Most folks think that building custom furniture from reclaimed wood is all about finding a weathered barn door and slapping some glue on it, but that’s a fast track to a wobbly mess. I learned that the hard way back Continue reading Reclaimed Wood Furniture: a No-nonsense Guide to Building Things That Actually Last
I’ve spent most of my life working with iron and steel, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you can’t fight your materials; you have to respect them. I see folks walking into craft stores lately, eyes wide, Continue reading The 7 Best Essential Tools for Beginner Pottery Makers
I can still smell the burnt ozone and stale grease from the summer of ’84, the year I spent three weeks trying to coax a seized lathe back to life in a shop that was more humidity than concrete. I Continue reading Stop Treating Your Tools Like Disposable Junk: the Honest Truth About Maintaining Heavy Machinery in a Garage.
I remember a rainy Tuesday back in ’84, standing in a fabrication shop that smelled of ozone, burnt oil, and old iron. I was staring at a precision grinder that had seized up halfway through a critical job, all because Continue reading Maintaining Equipment in a Metal Workshop
I remember a job back in ’84, working on a heavy-duty structural frame for a local mill. Some kid, fresh out of a course and eager to prove himself, decided to run a fillet weld on a butt joint just Continue reading Different Types of Welding Joints
I was hunched over a rusted wrought-iron garden chair last Tuesday, the kind of piece people usually toss into a scrap heap without a second thought. Most folks will tell you that once the pitting gets deep or the rust Continue reading How to Restore Metal Furniture Pieces
I remember standing over a heavy workbench back in ’84, staring at a piece of high-grade tool steel that I’d just ruined because I trusted a cheap, knocked-off caliper. The smell of scorched oil and the sight of a part Continue reading Taking Accurate Measurements in Metalworking
I remember standing over a rusted-out lathe back in ’84, watching a kid try to scrub away decades of oxidation with some fancy, overpriced chemical spray he’d bought online. He was scrubbing like his life depended on it, but all Continue reading Methods for Cleaning Metal Surfaces
I remember a Tuesday back in ’84, working a heavy fabrication job in a shop that felt more like a tomb. I was grinding down some thick stainless, and within ten minutes, the air was so thick with metallic dust Continue reading Importance of Ventilation in a Metal Workshop
I remember sitting in my first shop back in the late seventies, staring at a catalog filled with shiny, overpriced equipment that promised “professional results” for the amateur. I spent half my paycheck on a fancy power hammer that ended Continue reading Essential Tools for Metal Forging