Ethan Caldwell

A follow focus system is a precision tool that lets filmmakers pull focus smoothly on a geared lens without ever touching the focus ring. When I started shooting short films on a DSLR five years ago, my focus pulls looked like a strobe light. After mounting my first follow focus, those same rack focus shots … Read more

I’ve spent years cutting steel in fabrication shops, and I’ll tell you straight up: a chop saw is one of the most-used tools in any steel shop. The best chop saws for steel fabrication don’t just slice through metal, they handle daily production work without burning out motors or throwing sparks everywhere. Our team has … Read more

I remember the first time I tried to tack-weld a rectangular tube frame without a helper. I clamped one corner, eyeballed the rest, and ended up with a parallelogram that lives in my shop as a reminder. That is the day I started looking seriously at magnetic welding squares. Magnetic welding squares are portable magnetic … Read more

I spent three months running these clamps through real fabrication work, including pipe welding, frame assemblies, and sheet metal fit-ups, and I want to share what actually holds up on the shop floor. If you are hunting for the best welding clamps for fabrication shops, this guide cuts straight to the gear that fabricators reach … Read more

When I rebuilt my home fabrication shop last spring, the first thing I borrowed from a buddy was an old abrasive chop saw. The sparks flew across the garage, the wheel wore down fast, and every cut left a rough edge that needed grinding before welding. After eight weeks of testing the best cut off … Read more

If you spend weekends tearing down old farm equipment, processing wrecked vehicles, or breaking apart structural steel, you already know that the right cutting torch makes the difference between a productive afternoon and a frustrating one. After testing torches in real scrap yard conditions, comparing flame performance on plate steel, I-beams, and rusted pipe, our … Read more

If you shoe horses for a living or you’re building out a farrier rig for the first time, the right blacksmith tools for farriers can be the difference between a clean, balanced fit and a trip back to the barn. I spent the last few weeks comparing hammers, tongs, nippers, rasps, and forges side by … Read more

If you have just fired up your first coal forge or propane burner, the first thing your hand will reach for is a pair of blacksmith tongs. I remember standing in my garage the first time I tried to rotate a piece of 1/2 inch square stock with a pair of bent locking pliers. The … Read more

I still remember the first knife I tried to forge on a flimsy 10-pound slab of cast iron. The anvil bounced harder than the hammer, my bevel drifted every other strike, and what should have been a chef’s knife ended up looking like a banana. That disaster taught me the single biggest lesson every knife … Read more

I have spent years around horses and farriers, and I have watched a lot of folks blow their budget on the wrong anvil. The anvil is the single most important tool in any farrier’s rig, and choosing the best anvils for farriers is not the same as picking a general blacksmith anvil. Farrier anvils are … Read more