I remember standing in my first shop back in ’78, staring at a piece of steel that had just refused to marry another. I’d spent two hours coaxing the heat, sweat stinging my eyes, only to pull the pieces apart Continue reading Understanding the Forge Welding Process
I remember the first time I saw a young apprentice try to use a high-end plasma cutter to whip through a thick plate of mild steel like he was cutting butter through toast. He was moving so fast, trying to Continue reading Using a Plasma Cutter for Metalwork
I remember standing over a heavy slab of mild steel back in the shop in ’84, the air thick with the smell of cutting oil and the high-pitched scream of a bit that had finally given up the ghost. I’d Continue reading Best Practices for Drilling Metal
I remember sitting in my old shop back in ’84, staring at a piece of hand-forged steel that I’d spent three days shaping, only to realize I’d ruined the finish because I grabbed the first cheap roll of abrasive I Continue reading Using Sandpaper on Metal Surfaces
I remember a Tuesday back in ’88, hunched over a piece of fine-grained steel in a shop that had nothing but a single, flickering fluorescent tube hanging from the rafters. I was trying to check a bevel, but between the Continue reading Choosing Effective Lighting for a Metal Workshop
I remember sitting in my shop back in ’88, staring at a cracked manifold and a shelf full of expensive, brightly colored tubes that promised the world but delivered nothing but a mess. Most folks think you can just grab Continue reading Using Epoxy for Metal Repairs
I remember sitting in my old shop back in the nineties, staring at a piece of brass that looked like it had been pulled from the bottom of a harbor. I’d spent three hours fighting with a high-speed buffer, thinking Continue reading Achieving a High Polish on Metal
I remember standing in a heavy fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a young kid try to spray a high-end industrial coating over a piece of steel that still had a thin film of machine oil on it. He was Continue reading Preparing Metal Surfaces for Finishing
I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in ’88, watching a young apprentice try to muscle through a thick plate of mild steel with an oxy-acetylene torch. The air was thick with the smell of burnt iron and the Continue reading Introduction to Plasma Cutting Tools
I remember a job back in ’92, working on a custom heavy-duty trailer frame. A young apprentice, eager to impress but lacking any real sense, grabbed a batch of mild steel thinking it was high-carbon because the supplier’s invoice was Continue reading Understanding Different Steel Grades