I remember a Tuesday back in ’88, working a heavy fabrication job on a custom chassis. I was halfway through a critical weld when one of those cheap, flimsy C-clamps I’d picked up to save a few bucks decided to Continue reading Holding Metal Securely for Work
I remember sitting in my first shop back in ’78, staring at a rusted-out cast iron lathe that looked more like a heap of scrap than a precision machine. I’d spent half my paycheck on some fancy, overpriced chemical solvent Continue reading Cleaning Metal Surfaces Effectively
I remember sitting in my old mentor’s shop back in the seventies, the air thick with the smell of ozone and burnt oil, watching him pick up a rusted, pitted hammer like it was made of gold. He didn’t care Continue reading Essential Metalworking Tools
I remember standing over a piece of glowing cherry-red steel back in ’84, my hands shaking not from fear, but from sheer exhaustion. I’d spent three hours trying to force a shape using a cheap, poorly balanced mallet I’d picked Continue reading Types of Hammers for Metalwork
I remember a Tuesday back in ’88, working on a heavy-gauge chassis repair, when I learned a lesson the hard way. I was rushing, trying to move a piece of glowing orange steel, and I thought my old, thin leather Continue reading Choosing Gloves for Metalwork
I can still hear the sharp, rhythmic ping of a stray shard of steel hitting the concrete floor of the shop back in ’84. I was working on a heavy-duty bracket, feeling confident and a bit too rushed, when a Continue reading Importance of Eye Protection in Metalwork
I remember standing in a dusty fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a green kid blow through a perfectly good set of bastard files because he thought speed was the same thing as skill. He was trying to force a Continue reading Using Files for Metal Shaping
I remember sitting in my first shop back in the seventies, staring at a piece of brushed steel that looked like absolute rubbish because I’d tried to “speed up” the finishing process. I had grabbed a handful of whatever cheap, Continue reading Sanding Metal With Various Grits
I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in the late eighties, surrounded by a floor so cluttered with twisted offcuts and rusted shavings that you could barely walk without catching a boot on something. My foreman used to yell Continue reading Managing Scrap Metal in the Workshop
I remember sitting in a dimly lit workshop back in ’84, squinting through a cloud of grinding dust just to see the edge of a copper sconce I was trying to shape. The smell of hot ozone and scorched oil Continue reading Lighting Requirements for Metalwork