Around the Bend 2016, 13.5' x 16' x 23'
the story
Around the Bend 2016, 13.5' x 16' x 23'
While playfully bending a small sheet of heated acrylic plastic during the design phase, I came up with the mustard-colored shape. It became the core element of "Around the Bend" as the rest grew around it.
Once the acrylic is heated, I have about thirty seconds for shaping it before it cools. If I want something different, I can reheat it.
Creating this shape from 5/8" steel plate proved to be the biggest fabrication challenge of my career. When steel is bent in one direction it stubbornly resists a bend on the opposite axis. Each fights the other, the second bend wanting to flatten the first.
In this case, I had set the problem that the top point of the curving corner would come out at an exact point in space to meet the other shape. Before succeeding, I considered renting two bulldozers and driving them at one another with the plate in between!
The other parts pushed the dimensional limits of my shop. Here is one piece in the hydraulic press I built to do such forming.
Even with the help of my young assistants, getting the pieces through the 14’ door proved a challenge. The tongue-in-cheek title pokes fun at my craziness for attempting this project, though the result was all worth it.
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