I have been working on some plant stands for a church in the area.  They are getting close to the final assembly and I thought you might enjoy an advanced look!

The two stands feature forged bronze rings as well as bronze sides at the top.  They also include large rivets at the base.  This stand is temporarily pinned together to check for fit-up.

Prior to forging, the bronze pieces were pre-bent. I experimented with test pieces in iron to determine the proper radius to pre-bend the stock so the bronze rings came out as planned.

Here, I am using one of my favorite tools, a old 3-headed drill press made by Buffalo Forge to drill mounting holes in the rings.

Decorative Beam Brackets

You see them often in cabins and log homes--those black iron straps used to bolt wood timbers together.  I have often thought that there is a way to make them decorative as well as functional, thus allowing them to contribute to the home's overall design.

Five years ago I got my chance.  The owner of a remodeling company in Minneapolis needed some beam brackets for load-bearing timers on the second floor of a lake home he was building. He recognized that people would be seeing the brackets up close as the timers formed an arch at the top of the stairs of the loft.  He provided drawings defining how the brackets had to work.  I added design elements including layers of metal, curved ends and diamond headed bolts. I shipped the completed the brackets to the site.  While I got a note from the builder with his payment that the brackets worked fine, he provided no photos or other info about the install.  Well, this summer I finally got to see how the installed brackets turned out. I stopped in after doing some canoeing in western Wisconsin near this home. Here are some photos of the home.  

Do you have a project that calls for beam brackets?  Please give me a call at Island City Forge to discuss how we can make them fit with your design scheme.

 

St. Matthias Votive Candle Stand

In 2005, Minocqua's St. Matthias Episcopal Church constructed a new, larger worship space adjacent to the original edifice.  In 2012, the parish paid off the mortgage.  Island City Forge was commissioned to design several liturgical items for the new space.  The votive candle stand is the first piece to be completed.

 

 

 

 St. Matthias Pastor, Edgar Wallace and office manager Michael are happy to see the new votive candle stand installed in a cove in the church. 

 

 

The candle stand compliments the new worship space which was designed in the Arts and Crafts style, similar to the original edifice.  The candle stand incorporates large rivets and forge-textured bronze in the sides of the top tray and in the cross.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crucifix at the center of the stand is made of layers of forged steel and bronze, held together with rivets

 

 

Back in the shop during construction, the partially completed candle stand is assembled on the main bench.  Here, I am working with a wood mock-up of the crucifix to properly size the elements.

2013 WI State High School X-C Team Persuit Trophies

The Wisconsin High School Cross Country Ski Championship races were held in Rhinelander this year.  Island City Forge was commissioned to design and create the trophies.  Knowing that some of the teams which have won in the past already have awards created by ICF, this years models are similar, but not identical to ones I made in 2007 and 2008.

The top three teams in both the boys and girls categories received trophies.  Here, the trophy models pose for one last group photo in the shop.

After assembly, each metal figurine was heated in the forge to approximately 1000 F.  Allowing them to cool from an orange heat to room temperature imparts a uniformly dark finish.  Think of the forge as a tanning booth for the trophy models.

Here are the forged parts before cutting, drilling, assembly and mounting on to the birch wood blocks.