I remember sitting in my old shop back in the nineties, staring at a piece of brass that looked like it had been pulled from the bottom of a harbor. I’d spent three hours fighting with a high-speed buffer, thinking Continue reading Achieving a High Polish on Metal
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 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 a job back in ’92, working on a custom heavy-duty trailer frame. A young apprentice, eager to impress but lacking any real sense, grabbed a batch of mild steel thinking it was high-carbon because the supplier’s invoice was Continue reading Understanding Different Steel Grades
I remember standing over a forge in my first year of apprenticeship, watching a senior smith pull a piece of high-carbon steel from the coals. The smell of scorched oil and the rhythmic hiss of the quench tank are sounds Continue reading Basic Guide to Heat Treating Metal
I remember back in ’84, working a double shift in a fabrication shop in Sheffield, I watched a young lad spend three weeks meticulously organizing a tool cabinet only to realize he’d placed his heavy anvil on the far side Continue reading Planning an Efficient Metal Workshop Layout
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 a job back in the late eighties, working on a heavy industrial frame, where a young apprentice thought he could “eyeball” a measurement to save time. He was halfway through a cut before I saw the look of Continue reading Accurate Measuring in Metalwork
I remember standing in a drafty fabrication shop back in ’84, watching a kid try to force a joint together with a rivet that was clearly too short for the job. He was sweating, cursing, and hitting that metal with Continue reading Techniques for Riveting Sheet Metal
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