just a short video outlining the last couple days of work. This should have only taken a day total but weather has been kind of getting in the way.

Over the last couple days I've been working on relocating an 8x12 shed that I am converting into a small ( or should I say VERY small) workshop. The goal with this is to give me a place to both create content for the community without competing with tv's and radios blaring, and work on making the various things I need to do around here. I'll be posting some updates and additional videos/photos in the comments as I go.

Metal fabrication can look intimidating when you're scrolling through YouTube videos or walking through a welding supply store. Every second person seems to have a shop full of expensive machines, fancy tools, and enough equipment to build a bridge. The good news? You don't need any of that to get started. Most beginner metalworkers can tackle a surprising number of projects with a handful of basic tools, some safety gear, and a willingness to learn. Whether you're building shop tables, trailer accessories, garden gates, firewood racks, or custom brackets, the tools below will get you moving without draining your bank account. Should you have any questions, please drop them in the comments below, and I'll reply ASAP. Start With Safety Gear Before buying your first power tool, buy the equipment that protects the only body you'll ever own. At minimum, every beginner fabricator should have: - Safety glasses - Face shield - Welding helmet (if welding) - Leather work gloves - Hearing protection ( I use earmuff-style protectors with an NRR of at least 23 decibels) - Steel-toe boots - Fire-resistant work clothing - A respirator for grinding and cutting dust, a half mask or full face with P100 filters, is common. Metal fabrication creates sparks, flying debris, noise, sharp edges, and hot surfaces. Getting hurt is expensive. Good safety gear generally isn't—the exception being fire-resistant clothing. Actual FR rated clothing can be pricey, but you can, however, make do with 100% cotton clothing such as denim jeans and Denim shirts. Synthetics and polyester blends should be avoided because the material can melt or ignite more readily and cause more severe injuries. Melted plastic is hard to get out of a burn, ask me how I know... :-( The Angle Grinder: The Most Important Tool in the Shop. If there is one tool that deserves a spot at the top of the list, it's the angle grinder. A quality 4½-inch grinder can: - Cut steel - Grind welds - Remove rust - Clean metal - Bevel edges - Polish surfaces - Sharpen tools

What is predrilling, and how can it save you time and money? We're going to look at that today. I'll explain what predrilling is, what it's for, what it does, as well as when and how it should be used. So what is predrilling anyway? Short answer, it's drilling a small hole first before driving a fastener into your material. Long answer, predrilling is the act of drilling a hole, often called a pilot hole, the length of your fastener, before driving it into your material. This fastener can be a screw or lag bolt, and, in some cases even a nail, depending on the application and need. Now, if your wondering what predrilling is for, the answer is material stress relief. When you take a fastener and drive it into your material, you are in essence, pushing material out of the way. This causes internal stresses in your material in the form of outward pressure from your fastener. While these stresses don't cause much of an effect when you are working with thicker materials or a significant distance from the edge of your material, they can cause destructive results in thinner materials and at locations close to the edge of said material. This effect usually causes materials to split and lose structural strength. Soooo, how does predrilling help? In short, it removes excess material, which makes for less material needing to be pushed out of the way. Less material moved equals less stress and pressure. The best times to predrill are those when you have to work close to the edge of your materials, or you have to work with thin, potentially brittle materials. The task of predrilling is fairly straightforward; it's drilling a hole. The key is actually in selecting the right size of drill bit. My personal rule of thumb is to select a drill bit that is no more than 1/2 the thickness of my fastener if it's a nail, and no more than 1/2 the thickness of my fastener PLUS 1.5 mm which is close to 1/16th of an inch, if my fastener is a screw or lag bolt. By removing that amount of material from the path of your fastener, I find that it is enough to relieve the stresses and prevent damage, which in turn maintains material strength.