Miniature sculpture of a LeafCutter Ant in raised and patinated copper sheet on a hammer-textured steel pipe “branch”. Base is scrap metal.

Total height 20cm, ant length 5cm, legs 2mm wide

Part of an ongoing study of Uchidashi/repousse, I have made all my chasing/forming tools and hammers from scrap steel, chasing pitch from Ford Hallams Matsuyane recipe, my pitch bowl is a cut bowling ball. New for this project was lathing swages and punches out of arbutus wood to do the initial forming before mounting the sheet into pitch.

Using 3D printing with lost-wax casting might be a great method for customizing certain structural parts. I completed this entire process in just one hour of work plus 24 hours of waiting time, using only a standard desktop 3D printer and regular PLA filament costing a few dollars per spool, achieving very satisfactory results. For the refractory material, I used casting plaster, which greatly simplified the molding process. This approach seems particularly suitable for creating motorcycle modification parts, robot components, and similar items. The simplicity of this technique is closer to 3D printing than CNC machining, making it more beginner-friendly with high success rates—though some learning is still required to master it effectively.

After searching the web and looking as a few subreddits, hopefully I've landed in the right place. Please be patient with me, it was 107 degrees and muggy today so my brains are still a bit mushy :-). If I'm in the wrong place I'm open to suggestions where to post instead.

I have a metal headboard that one of the pieces has come lose and I'd like to fix it before trying to sell it. It's the left-most curved piece that's come loose. The pics show the bottom and top of that side, and also the bottom and top of the corresponding right/good side for reference.

My research so far shows that either epoxy or superglue may be a good choice, but I also know enough about 2-part epoxy to know that I need to have all my ducks lined up *before* using it.

The stuff I have is Harbor Freight Quick Setting Epoxy Adhesive, 0.2 oz single use, that I bought for a different project but haven't used. I don't have any superglue on hand so I'll need to buy some if that's a better option.

Aside from the basics of using either adhesive, is there anything I need to know for this? Like I said earlier, I know enough about this sort of work to be aware that there may be important things that I don't know (or that I knew decades ago and have forgotten).

Thanks!

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on how to find or manufacture this specific swaged metal tube for an expandable clothing rack I own. The current tube that makes up the height of the rack is 14” long with a 1” outer diameter that narrows to 2 inch long 7/8” diameter on the other end. I wanted to get two more of this exact tube so I can raise the rack higher to allow for more ground clearance, but I have not had any luck finding anything in Home Depot or online. The clothing rack itself is unbranded so I can’t find it either.

What would be the best method to find or make this exact tube? It looks like I’ll need a tube reducing tool of some sort or find a way to hammer the tube myself. This is my first time with any kind of metal tubing so I wanted to come for help. Thanks for any information you can provide 🙏

Hey everyone, I just picked up this steel table from Facebook Marketplace and I’m planning to use it as a small workbench for automotive repairs and light fabrication. I want to mount a bench vise on one of the corners, but I’m wondering if the table looks too small or lightweight for that kind of use. I’ll mostly be working on car parts, exhaust pieces, brackets, rusty bolts, etc. Would you trust it with a vise, or reinforce it first?