CHURCH PENDANT LIGHT

Romeo and Juliet- Ohio University (2019)

This Church Pendant Light stands ~3' tall.  To create the frame, I built a jig that represented half of the body of the light.  This gave me the ability to create 6 rectangles, weld them in sets of 3 on the jig, then weld the two halves together to create the whole body of the light, assuring that each side sat at the correct angle. I cleaned up the welds using an angle grinder, and then used an oxy-acetylene torch to shape the curved top of the pendant light, and the flared spikes at the top and bottom.  The decorative pieces that sit at the top of the frame are Masonite that was adhered with construction adhesive.  Plexiglass was cut and covered with a frosted gel and then adhered into the pendant light.  The paint department painted the piece and the electrics department installed the wiring for the lighting unit.

SPORTS BAR

Blue - The Glimmerglass Festival (2019)

This sports bar was for the world premier of the opera, Blue, at The Glimmerglass Festival.  The majority of it is built out of various dimensions of box tube to create the top and bottom frames, and the uprights that support them.  All of the corners are mitered together to create slick look seams.  The bar top is plywood with a countertop laminate applied with contact cement, and the edges are finished with an oak bar rail trim.  The structure is welded together, and the top is connected to the frame using tek screws.

STAGE COMBAT HAMMER

Romeo and Juliet- Ohio University (2019)

This hammer was built to be lightweight and safe to handle during stage combat sequences.  The fights involving this prop were choreographed by Rick and Christian Sordelet. To build this prop, I created a pattern for the hammer head from an existing hammer, then scaling it up to read from stage.  The head is assembled from 16 gauge sheet steel which I MIG welded and then cleaned using various files and a 4" angle grinder.  I then shaped a handle from hickory and cut a hole in the hammer head to slot the handle into.  The handle is epoxied and screwed in through the top of the hammer head.  The paint treatment was achieved using various spray paints and acrylics to give the hammer an aged appearance.

PINEAPPLE CHANDELIER

Cabaret- Ohio University (2018)

This pineapple chandelier was designed by the scenic designer, Jacob Brown.  It was built by myself and Liz Hastings.  Liz printed out Jacob's rendering to full scale.  From there, we cut plywood to create an inner structure, and I created ribs to give it shape.  We then used string to make a mockup of the steel pattern to be approved by the scenic designer.  Once that was completed, we bent 1/4" steel rod around the structure and secured them with zip ties to hold in place.  The next step was welding together the joints without the zip ties, then the ones with zip ties removed.  From there, I patterned the leaves in microcell foam, and we glued them into shape for the top.  I then used a heat gun to shape the leaves.  Once that was done, I painted the top and the bottom of the pineapple.  We then attached crystals to make the chandelier more flashy and to match the scenic designer's rendering

STAGE COMBAT DAGGER

Advanced Steel Techniques Class Project- Ohio University (2018)

This dagger is entirely scratch built except for the blade.  However, I did modify the shape of the blade to give it a serpentine edge.  The cross-guard and the pommel are mild steel which I shaped using angle grinders and a variety of hand files.  The pommel was threaded to screw onto the tang of the blade.  The handle is rock maple which I turned and filed, then wrapped in leather, and finished it off by wire wrapping it.

STAGE COMBAT BUCKLER

Advanced Steel Techniques Class Project- Ohio University (2018)

 For this buckler, I used a dishing hammer and a tree stump to dish sheet metal for the base shape of the buckler.  Then, I dished sheet steel into a dome for where the fist goes.  My next step was to take 3/8" pencil rod and weld it around the perimeter of the buckler to simulate a rolled edge.  For the applied detail, I used a combination of a plasma cutter, beverly shear, and a metal cutter band saw.  All of the applied detail and dome are applied with hand set brass rivets.  To make the detail pop, I applied a blue steel finish to the base shield to add texture and dimension.

VOTIVE CANDLE STAND

Romeo and Juliet- Ohio University (2019)

This votive candle stand is built out of 1"x1" box tube for the frame, 1/4"x2" Plate steel for the shelves, and 1/4"x1" plate steel for the decorative metal shapes.  The construction was completed by MIG welding the pieces together and cleaning the welds with an angle grinder.  To create the decorative steel parts, I used an oxy-acetylene torch to heat bend the steel to match a pattern from the research.