I remember sitting in my first apprenticeship, staring at a pile of ruined iron and wondering why my mentor looked more disappointed in me than the metal itself. I had tried to force a bend before the steel was even Continue reading Fundamental Blacksmithing Skills for New Smiths
I remember sitting in my old shop back in the eighties, the smell of burnt oil and ozone thick enough to chew on, staring at a rusted-out cast iron lathe component that most folks would’ve tossed straight into the scrap Continue reading The Process of Restoring Antique Metalwork
I remember sitting in a cramped workshop back in ’84, the smell of rosin flux thick in the air and my eyes stinging from a cheap, finicky heating element that just wouldn’t hold a steady temperature. I had a delicate Continue reading Choosing a Soldering Iron for Metalwork
I can still smell that burnt ozone and singed hair from the summer of ’84, the year a young apprentice in my shop decided he was too good for a proper leather apron. He thought he could breeze through a Continue reading Essential Welding Safety Protocols
I was hunched over my workbench last Tuesday, staring at a tarnished Victorian-era lamp that some kid had tried to “fix” with a bottle of harsh, supermarket acid. The metal was pitted, scarred, and half-ruined because they thought speed was Continue reading Restoring the Shine to Old Brass Items
I remember a Tuesday back in ’88, standing in the middle of a fabrication floor with a deadline looming and a client breathing down my neck. I spent forty-five minutes hunting for a specific set of calipers, only to find Continue reading How to Organize a Metalworking Workshop
I still remember the smell of ozone and singed hair from a job back in ’84, when a kid I was mentoring thought he could dodge his leather apron just to stay a bit cooler in the shop. He thought Continue reading Essential Welding Safety Protocols for the Workshop
I remember sitting at my workbench twenty years ago, staring at a cracked vintage manifold and wondering why the solder just wouldn’t take, no matter how much heat I threw at it. I’d spent half a morning sweating over the Continue reading How to Solder Brass Components
I remember standing over a workbench back in ’84, trying to fix a heavy-duty conveyor bracket with a set of cheap, flimsy riveting tools I’d picked up from a local hardware chain. The metal was screaming, the rivets were buckling, Continue reading How to Use Riveting Tools
I remember standing over a piece of custom-fabricated flashing back in ’84, watching a young apprentice try to force a specific shade of verdigris by dousing the metal in a cocktail of harsh chemicals he’d read about online. The smell Continue reading Creating and Controlling Copper Patina