How steel becomes architectural art

From Raw Stock To Railing

~The latest installation by Maynard Studios

When you examine a piece in one of our 
railings, you're looking at something that 
didn't come from a box. Everything we do 
starts out as long pieces of raw stock 
sraight from the mill.

Before anything is cut to size, the first 
step is to work with the client to create a 
design that is uniquely theirs.  We may 
use similar elements, but won't do the 
same railing twice.  Each design is unique.

Once a design in finalized, the materials are acquired and the studio begins to hum with the 
sounds of stock being sawn and sheared to length. Piles of hammered, bent and components begin to stack up, ready to transform into the pieces in a grand puzzle.We have hammers that weigh from 3 oz. for delicate work to a 
massive 100 lb air-driven forging hammer that strikes 
four times a second.

One by one, each piece is heated in the forge to 1800°, 
then shaped and formed to its specifications.  The transformation can sometimes be 
dramatic, making for an interesting 
contrast between the raw steel and our hand-hammered & forged components.

On the left, you can see things are slowly pieced together on one of our work tables. 
On the right, Jakob Wilson is starting to dress one section. 
All welds are dressed and sculpted smooth (in the red circle the joint has been sculpted).

Last but not least, the railings are wire-brushed and receive a final finish.  

Installation day.
Different sections of the railing are laid out in our clients' home and ready for installation.

Fini !From start to finish, it took three months to create this railing.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief overview of our latest installation.

~Karine