Most folks think that if a copper pot looks tarnished or dull, it’s a lost cause and time to head to the big-box store for a cheap replacement. They see a bit of green oxidation and assume the metal is Continue reading Restoring the Shine to Copper
I remember standing in the middle of a fabrication floor back in ’84, staring at a half-finished jig because I couldn’t find a single M6 hex bolt. I had spent twenty minutes digging through a chaotic heap of mixed fasteners, Continue reading Stop Wasting Material to Chaos: the Disciplined Way of Storing Small Hardware and Workshop Supplies
I remember a young apprentice back in ’84 who thought he could save ten minutes by skipping the leak test and just cranking the regulators to max. I watched him struggle with a sputtering, uneven flame for nearly twenty minutes, Continue reading How to Set Up an Oxyacetylene Torch
I remember my first real shop floor back in ’78, and I can still feel the vibration in my teeth from a workbench that was nothing more than a flimsy sheet of plywood over some hollow steel tubing. I spent Continue reading A No-nonsense Guide to Setting Up a Metalworking Bench That Actually Works
I remember sitting in a cramped industrial shop back in ’84, staring at a rusted-out bracket that looked like it might be mild steel, but I had a gut feeling it was something else entirely. I spent three hours heating Continue reading Identifying Unknown Metal Objects
I remember sitting in my old shop back in the eighties, the air thick with the smell of charcoal and the rhythmic tink-tink-tink of a chasing hammer. I was staring at a sheet of copper that had been ruined because Continue reading Stop Chasing Cheap Aesthetics and Master the Real Techniques for Decorative Copper Smithing That Actually Stand the Test of Time.
I remember standing over a piece of heavy structural steel back in ’84, watching a junior apprentice try to blast through a thick layer of oxidation with a cheap, high-speed grinder. He was sweating, cursing, and wasting half his discs Continue reading Removing Scale From Hot Metal
I spent forty years in heavy fabrication, and if there’s one thing I learned from working with steel, it’s that you can’t do fine work if your workspace is a disaster. I see people nowadays spending a fortune on fancy, Continue reading Stop Treating Your Craft Like a Temporary Hobby: Why Creating a Dedicated Space for Sewing Projects Is the Only Way to Build Something That Lasts.
I remember standing in the doorway of a Victorian fixer-upper back in ’88, the air thick with the smell of wet rot and decades of stagnant dust. I looked at the sagging floorboards and the rusted ironwork, and I knew Continue reading Stop Rushing the Restoration: Why Most People Fail at the Process of Rehabilitating Abandoned Historic Homes
I was clearing out an old barn last autumn when I found a stack of hand-hewn beams that had been sitting in the dust for sixty years. Most folks would look at those grey, weathered slabs and see nothing but Continue reading Reclaimed Wood Furniture: a No-nonsense Guide to Building Things That Actually Last