Architectural:
Twisting Wrought Iron

b y :     e n r i q u e

detail of twisted hex bars after forging show the yin yang effect

"Finding the Yin and Yang in metal is not always easy to spot. But when it comes to twisting wrought iron bars, one can easily see the results of opposite forces."

David twisting bars with torch & twisting machine

various twists on 5/8" hex bar

For centuries the decorative ironworker has used the simple process of twisting iron bars as decoration. There must be hundreds of different ways of creating decorative effects on a bar of iron by simply twisting in one of two directions.

What changes the texture and visual effect of these decorative wrought iron bars is the amount of twisting and space in which the twist is concentrated. David, who is one of the clients on this project, wanted to get some hands on experience in the forging of ironwork. I felt that since he did not have much experience working metals, setting him by the twisting machine with a rosebud torch would be the best way for him to experience the malleability of wrought iron under heat.

David has now twisted over 50 bars of 5/8" hex bar and has gotten quite good at creating various designs using heat and the help of a home built twisting machine. These bars will be used as pickets for the interior stair railing of his home. Instead of doing just one pattern, I suggested that he try various methods for heating and twisting the bars to create a visual landscape of texture for their stairs.

My home built twisting machine is made up of a used 3 hp dumb waiter elevator motor with gear box, two 14" I-beams used as tracks, and a heavy duty table pipe clamp I found in the junk yard. Bars which are to be twisted are clamped in the pipe clamp and inserted into a chuck which has been welded to the elevator motor drive shaft.

I have twisted up to 2" diameter solid steel in this rig without any major problems. The key to twisting this large a stock is to "get it hot" before starting the twist.

Once the material passes the initial twist action you control the tightness of the twist by allowing more rotations and/or the length of heat. The iron should be at an orange heat throughout the material before starting the twist.

using a rosebud oxyacetylene torch to control twisting

• Digital Design - Introduction
• 1st Floor Railing - cattail newel post
• 2nd Floor Railing - perspective
  • Scaled Elevation view
• Dragonfly Split Level Railing
  • Tracing perspective
  • Creating Scaled Elevation
  • Skewing for perspective
• Outputting Scaled Drawings
  • Image Transfer

• Forged Texture Reflections
  • 25 lb. Little Giant Demo
• Silver soldering cattails
• Applying Verde patina for color
• Metamorphosis of an Iron Dragonfly
• Yin and Yang of twisting wrought iron
• Forge welding for natural form
• Basis for a distinctive newel post

• Installed railings

"The beauty of life can sometimes be found in the simplest of actions."

Contact:

E. Vega Studios

p h o n e : 9 1 9 - 3 6 7 - 7 2 3 3

apex, north carolina

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last refreshed Mon, Sep 7, 1998
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