ElementFe is my trade name for the Guemes Island blacksmith shop; designing, forging, and building handcrafted forged steel and iron furniture, gates, railings, candlesticks, spoons, kitchenware and all manner of repair and fabrication.

Thursday, October 15, 2009







I thought it would be fun to show the steps for building a railing panel- each one of these is like a piece of furniture!
First, having fetched a half a ton of steel, it gets sorted, stacked, and the work stand stocked up. Here's son Joe cutting components.
The sharp burrs left by the saw are cleaned up right away- these can be razor sharp!
The hole locations are laid out with a guide so that all are exactly alike, marked and center punched, then drilled with a pilot drill on the drill press, followed by a 1/2" drill.