This place ROCKS...! Fire in the hole... Excellent work and does not miss the little details... read more

Cantwell Associates - Something BADD ASS - Metal Fabricators Near Me - San Bruno, California

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This guy can do a good quality job but since he's doing everything by himself he shouldn't tell his customers things will be done next week. It's been 3 weeks or more since I gave him my small project and i don't think he even stared yet. I went back to see him twice and both time he told me "next week" read more

Dave is the absolute best for any custom metal work you need, including trim refinishing for classic cars. I have used his shop for a few projects and the original and aftermarket trim I left with him all came back looking better than new. He is extremely nice and knowledgeable and an all around awesome guy to know. read more

Been using Dave for many many years. From stainless repairs for my cars too polishing. Very honest. A great welder. Highly recommended

Dave is an amazing person. Amazing work! Class act!!!

He may be very good at what he does if you're in no hurry to get your job done. Apparently next week is the default answer for when he will be finished. Of course next week when you arrive to pay for and pick it up you will get an excuse why it's not done and a promise of next week. I suppose it depends how patient you are how many times you will allow him to say next week before you cancel the job and go elsewhere. In my case it took me four weeks to decide he wouldn't get around to it in twenty years if I kept allowing him to next week me. For sake of reference the next shop I went to on a Thursday afternoon told me he would have the material tomorrow and could do the work in about an hour Saturday morning. That man said he would call me when it was done and ready to pick up which should be around 10 AM. My phone rang at 10:03 AM Saturday. He was paid and I was on the road back home with my part before 11:00. I didn't expect next day service from Dave Cantwell. I expected an honest guesstimate as to when he could do my job. I don't know his workload and I don't expect to jump the line. I do however expect that next week actually means next week. Based on my experience I will not go to Cantwell for anything in the future and I will not recommend him to anybody. Frankly just the opposite if anybody asks I will recommend they don't waste their time being told next week. read more

Dave is a P.O.S. Left him a simple welding job that he told me would be done in two weeks. Three weeks later I had not heard word one from him, called and left a voice message for him. Two days later, still no reply left another message. Again no response from the shop, had to drive there to see if the job was done. HAD NOT EVEN STARTED!!!!!!!!!!! Not only that, but my parts were given to me full of dirt and dust from sitting in his shop doing NOTHING. This guy is a has been, clearly needs to close the shop as he is clearly out to lunch and lost his touch. STAY AWAY read more

I was looking for some place to polish and restore some chome auto trim parts from a classic car. I called a few places and one place suggested this Cantwell associates in San Bruno. I called and some fellow named Dave answered and I asked if he did such jobs and could I bring it by for his examination.? He seemed like an ok guy on the phone, so I brought it to him. finding his place is a challenge, I drove a great distance to get to his shop in San Bruno. When I arrived, there was an older gentleman grinding on an exhaust manifold. There was no one else around. I waited patiently, standing by him waiting for him to recognize that I was there. He finally looked up and stopped what he he was doing. I had my car trim part in hand and so I showed it to him and asked if he thought he could refinish or polish it? I showed him some indentations in the surface and asked if he could possibly fix these too? He said sure, and then proceeded to take me to another bench and showed me some trim pieces that he had recently refinished. To say the least, they were beautiful and looked like they were right from a plating company. I was very impressed. For my job, Dave quoted me a price, very very reasonable I thought . So, here is where the bizzare , almost sureal,part of this visit started. I said ok, so I will entrust you with my precious,one of a kind trim and then I said to Dave, when do you think I could get it back, He said next week. So, I then said, well Im going out of town later in the week, how about Monday? Dave, got upset, and said no way!, it will take me 4 hours, I cannt do this in just three days. He was almost violent, visibly annoyed, which I did not understand why? I then asked him , if not then, when next week? I tried to explain why I wanted to know, in more detail. I was going out of town and I wanted to be here to pick them up and pay him. I didnt know exactly when I might come back. I further tried to alleviate his irritation by saying, I just came from a powder coating company who promised me my job in about 4 to 10 working days, and that is had still not returned my part and my job had not even been started and it was now there in their shop for three weeks, thus I was bit skittish about leaving a part and not being able to pick it up when called on it. Well, this was a big mistake, Mr, Cantwell became even more upset. and said well Im not the powder coating company and if you dont trust me with your parts, Just take your job some where else! At first, I thought he was just kidding with me because this behavior was so 'off the wall'. But I looked and saw he was pretty angry. Not understanding any of this, I tried to ammeliorate him and said I think there is a misunderstanding, and that I was not trying to be pushy I just wanted to be here when he was done so that i could pay him for his efforts without him having to wait three to four weeks. Also, I said that I had not said I didnt trust him I just was telling him I want to leave the part and asked why he was putting words into my mouth? This did not satisfy him or calm him down, and he just said go somewhere else! I turned to walk to my car shaking my head in disbelief, I thought Id give it another shot so I turned back to look at him and he was making an obscene jesture behind my back in front of some other customers. This was most upsetting and uncalled for? I left, without saying another word. Honestly, I am still at a complete loss as to how I might have offended this fellow?? In all of this I was not angry, just completely baffled by this strange and bizzare happening. Actually, this whole incident left me rather scared, the guy was either hearing things that he thought I said, or he was emotionally unstable. And he wanted to pick a fight. Seriously!. I would like him to do my job but I dont know what I can do, if anything and dont know if I should even try. It was a long long drive up the peninsula to his shop in San Bruno, so its not easy for me. Dave, if you read this I am truly sorry and apologize if I offended you, I just really wanted to see your work and get my classic up to show quality. - read more

I've been told by everyone I trust that if you ever get stuck, Dave Cantwell is the man to seek out. Broken bolts, stripped threads, odd project that is beyond the scope of anyone else you can think of, Cantwell's is your place. So I finally called their bluff and took my weird little "plastic" windshield that had gotten scratched up down to Cantwell's to see if they would have a solution. Their shop is unassuming, no sign, just the address on the office door and your typical steel roll-up door next to that. Dave came out when he saw me standing at the entrance and I showed him what I had. He knew exactly what it was made out of "polycarbonate" and that my problem was that it had a non-scratch coating on the surface that was creating my woes. He said it could be polished back to clear but there will always be an edge where the non-scratch coating ends, unless we buffed the whole surface out. Here is why I am writing this 5 start review though, he took the time to brainstorm a few possible "work-arounds" I could pursue on my own to save a few bucks and keep the piece as original as possible. Really, did that just happen? Yes it did. Dave was completely unassuming and helpful and as crazed as this may sound, I cannot wait to take him something to work on and make some money off me! This is the kind of business we all need to support. read more

I've been using Cantwell Associates since the 90s for occasional polish jobs for the semiconductor and research industry. Every difficult oddball piece I've brought them, they've performed with distinction where others had failed. They also recovered/restored some rare magnesium wheels for my friend. They represent the best in individual pride and craftsmanship without the attitude. They are the best. read more

Dave and everyone else are the only ones to see for all of your fabrication needs, or anything else related to metal. The best, and they've been around for years. read more

Dave is a master at what he does. My dad was a meticulous commercial architect who worked with Dave on a number of intricate fabrications. There are very few real craftsmen left with Dave's skill and problem solving capabilities. Yes, you may have to be patient, but there is simply no one better at what he does. Those that know Dave really know. He's also just a genuinely nice guy. read more

Cantwell is bar far the best fabricator I have worked with over the past 15 years. He cares about his work product and he cares about his customers. You will find very few shops where the head honcho does the work himself and this is the case at Cantwell. His polishing is excellent and the rates are below market. The tradeoff for the good work is that jobs are not rushed through so do not expect a fast turnaround although they make exceptions especially with polishing. read more

I have been using these guys for years for polishing/chroming automotive parts. Dave is very helpful and very nice to talk too. He does the most excellent job polishing you have seen. He had done my previous show car that had magazine coverage and now he is polishing parts for my new project. If you need any thing polished, chromed, or even repaired def. give him a ring and they are right there in San Bruno and he has very affordable prices. +1 Cantwell read more

Paul is an excelent fabricator and welder. Their chrome and polishing is show quality. I've used them for numerous of my customers cars and have never been let down. Too bad for the most part he is a one man show, sometimes leading to him taking a little longer than expected. None the less he is a awesome welder and has never under delivered in my 10 years of using him. read more

This is my go to spot for repairing / straightening / polishing aluminum and stainless trim for 50's, 60's and 70's era restoration vehicles. Dave is truly a magician when it comes to making this stuff look like new again. There is no one else I trust in the SF Bay Area. I also trust Dave with color polishing chrome which goes quite well also. Not the cheapest guy around but quality and price go hand in hand in the restoration world. If you insist on paying cheap you're gonna end up with an amateur looking final product. Pay professional prices and get quality product. read more

I've been getting work done by Dave and the guys here for over 10 years. They are professionals and know their trade. I have gone to Dave countless time with an idea in my head and if it was possible, he has made it a reality. If you need a machinist or something polished, don't think twice, go here. read more

This is a great local business specializing in fabrication, welding, and polishing. Dave and sons have done a great job of everything I have asked them to take care of. I was most impressed with some aluminum welding on old motorcycle parts. It takes a great deal of skill to weld 50 year old Japanese cast aluminum, and they do it well. That speaks volumes for the breadth of fine craftsmanship that they offer. read more

I used Cantwell Associates to polish some aluminum car parts prior to bright dipping and anodizing. They did a great job with the detail work of removing dents and small scratches. These details are important so that the anodizing or bright dipping (which they do not do) comes out perfect. The owner can recommend places that can do the final anodizing. Dave (I think that was the owner's name) actually held on to some of my parts which I had forgotten to pick up for a couple of years. When I retrieved them they were still there and in perfect shape. They are scrupulous and honest! It's a rare thing to find quality and honesty in the same place. My powder coater recommended Cantwell to me and I recommend them also. read more

Cantwell's is the place to go for fabrication, big ideas, and odd jobs. I needed something small on my first trip to see Dave: An extension to the mounting arms of my engine stand. Rather than just asking me to give him the specifications, Dave took the time to ask some good questions about what I was trying to accomplish and why. Once we'd gotten done with a (very interesting and educational) conversation about the project as a whole, Dave made some great suggestions about how to accomplish the goal with a much improved approach. Dave has a depth of experience and a friendly curiosity that makes him the perfect (and all too rare) partner for whatever idea you're considering. read more

If I can give negative stars I would. I brought in my wheel to get straighten out in March letting the old man know I'm going to be out of town for a month and half so should be plenty of time to get it fix. I came back to the shop in mid April and the haven't been touched. I ask if it can be repair and the old man gave me same bs on he was going to straighten the wheel. So I left the wheel for another week. Came back so same bs on who he was going to straighten the wheel. So finally after 2months of waiting for nothing and multiple trips to this guy Dave. I gave up and took my wheel to find another place. Crazy thing is when I took back the wheel the old man seem to throw a fit like a little child. Never again. Waste of time read more

Cantwell Associates are amazing! I had an accident a while back with my log spliter. Twisted the I-beam like a pretzel. I thought my log splitter was history. Knowing that DAVE worked with metal, I stopped by for a chat. He took on my log spliter's twisted I-beam. I couldn't believe my eyes when I picked it up. WOW! STRAIGHT as a pin. I think Dave and company can do anything. read more

Another great find of a small business. Dave Cantwell and his sons treated me like a long tome customer. I searched forever to find someone to straighten and polish the stainless steel trim around the windshield of my 1965 Corvette. Dave even made a tool to fit the unusual contour of the trim. It looks great. Thanks Dave! read more