The Start Here blog
Shop-floor reasoning behind the tools — calibration, feeds, and the decisions that keep a first cut clean.
Easy to remove supports: settings, tricks, and fins
Supports welded to your print? Five slicer settings make supports easy to remove, and a designed-in breakaway fin snaps off right where you planned.
READ →Captive nuts in 3D prints: pockets, slots, and pausing
How to design a captive nut into a 3D print: pocket sizes for M2–M8, side slot vs bottom pocket strength, and pausing mid-print to bury a nut for good.
READ →Metric vs imperial bolts: the lookalikes that bite
Metric vs imperial bolts: how the world ended up with two thread systems, the near-identical pairs that cross-thread, and how to ID a mystery bolt fast.
READ →SLS vs MJF (and metal) for printed bolts and threads
SLS vs MJF for threads and moving parts: how powder printing works, real clearances, what it costs at a print service — and whether to ever print a metal bolt.
READ →Nylon filament: print bolts that act like real hardware
Nylon filament is the closest thing to real hardware you can print — slick, tough, nearly unbreakable. Here's how to dry it, print it, and what to make.
READ →Bolt clearance hole sizes for CNC (and why yours are off)
Bolt clearance hole size charts for M3–M10 and #4–3/8, tap drills, counterbores, 82° vs 90° countersinks, and why router holes come out wrong.
READ →Why are nuts and bolts hexagonal? (and when square wins)
Why are nuts hexagonal instead of square? Wrench swing, rounded corners, and a little geometry — plus why square nuts are secretly better for 3D prints.
READ →Resin 3D printed bolts and threads: what actually works
Can you 3D print threads with resin? Yes — and in one test they beat tapping. The catch is brittleness, trapped resin, and cure shrink. Here's the playbook.
READ →Best filament for 3D printed bolts and threads
The best filament for 3D printed bolts and threads depends on load, heat and how often you crank it. PLA vs PETG vs ASA vs PC vs nylon, with test data.
READ →Heat-set inserts for 3D printing: hole sizes + how-to
Heat-set inserts in 3D printing, done right: hole sizes for M2–M6, iron temps by filament, the 90% press trick, and real strength numbers vs plain screws.
READ →The history of nuts and bolts (it's weirder than you think)
Nuts and bolts used to come in matched pairs — literally marked as belonging to each other. Here's how we got from hand-filed threads to the M3 in your bin.
READ →What to make with your first sheet of plywood
Four builds that make the next sheet easier — plus how to buy plywood without voids, get it home, and break it down before you leave the store.
READ →The machinist tool box: what belongs in it
How to stock and organize a machinist tool box — the measuring, marking, and setup tools that earn a drawer, and how to keep them findable.
READ →CNC machining tools: what you actually need
A plain-English guide to the CNC machining tools that matter — endmills, workholding, and measuring gear — and which to buy first.
READ →Thread creator: make custom threads that fit
A thread creator turns a diameter and pitch into real, mating threads. Here's what the parameters mean and how to make threads that spin together.
READ →3D print nuts and bolts that actually thread
Want to 3D print nuts and bolts that spin together instead of fusing solid? It's all tolerance and orientation. Here's the recipe.
READ →15 useful 3D printing ideas for the workshop
Skip the trinkets. Fifteen 3D printing ideas that actually earn their filament — shop fixtures, organizers, jigs, and fixes you'll use every day.
READ →How to design a 3D printed box that closes right
A 3D printed box lives or dies on the lid fit. Here's how to design one, set the tolerance, and print it so it snaps shut instead of jamming.
READ →8 laser cut wooden box ideas worth making
Out of reasons to fire up the laser? Eight laser cut wooden box ideas — from a parts organizer to a hinged keepsake box — and how to size each one.
READ →Box template generator: numbers to cut file
A box template generator turns three dimensions into a ready-to-cut flat pattern. Here's how to use one well and what the output actually means.
READ →How to make a finger joint box that fits
A finger joint box is the strongest easy box you can build. Here's how to make one two ways — and how to get the fit dead-on.
READ →Gridfinity on the laser cutter: faster than printing
A Gridfinity laser cutter workflow beats 3D printing on speed, cost, and strength. Here's why plywood wins — and how to generate the bases.
READ →How a laser cut box generator actually works
What a laser cut box generator does under the hood, and how to drive one to a box that snaps together the first time.
READ →The laser cut box maker that fits on the first try
A laser cut box maker will hand you the panels. Getting a box that actually taps together comes down to one number: kerf. Here's how to nail it.
READ →Why we store everything in millimetres
Display in whatever units you like — but pick one canonical unit under the hood, or rounding will eat you alive.
READ →A sane starting point for feeds and speeds
Chip load is the number that matters. Start here, listen to the cut, and adjust.
READ →Dialing in kerf for press-fit joints
A five-minute calibration that turns loose, rattly finger joints into a satisfying tap-together fit.
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