I built this door, and several others, to hide high tech touch pads on the outside of a very traditional house. I had fun with the project, creating the design and all parts including hinges from scratch. I even made the hinge rivets from 1/8″ square stock. This week, I get out the hammerdrill and do the install. I’ll post the results if any are interested.
Edited 1/31/2004 12:21:34 AM ET by Slater
Edited 1/31/2004 12:25:15 AM ET by Slater
Replies
Very nice! You could definitely market those to Arts and Crafts homeowners.
...that's not a mistake, it's rustic
Cooool
Don't f it up in the install. Show us the pics when you get it in.
How long did it take and what are you billing on it?
Cork in Chicago
I built 3 of them, each a different size, and right now I have about 12 hours in them total. I'm way to slow to be a going concern, but this client is priceless.
Slater: That is really cool work. I have always thought it would be so neat to build a house and have nice little hammered copper accent lighting throughout.
It looks kind of medieval .....my favorite era.
Do you have pictures of other copper projects? Keep em coming.
Thank you all for your kind words. I will post the results. Here's another since I couldn't resist.
DON'T GET ME STARTED!!!!!
Here's another since I couldn't resist.
Even more interesting. Details? Leprino, as in cheese?PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Yes think "Mr Cheese".
Any thing you want to know? It is a functioning attic vent. The sunburst was the most challenging and fun part. I built 8 of them. They took about 30 hours each, including the flat locked, soldered seam roofs.
And yes that's one of my slate roofs in the picture too (160 squares).
Yes think "Mr Cheese".
Any thing you want to know? It is a functioning attic vent. The sunburst was the most challenging and fun part.
We used to enjoy a product Leprino called cream cheese, but little relation to "Philly". Unavailable here so we quit making our preferred cheesecake, a Germanic one.
The diagonal stripes on the louvers are? Thickness of the louvers? Is that copper clad wood or simply copper for the frame? Is everything that isn't slate, copper?
I've recently been experimenting with copper cladding. Did the last house' inoperable windows, 12- 3' x10', which came out well. After a failure of tempered hardboard on exterior doors here, I rebuilt the frames and covered the bottoms, up 3' with 16 oz. copper. Didn't do the entire door, 4' x 7¼', as they are arch topped with glass inserts and I had no idea how to deal with that. Exposed exterior of this place is all copper except for the window frames, something I intend to rectify.
Where are you? PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
>> The diagonal stripes on the louvers are?
Probably jaggies, quantization error in digitization or compression. There's an artifact about the same wavelength on the ridge, and a longer one at the eave.
Uncle Dunc is right regarding the diagonals, it's digitization issues.
The louvers are 20 ounce copper, 3-1/2"s wide with multiple hems and "Z" bends which make them very rigid and straight. No wood is needed to reinforce them. The frame work is traditional framing with every 2by rip cut on a table saw, and cross cut on a miter saw. This is covered with 3/4" AC plywood, glued and screwed. If the frame is straight and square, the copper really falls in place. If it's not, you're trimming everything. Yes everything on my roofs above the eaves is either copper, slate or masonry.
Home's Colorado
I'm seeing a lot more copper clad windows, with lots of different patinas, they look great.
Beautiful work! What kind of copper (gauge) do you typically use? What kind of special tools do you have, particularly for bending? Are there any online sites that specialize in copper tools and materials?
Thanks for the photos!
Al Mollitor, Sharon MA
Thank you.
Typically I use 16 ounce, but the doors were 1/8" thick. They're welded at the corners using a TIG welder.
Most of my tools are common here's a partial list:
4' box pan brake
10' shear
10' brake
Misc hand snips and seamers
TIG welder
Cutting, brazing, annealling torch
A good shop of carpenter tools to build forms and frames
Specialty tools are the following:
Acetylene soldering torch with a copper "iron"
Roper whitney Roll formers (which make flat sheet round and put on different edges)
Some German made (Rau) standing seam locking tools
It doesn't take much specialization, I'll post some tool sites later. Thanks for your interest it's very inspiring.
Looks nice. I have been wanting to take up tin knocking as a hobby(right next to fishing). It looks like a relaxing thing to do.
Very nice custom work. How long you been doing this sort of thing?
I've been doing the custom copper for 15 years, been doing the basics for 30.
"Very nice! You could definitely market those to Arts and Crafts homeowners."
Like me! Very nice indeed. I have a similar need coming up late summer. Can you get me your info, perhaps as we get closer we could do some business. I am looking to include real craftsmen touches wherever possible.
Your an excelent example of ' old world craftmanship new world prices'
Very impressive! Place looks like its gonna be full of cool touchs... I want to see more!
Wow ...
Very nice stuff.
I'd be posting a pic a day if I did work like that!
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Thank you Jeff et al. All of your comments mean a lot to me. I've seen the workmanship here it's an honor to share.
Jeff
I thought you did do work like that.
Copper and slate ?
That's a whole 'nother world ...
...... far removed from wood.
I have all of about 3 slate shingle repairs under my belt ... took about as long as a slater could reroof the whole house!
This may be just what I need to push me to try and learn a bit of copper soldering though .... been thinking about it for a while ...
That stuff just plains looks cool!
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Just when you start feeling good about the stuff you do. Frenchy & Slater come up with some nice stuff.
Good luck with the dental work Monday.
Yeah, I try to do nice work but wonder if I will ever post anything after seeing what these guys post. I sure is nice to see their work though.We become by effort primarily what we end up becoming
- Zig Ziglar
you already post a pic a day
Slater.
You can be proud of your work. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Between Stan Fosters great "From the Heavens"view & fine stair work to now your copper work, and other fine projects, I think the Photo Gallery is a great part of BT.
Keep the pictures coming.
PJE
As far as your "Dont get me started" remark, too late.
Edited 1/31/2004 4:20:55 PM ET by CarpenterPJE
nice, very nice indeed!!
Way cool, You and Greencu are a different breed from us woodhands..real nice work..Now, about my dormers...<G>.
Go Stab yourself Ya Putz! Ya think I Parked here?
great work.. i'm gonna show this to Barry when he gets back fromNC.. he's my slate & copper guy... can only inspire him
View ImageMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Nice work as always. You always give me something to aspire to.
I like those Rau tools, also. I've been searching for years for a 10' stomp shear. I had an 8' Pexto, but 8' copper got scarce and I let it go.
On the copper door:
Are the hinges welded to the door and frame? Are the rivets just ornamental or do they provide structural support?
Is the distressed look just from heating and hammering the copper or did you use some other tricks (Actually that rough look is just about what my welding looked like with my new MIG welder that I haven't gotten the settings down on yet...).
The rivets are for real, they are 1/8" square rod that I cut on the shear. I drove them through and heated the ends and hammered them tight.
The finish is a combination of hammered hinges and liver of sulfur patina. The patina is activated by heat and then I scotch brite off the heavy stuff. I did leave some of the original heat and welding marks, nothing like stress to add beauty (you should see me)!!!!
Here's the door installed.
very nice touches, your door will make a very welcome addition to that front entrance, as it stands, that plastic box looks like sheet.
keep them coming.
slater...........very nice.
Always thought that working in copper looked interesting. How did you get started and do you know of any good books that discuss the basics?
thanks,
sam
Sam
I've never found a book that covered all of the techniques. I have a great welding book "Modern Welding by Althouse, Turnquist, Bowditch and Bowditch", which is invaluable in joining and cutting techniques. I have the "Architectural Sheet Metal Manual by the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association", which gives gutter and downspout sizing and expansion tables as well as roofing design details and material info charts. I have "Sheet Metal Pattern Drafting by Daugherty, Powell, Foster and Kurth", which is an unbelievable aid in drawing flat patterns of any 3-D object. I have "Copper in Architecture by The Copper Development Association", which fills in some design issues, and lastly I have "Art of Coppersmithing by John Fuller" written in 1894, which gives the old techniques for repousse work with copper. Repousse is stretching and shrinking metal with heat and hammer, the technique used to build the Statue of Liberty.
To answer your question, I've learned a lot from others, my welder friend, my blacksmith friend, all of the construction workers I've ever worked with, from these books and mostly from trying to do things I knew were possible but I didn't understand. I made a lot of what today seem like stupid mistakes, but they've all taught me lessons I'll never forget.
Good luck, and ask me anything, I'll help you get started and get into more trouble than you can imagine!!!
Terry