About Rogue Fabrication
About
Joe Gambino
Mechanical engineer, fabricator, and builder. Getting his hands dirty since he was 12 years old. The engineering degree, the career at defense and aerospace firms, and the company he founded in his garage — all of it grew out of the same instinct: figure out how things work, then make them better.
Engineering Background
Joe graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oregon Institute of Technology in 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Business, earning a 3.96 GPA. While at OIT he completed engineering internships at Garmin’s avionics division and Leupold and Stevens while carrying 15 or more credits per term at the OIT Portland campus and working 40 or more hours per week to finish his degree on time. He also worked as a paid campus tutor in mathematics, calculus, physics, and chemistry in courses he had already completed. He competed in track and field at OIT as a pole vaulter.
He holds the Engineer in Training (EIT) certification from OSBEELS (Oregon State Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying, April 2010) and the Senior Level Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Professional (GDTP) certification from ASME (Credential ID GDTP S-0688, issued August 2011, actively maintained). The GDTP Senior Level is the highest GD&T credential ASME offers. Joe satisfied the experience requirements by drawing on internship and early-career work, making him likely among the youngest engineers in Oregon ever to hold it.
Career
Before founding Rogue Fabrication, Joe spent nearly a decade in demanding engineering roles across the Pacific Northwest.
At Leupold and Stevens (2008–2011), he worked on the Tactical Product Development team and originated the product name HAMR. He is the sole named inventor on US Patent USRE46226E1, a weapon sighting device design patent for the Mark 4 HAMR (High Accuracy Multi-Range) riflescope — a 4x24mm tactical optic for military and law enforcement. He was 23 when the design work was completed.
At Precision Castparts (2011–2012), he was responsible exclusively for the investment casting and processing of titanium alloy aerospace components, overseeing $15 to $30 million in parts annually. At FLIR Systems (2012–2013) he developed opto-mechanical systems and performed finite element stress and frequency analysis. Contract roles at Flex Force Enterprises, Pro Lift Suspension, and SIG Sauer followed, covering gyro-stabilized weapons mounts, suspension structural analysis, and small arms optics and sighting systems.
Builds
Joe’s fabrication work started before his engineering training and has never stopped. Almost every build below was executed entirely by Joe — two farmouts across two decades: one driveshaft, one ring and pinion.
1989 Nissan 240SX (S13) — Age 17
First engine swap at 17 (~2002). SR20DET into an S13, Z32 300ZX brakes, full suspension package. Built for drifting.
1981 Toyota Pickup — Age 18
Ultra-long travel leaf spring suspension, lockers, regeared axles (R&P farmed out), high-steer, beadlocks. First four-wheel drive build.
1987 BMW 325i Convertible (E30) — Age 20
In 2005: full restoration plus a turbocharged SR20DET swap producing approximately 280 horsepower. 1991 BMW M3 differential with 4.10 gears and clutch LSD. 2005 BMW 330Ci brakes at 12.5 inches with a Wilwood balance valve. Full 5-lug E36 suspension swap. Genuine BBS E36 M3 staggered wheels. One farmout: the driveshaft.
1988 Toyota 4Runner — Age 21 to Present
Joe’s longest build. Started at 21, driveable by graduation in 2009, trail-ready by 2011. Toyota Supra Turbo 7M-GTE engine. Hybrid R154/R150 transmission with dual transfer cases for compound-low gearing — all adapter work done in-house. Mercedes-Benz Unimog 404 portal axles with approximately 1.25-ton strength rating per axle, factory 17-inch drum brakes that lock up 42-inch Super Swamper TSLs on Humvee beadlocks, air-operated selectable lockers. The tubular exo cage was built in 2012 on the first M6xx prototype. The original H1 wheel centers — the company’s first product — are still on the truck today. Documented: Project Turbo Mogrunner on Pirate4x4.com.
1972 BMW 2002 — Current Build
A widebody resto-mod documented in an ongoing series on the RogueFab YouTube channel. E46 subframes and arms, JRZ RS2 coilovers on custom upper plates with adjustable camber and caster, twin-turbocharged BMW N54 producing approximately 400 wheel horsepower, GS6-53BZ six-speed manual converted from AWD to RWD in-house, Ford Mustang Gen 2 8.8-inch IRS differential, and custom investment-cast chromoly caliper adapters engineered in-house. Target budget: $10,000 all-in including the vehicle. Full cage, fire suppression, and fuel cell planned for sanctioned competition. Build thread: bmw2002faq.com.
1985 Trihawk 304
One of approximately 96 ever produced. Front-wheel-drive three-wheeler built in California using Citroen, Renault, and Honda components. Harley-Davidson acquired the company in 1985 and shelved it after fewer than 100 units were made. The Trihawk has been in Joe’s family for approximately 35 years. Jay Leno owns one too.
Motorsports
Dirt bikes since age 12, taught by his father. Raced locally as a kid. Still rides today on a Husqvarna FC450, covering trails throughout Oregon and the Oregon Dunes. Teaching his kids to ride now — three generations on two wheels.
Since 2019, Joe and his son have competed together in Lo206 four-stroke kart racing at PARC and McMinnville Raceway Park. Lo206 is a spec class built around affordability and close racing — one of the few disciplines where a father and son race side by side at the same level.
SCCA autocross in Portland and White City, Oregon. Multiple P1 finishes in the Street Modified class in the 240SX — the same car he first built as a drift car at 17.
Off-road since 2003. Rocks, trails, dunes, snow, mud. Oregon has all of it within a few hours of Sandy.
The Company
Rogue Fabrication LLC
Founded in 2010 as Rogue Offroad Engineering, LLC in Hillsboro, Oregon. Became Rogue Fabrication LLC in 2012. Relocated to Sandy, Oregon in 2014. Everything is built here. The lineup covers tube bending machines, tube notchers, a CNC shop press and press brake, dimple dies, hole saws, and a tube bending layout tool. All of it designed, made, and shipped from Sandy, Oregon.
Products
The M6xx tube bender series — M601, M605, and M625 — shares a single die ecosystem of over 50 sizes across all three machines. The VersaNotcher and UltraNotcher are hole-saw notchers built to a standard no imported machine matches. The VersaPress is a patented 20-ton CNC shop press and press brake. The tube bending layout tool replaces CAD for physical mock-up work. Everything ships from Sandy, Oregon.
Intellectual Property
Six issued US patents as of June 2026. Four additional applications pending.
- US 11529784 — VersaPress: Retrofit Systems for Converting Manual Presses to Automated Presses
- US 11376677 — UltraNotcher: Tube Notching Devices (Dual Pivot)
- US 11679431 — Thin Wall Roller: Pressure Die Systems for Tube Bending Machine
- US 11529663 — M6xx Bender Frame/Wheels: Tube Bending Machines with Alignment Systems
- US 11478838 — M600 Series Mandrel Lubrication System: Tube Bending Systems
- US 11772146 — Additional tube processing innovation
Over a dozen registered or pending US trademarks covering product names, brand marks, and slogans.
Press & Community
JP Magazine
RPM Magazine — May 2020
David Chappelle of Motor Trend’s Dirt Every Day visited the shop to pick up an M625 on camera. Grind Hard Plumbing Co has built exclusively with RogueFab tools since 2018. Joe has collaborated with Rob Dahm and B is for Build on YouTube. RogueFab has exhibited at King of the Hammers four times and Dunefest in Oregon three times.
Free Resources
The Technical Content Ecosystem
Every technical article on roguefab.com was written by Joe personally. The Bender Tech reference page covers tube bending theory, material selection, CLR and wall ratio, and die selection in more depth than any other free resource in the fabrication industry. Bending 101 is the entry point for fabricators new to rotary draw bending.
The tube bending calculator and the bend quality calculator are free engineering tools available to anyone. The tube calculator has over one million annual Google impressions — fabricators use it daily to compare materials, evaluate member lengths, and understand the structural implications of their tube selections. No other tube bender manufacturer offers anything comparable.
These tools exist because Joe built them for himself first, then put them on the internet. That’s the same reason the machines exist.
Questions about which machine fits your application? Call us. Joe (and the team) answer the phone.
See the M6xx Tube Benders
Use the Free Tube Calculator
503-389-5413