Problem-Solving Case Studies

Few things in a workshop are as frustrating as the high-pitched screech of a tool vibrating against metal. I remember a project about ten years ago involving a series of…

I have spent the last 18 years in fabrication shops, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that a machine is only as good as its…

I remember standing in a cold shop three years ago, staring at a pile of 1-inch thick plate steel that needed to be beveled, cleaned, and tacked by the end…

I remember a Tuesday back in 2012 that perfectly illustrates the frustration of a machine that refuses to cooperate. I was working on a custom heavy-duty mounting plate for a…

I remember a Tuesday afternoon about eight years ago when a simple facing operation on a block of 4140 steel nearly sent me to the hospital. I had tightened the…

I have spent the last 18 years in industrial fabrication mills and custom shops, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is that a machine is only…

I have spent the better part of two decades under the flickering hum of shop lights, chasing ghosts in machine tools. There is a specific kind of frustration that sets…

I’ve spent nearly two decades in fabrication shops, and if there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s that a machine never fails at a convenient time. You’re halfway through a…

I have spent nearly two decades in the hum of fabrication shops, and few sounds are as disheartening as the sharp, metallic “tink” of a high-speed steel tap snapping off…

I’ve spent the last 15 years in industrial fabrication shops where the difference between a successful project and a costly rework often comes down to the final few minutes of…