Forging a Window

in

Kyle recently completed a commission from a stained glass company for a large window. While the work wasn't fancy, it did require the skills of a blacksmith to bring it to life.

The first section we needed to make for this arched window was a tight curve from thin-walled steel tube. Modern tube benders would distort the shape of the tube. A thicker walled tube would give the window a rounder edge than we were looking for. To get the right look, we constructed the top arch by laminating several layers of rectangular tube, which we pulled hot around a steel form.

My assistant Matt helping me pull the last course of rectangular tube for the arch.

The three layers of curved steel, still warm from the bending process, clamped together to cool.

The upper mullions posed another challenge. The T bar material used to make them can be rolled on a modern roller, but that process requires an expensive set of custom dies, and like the tube steel for the arch, would distort the material. Our solution was to create our own tooling.

I love making tools! This is the T bar bending apparatus I made to help us get the job done.

Top arch is done! Now for the bottom.

This puppy is so big, it took not one but two assistants to get it cleaned up and ready to go.

Off to the sandblaster before we paint it. Thanks Kallen and Matt for all your help!

Inspiration: Antoni Gaudí

in

Benches at Park Güell

Rooftop at Casa Battló

To kick off our Inspiration series of posts about artists we admire and other sources of inspiration in our work, it only made sense to start with Catalan artist and architect Antoni Gaudí. There is so much that we admire about Gaudí. Of course his beautiful work, among the most loved in the world. Seven of his works are Unesco World Heritage sites, including all the work pictured here. He shared our love of nature and allowed that inspiration to speak through his work. His masterpiece, the as-yet-incomplete Sagrada Familia, is a fascinating and stunning study in the architecture of nature. Most personally, we are drawn to Gaudí as a craftsperson trained in many fields, including those closest to our hearts, blacksmithing, ceramics, and stained glass.