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
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
I was clearing out a neighbor’s garage last summer when I found a Lodge skillet buried under a pile of rusted garden tools, looking more like a hunk of scrap metal than something meant for a kitchen. Most folks would’ve Continue reading How to Restore Vintage Cast Iron Pans
I remember sitting on a grease-stained stool in my first shop back in ’78, staring at a seized-up vise that looked more like a pile of orange dust than a tool. I had spent my last few dollars on some Continue reading Methods for Removing Rust From Old Metal