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Bending the Rods

Learn how Amy bends the rods for the coat rack.

From "Freeform Furniture"
episode DFFF-207

Host Amy Deveres cuts the steel tubes and sands down the rough edges, and then she bends forms in the rods using a blowtorch and jig. She repeats this for all the bends in the rods

Amy creates this one-of-a-kind coat rack.

Room: Before

Room: After

The coat rack project begins with bending rods, and then painting them and dipping them in plastic.

Materials:

steel rods
face shield
earplugs
tubes
gloves and leathers
dark goggles
wire brush
abrasive coated sponge
degreaser
tan enamel spray finish
primer
respirator
oil-based primer
synthetic brush
plastic dip
ruler
melamine box
paper funnel

Tools:

jig
blowtorch
clamp
chop saw
vice
stand with a roller
TIG welder

Figure A

Figure B

Figure D

Bending the Rods

Safety is the first thing you need to take care of by putting on a pair of earplugs and a face shield.
Feed the first rod into the chop saw, clamping it down to make sure it is nice and stable. After that, it is time to start cutting (figure A).
Once you make the cuts, press the tip of the rods up against the disc sander to smooth the rough edges down.
To bend the rods you will use a blowtorch and jig. To make a jig, you basically use scrap pieces and weld some parts to the table (figure B) in accordance with your technical drawing.
Slide the rod in the jig and clamp it into place in the vice.
Because the rod is so long, you need to use a stand with a roller to help stabilize the metal (figure C) before you make the bends.
Once the first piece is secured in the jig, it is time to use the blowtorch. Use a mixture of oxygen and acetylene to heat the metal. Acetylene is a gas that was actually developed for the metal fabrication industry.
Safety Tip: Working with such extreme heat is inherently dangerous so make sure you protect yourself with gloves and leathers. The light intensity of the flame can burn your eyes, so you need to wear dark goggles.
Run the torch over the area you want to bend. In a matter of seconds the steel turns bright orange (figure D) which means it is pliable enough to bend around the jig.
Once you form the bends, use a wire brush to scrape away any residue and wait a few minutes until it is cool enough to touch.
With the rod repositioned in the vice, complete the exact same steps for each of the other bends.
Once cool, you can pull it out of the jig.
Flip it over and do the same thing on the other side. Using the same jig and dimensions for the bends on both the arms and the feet of the coat rack, repeat the same steps.