I remember standing over a piece of copper back in ’84, watching a young apprentice try to force a finish by cranking the torch way too high. He thought he could skip the prep work and just blast the color Continue reading Creating an Antique Patina on Metal
Most folks see a hairline crack in an old skillet and think it’s headed straight for the scrap heap, but that’s a load of nonsense. They’ll tell you that once the iron breaks, the piece is dead, but I’ve spent Continue reading Repairing Cracked Cast Iron Items
I remember standing over a ruined piece of high-carbon steel back in ’84, watching the surface pit and discolor because I’d been too impatient with the quenching bath. The smell of scorched oil and the sight of that wasted material Continue reading The Chemistry of Metalwork
I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice blow a three-hundred-dollar specialized wrench because he thought he needed the fanciest gadget in the catalog to get the job done. It’s the same story I Continue reading Essential Tools for Metalwork
I can still smell the burnt ozone and singed hair from the afternoon I decided to skip the face shield because “it was just a quick grind.” I was twenty-two, cocky, and thought I knew better than the old-timers, but Continue reading Safety Rules for the Metal Workshop
I remember sitting in my first fabrication shop back in the seventies, staring at a pile of scrap metal and feeling like a complete fraud because my beads looked more like a row of bird droppings than a professional weld. Continue reading Improving Tig Welding Skills
I still remember the first time I stood in front of a heavy industrial machine in my apprenticeship, the smell of cutting oil thick in the air and the steady, rhythmic hum of the motor vibrating right through the soles Continue reading Operating a Metal Lathe
I remember standing in my old shop back in the nineties, surrounded by a mountain of twisted offcuts and rusted shavings that looked more like trash than treasure. A younger foreman walked in, looked at the mess, and told me Continue reading Managing Metal Scrap in the Workshop
I remember sitting at my bench back in ’84, staring at a piece of sterling silver that I’d just ruined because I thought I could manhandle the tool into submission. I was young, impatient, and convinced that if I just Continue reading Metalwork With a Jeweler’s Saw
I can still smell the ozone and burnt coal from my first week in the shop, a scent that sticks to your skin long after you’ve clocked out. I remember standing over a piece of glowing mild steel, my hands Continue reading Pursuing Metalwork Training