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 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 sitting in my first apprenticeship, my hands shaking slightly as I tried to smooth out a jagged edge on a piece of scrap steel. My mentor didn’t hand me some fancy, computerized measuring tool; he just tossed a Continue reading Selecting the Right Metal Files
I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a young apprentice try to file a piece of heavy mild steel while his workpiece danced and jittered like a nervous dog. He’d gone and bought one of those Continue reading How to Use a Bench Vise
I still remember the smell of ozone and scorched iron from my first year in the fabrication shop—a scent that usually meant someone had been too damn impatient. I watched a young apprentice, eager to prove he didn’t need a Continue reading Safety Precautions in a Metal Workshop
I remember standing in a massive fabrication shop back in the late eighties, watching a green kid try to force a high-speed bit through a thick slab of seasoned steel. He was leaning his entire body weight into the handle, Continue reading Using a Drill Press for Metalwork
I remember back in ’84, a young apprentice in my shop tried to weld a thin-walled copper fitting because he thought it was the “strongest” way to do things. He ended up blowing a hole right through the damn thing, Continue reading Differences Between Brazing and Welding
I remember sitting in a cramped workshop back in ’84, the smell of rosin flux thick in the air and my eyes stinging from a cheap, finicky heating element that just wouldn’t hold a steady temperature. I had a delicate Continue reading Choosing a Soldering Iron for Metalwork
I remember standing over a workbench back in ’84, trying to fix a heavy-duty conveyor bracket with a set of cheap, flimsy riveting tools I’d picked up from a local hardware chain. The metal was screaming, the rivets were buckling, Continue reading How to Use Riveting Tools
I remember standing in a massive industrial shop back in ’84, watching a kid spend three hours trying to find the “perfect” precision-machined gadget from a catalog just to fix a simple bracket. He was surrounded by shiny, overpriced junk Continue reading Fundamental Hand Tools for Metalworkers