Recently I suggested it was time to start moving custom building into the future, encouraging builders to take advantage of all of the powerful CAD, CAM and CNC tools available right now, learn new skills and do what the old school builders could only dream of doing. That idea was met with a bit of pushback, one being that everything you needed was really expensive. Well, … [Read more...]
Welding Can Be Common and Welding Can Be Art
Welding may be common, but the welder doesn't have to be. How you approach your work makes all the difference. You can be that guy watching the clock, putting in the time and collecting a check, or you can set a higher standard. Scott Raabe is one of the other guys, he takes his work very seriously and turns out welds that make you stop and take notice. Some time back I … [Read more...]
Building Model Formula One Racers from Cereal Boxes and Paper
When Paul Bischof was eight years old he got a paper model kit from his dad. After building it he continued with a few more, but then he thought he would like to build models of his own design. That was some years ago, he's now up to about 45 cars and these are not your average Camaro or Mustang, these are mostly Formula One racers built from photos and precise drawings he … [Read more...]
Do You Have a Future in Freestyle Mechanics?
If you're a mechanic, you should look into freestyle chess because you may gain some insight into your future. What's freestyle chess? It's a fascinating offshoot of the traditional game that appears to throw out all of the rules about cheating, you can get all of the help you want and the top level games that result, speak for themselves. Computers playing chess In the … [Read more...]
Why Hardware Offers a Bright Future for Hands On People Like You
Just a few weeks ago we reviewed the book Makers: the New Industrial Revolution, a book focusing on the growing movement toward "small batch" manufacturing, enabled by the powerful combination of computers, the Internet and an exploding array of very capable high quality tools. In the few short weeks since, there have been some interesting developments and comments, … [Read more...]
So Good They Can’t Ignore You – Why Follow Your Passion is Bad Advice – a Review
If you are like the majority of people, you didn't grow up with a preexisting passion, you didn't know from one day to the next what you wanted to do or be, you just grew up. No matter what your particular circumstances, you had opportunities to do and try many things and when someone asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" you may have answered differently depending … [Read more...]