Artists with metal
This is old school. This is every man’s dream. This is the Spokane Valley’s version of “Monster Garage.” Tools, machines, sparks flying off metal, and cars, cars, cars.
Mike Sweet, his son-in-law Jason Harmon, and buddy Lyle Johanson specialize in custom metal science. All three work at ASC Machine Tool at Broadway and Fancher.
Sweet, 56, and Johanson, 53, have worked side by side for 25 years; Harmon, 33, started at ASC in 1992. There, they build machines, from cutting to welding to painting. They also make pop cans.
“ASC is a good company,” said Johanson. “There’s not much turnover, and a bunch of talented guys work there.”
The company also is very accommodating when it comes to the creativity of its employees who are allowed the use of machines to make metal signs and sculptures. They have contributed metal cut-out wall sculptures to nonprofit organizations such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Also, after 9/11, they created large metal flags, one of which is displayed on the Sears Marketing Center building near ASC.
Sweet, Johanson, and Harmon’s artistic expressions are an extension of the work they do at ASC.
They are handy guys, the kind you’d want as neighbors. They are good ol’ boys who don’t mind hard work or getting their hands dirty.
“Metal working has become a lost art,” said Johanson. “A lot of the work is going overseas. We want to revive the old skills.”
They can build just about anything – arbors, gates, stoves, choppers and cars.
Sweet has an automotive shop on a five-acre spread in Otis Orchards. It is a place where the guys can go to build to their heart’s content. An abundance of jaw-dropping street rods are parked inside.
There is a light blue Camaro Z28, a black 1965 Mustang, a hot pink 1958 Chevy pickup, and a purple 1950 Ford pickup. The latter used to be a rusty hunk parked in a field in Newman Lake. Sweet restored it from the ground up, as he does many of the cars. “A lot of fabricating is involved,” he says, “because you can’t find many of the parts.” He has to make his own brackets to make things work and fit properly.
Self-taught, Sweet built his first go-cart when he was 10, and the first car he tinkered with was a 1949 Studebaker.
Johanson specializes in the rebuilding of old Harley-Davidson motorcycles. He rides with the Crazy Old Biker Bunch. Inspired by the “Wild Angels,” a 1960s Peter Fonda and Nancy Sinatra film, he bought his first Harley Sportster in 1972. He also designs and cuts free-form metal sculptures and signs. One piece depicting eagles was auctioned off at a COBB event for the American Cancer Society.
Harmon has become more interested in metal work since his employment at ASC. He is currently working on an outdoor stove.
All three men believe in the personal touch. Mass production has been the death of many precious things, they think. They agree that the next generation is a potentially lazy bunch and that an old-school mentality might be the one thing needed to revive them.