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Tips, Tricks, and Tools for the Home Metal Fabricator

TOOLS OF THE TRADE!

The Ultimate Guide to Auto Darkening Welding Helmets — Check this post out for the ultimate guide to selecting and purchasing an auto darkening welding helmet. Welding helmets are critical for the safety of any DIY metal work, whether you are welding or plasma cutting. Without a good welding helmet, you can cause eye stress, skin burns or even […]

The Ultimate Guide to Auto Darkening Welding Helmets

June 19, 2020 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / Shop Safety / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Antra / Auto / Battery / Darkening / Grinding / Helmet / MIG / Shade / Solar / Stick / TIG / Welding by John

Front Winch Bumper Build with Receiver Hitch for Suzuki Vitara Chevy Tracker — Time to add more reinforcement and an aluminum skidplate to our custom DIY winch bumper build! We also discuss lot of tips and tricks along the way.

Part 5 – Front Winch Bumper Build with Receiver Hitch ...

June 5, 2020 in FABRICATION PROJECTS / Suzuki Vitara/Tracker 'PJ' / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged 13000 / 9500 / Chevy / Fabricate / MIG / Off Road Winch / Offroad / Suzuki / Tracker / Vitara / Winch / Winch Mount / ZESUPER by Paul

6 Types of Clamps for Home Metal Fabrication — Let’s talk clamps. Specifically those used for DIY home welding projects. Here is a list of 6 different types, what they are, and how to use them.

6 Types of Clamps for Home Metal Fabrication

May 2, 2020 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Bar Clamp / Bench Vice / C Clamp / Cleco Fasteners / DIY / F Clamp / Fabrication / Speed Clamp / Spring Clamp / Vice / Vice Grip / Welding by Paul

Step by Step: How to Rewire a Trailer with Lights and Electric Brakes — Check out a step by step guide to rewiring a trailer end to end with new lights, wires, and a junction box. LOTS of pics included.

Step by Step: How to Rewire a Trailer with Lights ...

February 28, 2020 in DEEP THOUGHTS / FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / FABRICATION PROJECTS / MISCELLANEOUS / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged 3500 / 4 Way Plug / 7000 / Brakes / Electric / LED / Rewire / RV Plug / Tandem / Trailer / Wiring by Paul

DIY Mounting Scissor Jack Inside Engine Bay Using Grip Fist Clamps — We all have that ‘thing’ that we don’t know where to store in our vehicles. Whether it be a fire extinguisher, shovel, lug wrench, rifle, etc. In my case I needed to relocate my scissor jack. Quick Fist clamps to the rescue! Rubber clamps in just about any size to […]

How to Mount Anything Anywhere Using Quick Fist Clamps

February 13, 2020 in FABRICATION PROJECTS / Suzuki Vitara/Tracker 'PJ' / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Axe / Fire Extinguisher / Flashlight / Jack / Mount / Power Tank / Quick Fist / Rifle / Rubber / SAW / Shotgun / Shovel by Paul

DIY Gas Tank Lift Relocation- Vitara Tracker without Body Lift — Every once in a while you find a tool that you think ‘wow, that job would have sucked without that tool’. This Rivet nut tool is one of them! I recently (almost) finished my fuel tank enclosure from 14 gauge sheetmetal that I assembled exclusively with rivetnuts. As of now […]

What is a RivetNut / Nutsert tool and how do ...

January 30, 2020 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Aluminum / Carbon Steel / Crimp / Hand Riveter / Metric / Nutsert / Rivet Nut / Stainless / Standard / Thread Setter / Threadsert by Paul

Diamond Cutoff Wheel Lenox MetalMax — I am always looking for better and safer ways to do things. I came across these Diamond 4.5″ metal cutting wheels and thought I would try them out. Read more to see how they performed!

Tools of the Trade! – Diamond Cutoff Wheels

November 2, 2019 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged 14" / 4.5" / 4" / 6" / 7" / 8" / Angle / Circular Saw / Cutoff Wheel / Diamond / Grinder by Paul

Tools of the Trade: Sheetmetal Nibblers — Cutting out complex shapes in sheetmetal is challenging. Luckily some specialty tools are available to help us out! Read more for details on sheetmetal nibblers, how they work, and full write-up with pictures of how to use them!

Tools of the Trade: Sheetmetal Nibblers

January 6, 2019 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / FABRICATION PROJECTS / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Aluminum / DIY / drill / Nibbler / Sheetmetal / Sign / Tig Welding by Paul

DIY Shop cleaning and organization; installing extension cord reels — EVERY shop struggles with organization and cleanliness. Here is a motivational story on how I cleaned my DIY Metal Fab shop up and got organized so I can rock some projects in 2019!

Year End Shop Cleaning Plus How to Install Retractable Cord ...

December 29, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / MISCELLANEOUS / Shop Safety / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Cord Reel / Efficiency / Garage Organization / Safety / Shop / Shop Cleaning / Trip Hazards by Paul

Safety Tips for using Metal Fabrication Tools - LeClaire Manufacturing — I am definitely not perfect but I always try to take any extra safety precautions that I can think of before doing any potentially dangerous tasks, and you should too. When I sit down and think about it I realize I have a lot to lose and there is no shortcut […]

Safety Tips for Using Metal Fabrication Tools

November 17, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / Shop Safety / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged DIY Fabrication Safety / Fabrication / Home / Home Shop Safety / Metal / safe / Safety / Tips / Tools / Working by Paul

DIY Guide to Grinding and Cutting Wheels — What is the difference between a grinding and cutting wheel? Masonry wheels? Diamond wheels? Flap disks? Fiber Disks? Read more to find out!

DIY Guide to Grinding, Cutting, and Sanding wheels

October 16, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Cleanup / Cutting / Disk / Flap / Grinding / Sanding / Welding / Wheel by Paul

DIY - Sharpening Mower Blades — One way to tell your blades need sharpening is by looking at the cut ends of the blades of grass. Read more to see how you can do it yourself quickly and cheaply.

DIY – Sharpening Mower Blades

July 31, 2018 in MISCELLANEOUS / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Drill Press / Mower Blade Balancer / Mower Blade Sharpener / Power Drill / Sharpen Blades by Paul

Welding Glove Types — There are many different kinds of welding gloves for different welding processes. Read more to make sure you are using the right ones!

Tools of the Trade! – Welding Gloves

July 16, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / Shop Safety / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Finger Shield / Hand Pad / Heat Shield / Hot Gloves / Mig Welding / Stick Welding / Tig Welding / Welding Gloves by Paul

How to use MIG Welding Pliers — Welding pliers are a must-have for anybody with a MIG welder. Read more for lots of pictures and explanation on how they work.

Tools of the Trade! – MIG Welding Pliers

July 8, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged MIG / Nozzle / Pliers / Removal / Spatter / Tip / Welding / Wire by Paul

Tools of the Trade! – Center Punches — Center punches will help you more accurately mark and drill holes so they are right the first time. Read more to learn about center punches and how they will improve your projects!

Tools of the Trade! – Center Punches

July 3, 2018 in FABRICATION KNOWLEDGE / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! tagged Automatic Punch / Center Punch / Copy Hole Location / Drilling Metal / Hammer / Replicate Bracket / Transfer Punch by Paul

DIY Metal Fabrication Moving & New Garage Shelves — Everybody loves tools right? Well, maybe you don’t but I bet there is a father in your life that does! Check out my list for the top 10 tool gifts for Father’s Day 2018! (Reminder, it is June 17th!)

Top 10 Father’s Day Tool/Garage Gifts 2018

June 2, 2018 in MISCELLANEOUS / TOOLS OF THE TRADE! / Uncategorized tagged 2018 / Fathers Day / Gifts / June 17th / Man / Metal / Tools by Paul