How it's made

18 years ago

Just saw a show on the Discovery Channel called How it's Made. They were showing how they (Elkay in this case) makes stainless steel sinks.

The most interesting part to me was making a double sink. The sinks are made separately, then welded together. After grinding and polishing, there is no visible seam.

The second most interesting part was the finishing. It was done partly by machine, and partly by hand, and a 'standard' double sink takes about 20-30 minutes to finish.

The show also convinced me that paying a lot for a fancy imported sink is a waste of money. SS sinks are just as I thought-stamped metal that is ground to provide an even finish, then spray painted on the bottom for sound deadening.

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Comments (6)

histokitch
18 years ago
They've also show the manufacture of a Wolf dual fuel range. The number of wires in that thing is staggering. No thanks.

My kids love that show.
luisa_at_home
18 years ago
I am confused. if the numbers are the same (18 gauge, 18/10 ratio chrome to nickel, series 304 stainless for example) you would think it wouldn't matter who makes it - that it would be more or less the same quality.
The salesman is telling me it does matter due to the manufacturing process, the welds etc. I need a single large basin stainless sink & Dawn makes one for half the price of Franke or Blanco & it's 16 gauge!
Does anyone have any smarts about the differences of stainless sink quality?
Thanks!
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Buehl
18 years ago
How It's Made is also my 13 yo son's favorite show...the only one he's ever asked me to TiVo for him! He does say the newer ones aren't as good (w/the new narrator)...that they don't go into as much detail as they used to. But, I think it's still a great show!

Cpovey...I haven't seen that particular show yet (we have 4 or 5 to watch)...I'm looking forward to it...after all, it is kitchen-related! :-)
cpovey
Original Author
18 years ago
luisa,

Bent stainless is bent stainless-except for a coating on the back, that's all a stainless sink is, bent metal. The difference between 18/8 and 18/10 (chrome and nickel percentages, not ratios, by the way) are non-existent in home use.

Yes, thickness does make some difference. Here is my opinopn on sink thickness. Note that this is my opinion. Yours may vary, which is just fine.
18 or the thicker 16 gauge will handle any domestic sink
20 gauge is fine for smaller sinks, like prep sinks, but thin for larger ones.
22 gauge is too thin for a kitchen sink, unless it is a hand washing sink only.
14 gauge and thicker is just plain overkill for kitchens.

With metal thicknesses, the smaller the number, the thicker the metal.

By the way, most commercial kitchen sinks are 18 gauge,
markw
18 years ago
cpovey, please note that although you corrected luisa on the meaning of 18/8 and 18/10, what she said wasn't wrong. 18/8 stainless that is 18% chrome and 8% nickel contains chrome and nickel in a ratio of 18 to 8. Just two different ways of saying the same thing.
luisa_at_home
18 years ago
Thanks for the input. I have read that the higher nickel is good to prevent corrosion, so I assume 18/10 is bietter than 18/8. So you don't think who fabricates it makes that big a deal of difference, correct? Which means the less expensive one is fine. I still have no idea what 304 series signifies which some manufacturers mention.