Frank C. Tabor (1919 - 2012) started his welding career by attending marine coppersmith school, then taught in the navy, worked in a long line of metal shops of the Northwestern US, and retired from welding in 1986.
At age 80, he was a full-time cartoonist, something he's always wanted to do.
His cartoons were published in national magazines such as Saturday Evening Post, Good Housekeeping and many others.
He combined his sense of humour and his industry knowledge in his stories and cartoons.
One of his favorite sayings, "Don't let the coyotes get you."
anvilfire is happy to have licensed his metalworking cartoons and presented them here as the base for our daily and weekly comics.
His knowledge of welding is also presented in our Safety and Welding Tip of the Day series.
Below are samples of nearly 100 metalworking comics and articles in our Frank Tabor collection.
To see the rest, check back daily.
Spark Testing - Grinder Safety
A humorous safety poster from Frank Tabor and information about spark testing.
The Green Smoke Caper
A humorous story about hot iron and the smelly results another real life story from Frank Tabor.
WELDING TIP OF THE DAY : "Grounds" and Ground Paths | Friday Mar 27, 2026 - 34/52 |
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In arc welding one lead is considered the ground and it attached to the work. The other is the "hot" lead and usually attached to the hand held electrode or wire. However, the leads are often interchanged and in the case of DC-reverse the circuit IS reversed in the welder. In AC welding the ground is usally grounded to the case and thus is often attached to steel building members, pipes and conduits. Care should be taken that the ground path goes to the welder lead, NOT the building ground through some secondary path. The secondary path could also be through the housing of an electric tool sitting on your welding bench or touching the work. That secondary path is not designed to take the amperage of the welding circuit and could result in burning out the tool or the wiring it is attached to. Secondary paths can also be through the weldor. Bare handed welding, welding with damp gloves or wet feet or lying on the ground can result electrical shocks. If there is a fault in the welder the shock can be full supply circuit voltage and injure the welder. Keep safe, wear gloves, understand ground paths and keep that ground clamp clean and tight on the work.
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Stack Burning and Studs
Flame cutting tips presented with humorous real life stories from Frank Tabor.
The Horseshoe Caper
A cartoon from Frank Tabor and another from The Great Nippulinni
"I only noticed her eyes because
they're the color of blueprints."
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Frank's comics were all inked black and white drawings.
Fill areas were cut and paste or rub on coarse screen dots.
These were the standard for publication in most magazines at the time.
We have digitally added grey scale fill or color to many of Frank's drawings in styles that are similar to the genre.
In most cases it is only spot fill but in a few they are fully colored.
Do your Up-Spouts ever clog in the fall?
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anvilfire is happy to have licensed his metalworking cartoons and presented them here as the base for our daily and weekly comics. His knowledge of welding is also presented in our Safety and Welding Tip of the Day series.
Below are samples of nearly 100 metalworking comics and articles in our Frank Tabor collection. To see the rest, check back daily.
Spark Testing - Grinder Safety
A humorous safety poster from Frank Tabor and information about spark testing.The Green Smoke Caper
A humorous story about hot iron and the smelly results another real life story from Frank Tabor.Stack Burning and Studs
Flame cutting tips presented with humorous real life stories from Frank Tabor.The Horseshoe Caper
A cartoon from Frank Tabor and another from The Great Nippulinnithey're the color of blueprints."
We have digitally added grey scale fill or color to many of Frank's drawings in styles that are similar to the genre. In most cases it is only spot fill but in a few they are fully colored.