As a gearhead, you get used to the idea that an aftermarket bolt-on part or even a weld-in piece billed as “made to fit” doesn’t usually live up to its promise. As a matter of fact, when a part even comes close to lining up as it should, it’s a cause for celebration. (Continue Reading)
josh welton
TheFabricator.com: A truck fit for a metal fabricator
In an age of plastic bumpers, bedazzled wheels, and other bits of faux off-road virtue signaling, the Jeep Gladiator Rubicon is breath of fresh, argon-tinged air. It looks and feels substantial, more “fabricated” than merely assembled. With a high-strength yet lightweight steel frame, aluminum body, sturdy metal bumpers, heavy-duty skid plates, and rock sliders throughout, the Gladiator … Read More
Seeing Red Again
(This story was originally published on the now-defunct JeepWave.com.)Back in the days of my youth, before the internet and GoPros and streaming videos, before social media, before Starbucks and Nirvana and the proliferation of ready-to-go pizza, before we had cable TV or CDs, back when rotary phones where the only way to make a call … Read More
Jeep Trackhawk: American Psycho
Website Exclusive by Josh Welton “I feel lethal, on the verge of frenzy. I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.” But it never quite does. The Made in Detroit Jeep Trackhawk maintains its outwardly calm cover at all times. As its driver I understand the charade, yet understand the depths of depravity … Read More
TheFabricator.com, Future welders: Enter the trade with both eyes open
While I want everyone to try welding, and I’d dig it if everyone then found that they loved welding, it’s not everyone’s bag. It’s why exposing kids at a young age to blue-collar trades is important, so they know what their options are. We’ve done a terrific job of removing any scarlet letter previously associated … Read More
TheFabricator.com: Wielding the tool of the gods for the first time
Christian and Alex Bird are our 16-year-old twin cousins. They are my wife Darla’s only blood cousins, and they hold American/British dual citizenship. The boys live in England, but each summer they travel with their mom to the U.S. She does a good job of exposing them to different cultures and lifestyles and found some … Read More





