The First of the Steel has Been Made

I went Friday over to the Steelman's house to approve the final design of the steel bars for the windows. This is what he has come up with. The only change will to be to add two extra curlycue's to the design in the middle. I think they will look fabulous. I wanted something fairly plain but at the same time I wanted a bit of a design in it. I had seen his work on another house and I thought his work was very good.

He works out of his house with just an old tire rim to bend the steel. This is thick walled 1" tubing and is not easy to bend. He got his arches more or less perfect. He then assembles the whole thing on a slab of concrete beside the house. It is rather amazing what they can do. I think that he forges the twists etc by heating the steel with his torch. All of the bent steel inserts are made of 1" steel bars and so they look like ribbons up close. I am thrilled with the final product. This is one of the windows in the office at the front. That dark strip across the top that looks like a crooked piece of steel is a shadow of the curb across the street. He will be adding an extra strip of steel across the whole thing at the top and bottom of the design for extra strength.