I remember standing in my first real shop back in the seventies, the air thick with the smell of coal smoke and scorched scale, staring at a catalog of “beginner kits” that cost more than my first truck. They’ll try Continue reading Stop Wasting Good Steel: the Only Essential Tools for Beginning Blacksmithing Projects Worth Your Time
I remember sitting in my first apprenticeship, staring at a piece of expensive mild steel and feeling that knot in my stomach because my freehand measurements were off by a fraction of an inch. I’d spent three hours prepping the Continue reading Creating Templates for Metalwork
I remember standing over a piece of seasoned carbon steel back in ’84, squinting through a haze of grinding dust and a single, flickering bulb that did nothing but cast long, deceptive shadows. I thought I was making a clean Continue reading Optimizing Lighting for Metalworking Tasks
I remember standing over a sheet of brushed steel back in ’84, trying to apply a simple pattern, only to watch the paint bleed under the edges like a leaking faucet. I’d spent three hours prepping the surface, but because Continue reading Using Stencils on Metal Surfaces
I remember sitting in my first apprenticeship, staring at a piece of scrap that a senior smith told me was “just metal,” only to have it shatter under the hammer because I hadn’t respected its composition. I’ve spent forty years Continue reading Stop Wasting Material: Why You Must Master the Differences Between Steel and Iron Before You Strike the Anvil
I remember sitting in my old shop back in the nineties, staring at a client’s commissioned piece that looked like it had been dipped in cheap, spray-on paint rather than aged by hand. People today seem to think you can Continue reading Applying Patina to Bronze Objects
I remember a rainy Tuesday back in ’84, standing over a piece of fine-grade steel that I’d spent three hours prepping, only to watch it slip because my bench-top vice decided to give up the ghost. The sound of that Continue reading How to Use a Metalworking Vise
I remember standing in a massive industrial shop back in the eighties, watching a young apprentice blow a perfectly good piece of structural steel because he’d grabbed the wrong cutting disc. He thought that as long as the tool was Continue reading Choosing the Right Angle Grinder Attachments
I remember sitting in a drafty fabrication shop back in ’84, staring at a piece of tool steel that had been ruined because some kid thought he could outrun the cooling process. The smell of scorched oil and the bitter Continue reading Achieving Precision in Metalwork
I remember standing in a fabrication shop back in the late eighties, watching a kid try to scrub oxidation off a piece of heavy plate with a wire brush so flimsy it looked like it belonged in a kitchen drawer. Continue reading Using Wire Brushes for Metal Cleaning