The itinerant tinsmith of colonial America, with toolbox slung over his shoulder, would not recognize today's sheet metal worker. Nor would that 18th century rover with his tinsnips, soldering iron, tongs, vise and hammer - tools necessary to mend a household's dippers and basins and recast broken spoons recognize today's computer aided design techniques.

The processes, markets and training are different, although the basic material remains the same. But today it is being shaped to meet the advanced needs of homeowners, commercial firms and architects.

In the Greater Cleveland area, the descendants of those colonial tinsmiths are members of Local 33 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, an organization that got its start in Toledo in 1888 as the Tin, Sheet Iron and Cornice Workers' International Association. In 1897 it became the Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers' International Association, a name it retained until 1903 when another merger made it the Amalgamated Sheet Metal Workers International Alliance.

It was under that name that Local 65 was organized in Cleveland in 1913. For three-quarters of a century Local 65 flourished as part of the International (which changed its name to its current Sheet Metal Workers International Association in 1924). In 1988 a merger of five area locals in northern Ohio - to eliminate duplication of efforts and to put more organizers on the street - resulted in the creation of Local 33.

That change expanded the organization's jurisdiction well beyond Cleveland. As a result, Local 33 expanded to cover 40 northern Ohio counties; most of West Virginia, including Parkersburg, Charleston and Wheeling; two counties in Michigan contiguous to Toledo's Lucas County; and one in Pennsylvania, adjacent to Youngstown's Mahoning County.

Another activity yesterday's tinsmiths would not recognize is the union's five-year apprenticeship program. With eight training sites located throughout the local's jurisdiction, apprentices undergo extensive training. As extensive as it is, only a portion can be taught. It's possible to teach them math and computer usage. But because sheet metal workers also are artisans, it is impossible to teach them how to visualize the end result. Sheet metal workers are proud of the fact that theirs is the only trade in which the workers fabricate from flat steel to finished product and then install what they create. Other trades purchase what they need and then do the installation.

And more and more frequently, Local 33 members are installing those finished products in residences. For years, residential work was the backbone of the industry. As the housing market stalled in the 50s and 60s, the trade's market increasingly turned toward the commercial side. As housing starts increased in the 1990s, HVAC (especially air conditioning) became increasingly important and residential work began to recapture some of the glamour it once had.

The sheet metal artisans work can be seen in everything from stainless steel kitchen equipment to architectural and building design. In Cleveland it is evident on church roofs such as St. Vladimir's, and at Jacobs Field, the Browns Stadium and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

It's the kind of craftsmanship that enables the almost 5,000 members of Local 33 to show their "mettle."