not quite as eventually as it's taken me to post this, my apologies. this has been due to a problem with the computer.
anyway back to bending metal.
i am not a blacksmith. blacksmiths have a forge, heat metal til it's red hot, then bend it as if it were wire and hammer it into finely wrought shapes.
in some ways it would suit these gates if i were.
however, i am not a blacksmith. these gates will be made by bending the metal (mild steel) cold. it's a case of levering it into shape around pre-made jigs or more frequently for me, between two sturdily fixed uprights.
it's all about the leverage, and the longer the metal, the more leverage you can get.
starting with the thickest stuff, 20mm x 20mm solid bar, i managed after a few days of too-ing and fro-ing to get them pretty much spot on with the floor painting.
it does your back in though...
then the thinner stuff. i decided i had to weld some of the sections together as the loose pieces were getting kicked around underfoot. who on earth thought it'd be a good idea to do this on the floor...
i was happily surprised at how graphic it looks. and pleased for that that i am not a blacksmith (not that i've anything against them, in fact some of my best friends...)
til next time...
