishing boundaries: no in-house blast or paint; galvanizing and powder coating subcontracted
Certified welding downstream: 60+ qualified weld procedures under CWB W47.1 Division 2
$10M general liability and $30M bonding capacity

Parts that combine sawn, machined, and welded components are covered on Custom Assemblies.

Service Area: Ontario First, US Projects by Arrangement

WeFab supplies fabricated packages that include sawn and machined parts across Ontario. Our core service area is Windsor-Essex, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, and the Greater Toronto Area, direct from our Leamington shop, with US deliveries arranged through a customs broker.

Finished packages ship on WeFab’s owned fleet of flatbed and step-deck trailers, with Ontario oversize-load permits handled in-house and no freight brokers in between.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size stock can WeFab saw?

WeFab’s automatic-feed saw handles cross-sections up to 30 in square and stock lengths up to 40 ft. It cuts tube, bar, and structural sections to length inside the Leamington shop, so parts move straight to machining or welding without leaving the building.

Is WeFab a full machine shop?

No. WeFab runs a small manual lathe and a small manual mill for light secondary work (drilling, tapping, threading, turning, and facing). Precision production machining, deep-hole drilling, and large-hole boring are outside that in-house scope, but WeFab can arrange them with a trusted partner, so flag those features early at quote stage.

Does WeFab paint, blast, or galvanize parts in-house?

No. WeFab has no in-house blast or paint booth. Galvanizing and powder coating are subcontracted and coordinated by WeFab, so the customer still deals with one contact for fabrication and finishing on the same package.

Why keep secondary operations with the fabricator?

Every hand-off to a second vendor adds shipping, scheduling, and a new set of drawings to reconcile. When sawing and light machining stay with WeFab, prepared parts reach the weld bay on the fabrication schedule, and one shop answers for fit-up.

Request a Supporting Operations Quote

Send drawings or a parts list to the WeFab estimating team and mark any features that need sawing, drilling, tapping, threading, turning, or facing. The team will confirm what fits in-house machining and secondary operations in Ontario and what needs another approach before the quote goes out.

Call 548-919-0125 or email sales@wefab.ca to start a project.