This morning I installed the terminus of the bronze railing at the Lynden Sculpture Garden.

As you can see, the terminus is highly polished, and will need a few weeks to achieve the patina of the other four panels, which were installed earlier this year.

When the patina reaches uniformity, I will enlist photographer George Lottermoser to use his unique eye to capture this railing in ways only he can achieve. Hopefully, the autumn colors will be in all their glory at that time to serve as a fine backdrop.
A few notes as to how this railing was made:

1. All the 4″ diameter baluster rings were formed by hot splitting the 3/4″ square bronze bar. They were opened up with a cone mandrel. The walls of the rings were forged (cross peened) thinner, and finally shaped into a ring by again using a cone mandrel.
2. The finish is a natural patina, as no chemicals were added to achieve the color. All the bronze was highly polished to achieve a uniform shine, allowing for an even patina.
3. All the rivets were made in my shop from 3/8″ round bronze rod. Buying bronze rivets was not cost effective.
4. The rivet sockets were applied to the balusters by using a ball tool under the power hammer, which not only provided a fine socket, but also a fine accent, as the metal flows out from the parent bar.
5. The tumbling rings in the terminus were assembled by cutting “half-laps” with a hack-saw, the groove was then chiseled out, and then finish filed. The joints were then sealed by TIG welding. The joints were then finish filed and polished. These larger rings were shaped by using bending forks in a post vise.

…….Dan Nauman
“When I hear somebody sigh, “Life is hard,” I am always tempted to ask, “Compared to what?”
…….Sidney Harris, Author.