Natural flowing steel vine railings
The word for last week was HOT! I spent most of the week at a clients home shaping and installing natural flowing forged steel handrails. The first thing I did was meet with the homeowner who already had a concept in mind for the rails. He wanted the rails to follow the natural shapes of the stone steps leading up to the house.
I started in the shop by forging long straight lengths of 1″ diameter solid steel and tapering them down and forging a leaf on the end. There were 10 of these forged, one for each post. I also forged various lengths of steel to be used as branch vines. Along with the branch vines, I forged several individual leaves used to fill out the railings. It took several days to complete the forgings and then all the components were taken to the clients home for shaping and installation.
Due to the amount of heating and bending necessary to create the rails, I took my portable gas forge and hand held torch to provide the heat necessary to shape the steel. The individual rail post were set in 2″ diameter holes which were drilled in the stones. Then the steel was heated and shaped flowing from one post to the next. The entire process of heating and shaping took 3 days to complete. The railings will be allowed to rust and then clear coated with Penetrol to seal.
These rails are an example of what can be accomplished if you are willing to think outside the box. This homeowner has a one of a kind set of railings that complements a already beautiful home.
Joe
