Bronze Handrail for residence in
Highland Park Texas
These Handrail were built for a
project of Cole Smith's FAIA and his firm Smith Ekblad & Assoc.
out of Dallas Texas, Cole has been a great friend, mentor and client
to me for many years, always pushing me to the limits.
Si Bronze is not the easiest metal to
work with , as far as forging, it only comes in a few common sizes,
an for this application the posts where only was available in 1.5”
round I needed to forge it down to1.25” sq , the cap rail has a
cross section of 1”x 2” with a domed top that has a very
ergonomic fit for the hand.
Si Bronze forging temperature is
between 1400F and 1675F a very small window to work the metal,too hot
the metal falls apart, and too cold and it will work harden. Also
finishing and polishing is a problem because the bronze is mostly
copper and the fine grains coming off the handrails from sanding
and polishing is an irritant so you must use respirator and gloves
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