I can still smell the ozone and burnt steel from my first week in the fabrication shop back in ’78. I remember a young lad—much like some of the fellas I see in the aisles of big-box hardware stores today—who Continue reading Essential Techniques for Metal Grinding
I can still smell the burnt cutting oil and the heavy scent of shaved steel that used to hang in the air of the fabrication shop back in ’84. I remember a young apprentice—bright kid, but far too impatient—who thought Continue reading Basics of Metal Turning on a Lathe
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 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 was hunched over my workbench last Tuesday, staring at a rusted-out Stanley plane I’d picked up at a yard sale, when I realized just how much junk is being passed off as “patina” these days. Most folks think antique Continue reading Restoring Vintage Hand Tools
I remember sitting in my old shop back in the late eighties, staring at a piece of carbon steel that I’d spent six hours prepping, only to watch it turn a blotchy, uneven mess because I’d tried to force the Continue reading Ways to Develop a Steel Patina
I remember sitting in my first fabrication shop back in the seventies, staring at a joint that looked fine to the naked eye but snapped like a dry twig the moment the machine hummed to life. I’d rushed the job, Continue reading Methods for Soldering Small Metal Parts
I remember one particular Tuesday back in ’84, standing over an anvil in a shop that smelled of coal smoke and old grease, watching a young apprentice try to force a bend in a piece of high-carbon steel that wasn’t Continue reading Basic Principles of Manual Metal Forging
I remember sitting in my old shop back in ’88, the air thick with the smell of ozone and burnt flux, staring at a cracked heavy-duty bracket that a “specialist” had tried to fix with a sloppy, cold bead. He’d Continue reading Techniques for Repairing Broken Metal Components
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