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Papa Chad

 

Contractor/Maker/Accidental Philosopher

 

papa chad logo

Who is Papa Chad?

Papa Chad is a contractor, maker, and accidental philosopher who believes good work still matters. Built from dirt, steel, wood, and hard lessons, his world lives somewhere between job sites and workshops—where tools tell stories and experience beats theory every time.

More Than One Kind of Work

Papa Chad has never fit neatly into one box.

More than 30 years in construction built the foundation, but the story doesn’t stop at the job site. Woodworking, welding, fabrication, CNC, equipment, and the maker community have all become part of the mix—along with the people and friendships that come with them.

Somewhere along the way came the “Accidental Philosopher” side of Papa Chad: hard-earned lessons, shop talk wisdom, and observations from a life spent building things, running a business, making mistakes, and figuring things out the hard way.

At this stage of life, sharing what you’ve learned starts to matter just as much as learning something new yourself. But experience also teaches you something else: sometimes you need to shut your mouth and open your ears. Some of the best knowledge comes from sitting down with somebody who has taken a completely different road, hearing what they know, and being willing to learn from it.

That’s a big part of what Papa Chad is about today—sharing experience, learning from others, and bringing people together who still enjoy making, building, and figuring things out. That spirit carries into projects, events, collaborations, and content like Wisdom Wednesday, where some of those hard-earned lessons can hopefully help the next person coming along.

Of course, not everything needs to be quite that serious. Refreshment Thursdays gives Papa Chad a chance to show the lighter side of things—usually with a questionable cocktail in hand and absolutely no promise that proper mixology will be involved.

Want to work together, collaborate on a project, or just say hello? Send Papa Chad an email

Follow the Work

Follow Papa Chad from job sites to the shop—construction, welding, woodworking, CNC, fabrication, tools, equipment, and whatever gets built next.

The WELD Podcast & WELD.com visit Sparks & Sawdust

Weld Podcast and Weld.com traveled to lower Alabama to document the first-ever Sparks and Sawdust hosted by Papa Chad at the “White Trash Hacienda.” The hands-on maker event brought together welders, fabricators, woodworkers, and creators from across the maker community for a weekend focused on welding, fabrication, woodworking, heavy equipment, and real-world learning.

The event featured live welding demonstrations, plasma cutting, woodworking, excavator competitions, outdoor cooking, and the build of a custom Santa Maria grill designed by Chris Verdi from Green Money Fab. Makers that came down for the event included the one and only Jimmy DiResta, JD from Apexish Welding, and Dave from DTB Fabrication, all helping attendees learn fabrication and welding skills through hands-on projects instead of simple practice exercises.

Sparks and Sawdust was created to introduce more people to welding, fabrication, maker culture, and the skilled trades while building community through hands-on learning and shared experience.

Following the success of the first Sparks and Sawdust, plans are already in motion for the next event with the 2027 Sparks and Sawdust dates set for March 12–14 in lower Alabama. Follow along at PapaChad.com for future event announcements, registration details, maker updates, and upcoming projects.

A Little Hard-Earned Wisdom

Not everything Papa Chad builds is made from wood or steel. Wisdom Wednesday shares lessons learned from decades of work, mistakes, business, and life—especially for younger folks finding their own way.

Refreshment Thursdays

After a hard day on the job site—fighting equipment, schedules, people, and whatever other bull$#!t decided to show up that day—sometimes Papa Chad just needs to wet his whistle. Refreshment Thursdays is where the cocktails start flowing, proper recipes become more of a suggestion, and questionable measuring techniques are perfectly acceptable. Some of the concoctions lean a little more hillbilly than high-end mixology—and a few have developed a reputation of their own. And, of course, there’s the traditional Papa Chad finger stir, because a finger is a perfectly acceptable stirring utensil when nobody important is watching. If the finished product passes the taste test, there’s really only one proper review: “It’s pretty sporty.” No mixology credentials have ever been requested—or offered.

Latest on YouTube From Papa Chad

Headed to Maker Camp 2026 for the first time? Maybe it’s even your first maker event? Maker Camp — the Woodstock for Makers — is right around the corner, so I figured I’d share a few things I’ve learned from going to camp over the years. We talk about what to pack for the Catskill Mountain weather, good footwear, food and the meal pass, safety gear, some of the hands-on things you can try, and a few things that’ll help you get the most out of your first Maker Camp. But the biggest piece of advice really isn’t about what you pack. Meet people. Walk up, say howdy, shake a hand, and start a conversation. Some of the people you meet at Maker Camp may end up becoming some of your closest friends. In my opinion, about 80% of Maker Camp is the fellowship with your fellow makers. And don’t try to do everything. Pick a couple things from the schedule that you absolutely want to experience, make those a priority, and enjoy everything else that happens along the way. Oh, and bring your safety glasses. You’re going to need them in just about every tent. 😎 Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting some new ones at Maker Camp 2026. Let’s Give ’Em a Check. 00:00 – First Time at Maker Camp? 00:25 – What to Pack for the Catskills 01:35 – Shoes, Boots & Clothing 02:40 – What You Can Do at Maker Camp 04:01 – Food & the Meal Pass 05:14 – Nervous About Your First Maker Event? 06:08 – Meeting People & Maker Camp Fellowship 07:02 – Safety & What Else to Bring 08:03 – Don’t Try to Do Everything 08:39 – The #1 Thing to Bring #MakerCamp #MakerCamp2026 #MakerCommunity #MakersGonnaMake #PapaChad Need high quality American Made drill bits and accessories? Papa Chad exclusively uses Montana Brands drill bits in his shop Reach out to them at the link and then be sure to use the coupon code PapaChad at checkout and save 10% off your order. https://www.montanabrandtools.com/?ref=Zxpf-TgQYwVg8H
First Time at Maker Camp? | Papa Chad’s Tips for Maker Camp 2026
Missing elevation data in a CAD drawing can stop a job in its tracks. In this video, I show how I fix missing CAD point elevations directly in Leica iCON, using the same Leica system I use for total station layout and machine control on real construction projects. If you're doing construction layout or running machine control, you've probably dealt with this: the CAD drawings you receive from the architect or engineer don't always contain all the elevation data you need in the field. A point may have its Northing and Easting but be missing the height/elevation completely. You don't always discover it until you're standing on the job ready to work—and without that Z elevation, you can't use the point to build the 3D surface you need. It's an all-too-common problem with the CAD files we receive, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. On a large machine-control project, I'll normally send the files to a professional model builder and let them prepare the model. But on smaller sitework and concrete projects, waiting for someone to correct the drawing, re-export it, and send it back can cost hours or even days. If the correct elevations are shown on the PDF plans, sometimes it's much faster to add the missing data yourself right on the jobsite and get back to work. In this Leica iCON walkthrough, I show how I: Identify CAD points that are missing elevation/height data Use Sketching in Leica iCON to create a new point Select the existing CAD point and automatically bring its Northing and Easting into the new point Enter the missing height/elevation (Z) from the project plans Create a code so my new points are easy to identify Repeat the process for additional missing elevations Use the corrected 3D points to create a new surface directly on the Leica tablet Turn on surface shading and verify the finished surface before putting the data to work The big time saver for me is not having to manually copy the Northing and Easting coordinates. Selecting the existing CAD point brings those coordinates into the new point automatically, so I only have to enter the missing elevation. Once the points have complete X, Y and Z information, I demonstrate creating a surface from those new points directly in Leica iCON. That's the kind of surface I can use for concrete subgrade, excavation, site grading and my machine-control workflow. I use Leica total station, GNSS and machine-control technology in my actual construction work, and these videos are about the real-world problems and workflows that come with using that technology on a jobsite—not just what everything does in the manual. If you're using Leica iCON, Leica total stations, construction layout, 3D site models or machine control, subscribe and follow along. I'll continue sharing the things I learn from actually putting this equipment to work. #LeicaiCON #LeicaGeosystems #MachineControl #ConstructionTechnology #TotalStation #papachad @LeicaGeosystemsCH Need high quality American Made drill bits and accessories? Papa Chad exclusively uses Montana Brands drill bits in his shop Reach out to them at the link and then be sure to use the coupon code PapaChad at checkout and save 10% off your order. https://www.montanabrandtools.com/?ref=Zxpf-TgQYwVg8H
Leica iCON: Fix Missing CAD Elevations Right on the Jobsite
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Sparks & Sawdust Returns in 2027

 Papa Chad’s hands-on maker event returns to the White Trash Hacienda March 12–14, 2027.

Sparks & Sawdust brings together makers, welders, woodworkers, fabricators, and friends for a weekend of getting your hands dirty, trying something new, sharing what you know, and learning from the people around you.

The first Sparks & Sawdust proved that some of the best learning happens when you put good people, tools, equipment, and a few questionable ideas in the same place. Sparks & Sawdust 2027 is already in the works—and we’re planning to make the second one even better.