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Welded Steel Frames

Lauren Rosenthal

Lauren Rosenthal

Well-known member
Messages
76
Loc
Lambertville, NJ
Company
Ampersand Projects
I'm wondering if anyone knows whether there is someone on the East Coast producing painted steel frames. I loved the Atomic line at the WCAF, but they are out of California and they're heavy, so I'm imagining that shipping will be astronomical. I noticed someone in Montana (Bridger Metal Works) on an earlier thread here on the Framer's Corner, but again, they are on the other side of the Rockies. I'd love to find a source closer to home. I'm in New Jersey, by the way.

Thank you!
 
Lauren Rosenthal said:
I'm wondering if anyone knows whether there is someone on the East Coast producing painted steel frames. I loved the Atomic line at the WCAF, but they are out of California and they're heavy, so I'm imagining that shipping will be astronomical. I noticed someone in Montana (Bridger Metal Works) on an earlier thread here on the Framer's Corner, but again, they are on the other side of the Rockies. I'd love to find a source closer to home. I'm in New Jersey, by the way.

Thank you!
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I can make you raw welded steel frames if you can paint them yourself.
 
You might want to look up a local metal fabrication or ornamental welding shop. Many can take your design concept and create it for you. By doing that you'll eliminate the shipping issue all together. You'll be left with doing the painting yourself, but that is a much more manageable step than creating the frame itself.
 
Gregory K. Norris said:
Many local shops can also powder coat a custom creation. This makes for a frame that is unique, stunning and extremely durable.
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Glen and Greg, have you all successfully gotten any frames makes this way for custom jobs? I tried with many shops here and they all say the job is too small for them. Maybe if there's a production job they'll be interested but for custom single frames they all said no.
 
It wasn't cheap and it wasn't quick, but yes. You are just not finding the right shops. You need a smaller fabricator, the kind that does things like custom fence gates.
 
A photographer friend of mine had frames made from 1/4" plate aluminum. He used marine epoxy to attach a strainer frame to the back to create a rabbet. They were from single sheets so the opening was rough cut then nibbled, ground, and polished. He used a company that specialized in powder coating for the finishes on some, and an auto-body shop painted some a gold metal flake gloss black. The images were 36X48 or there abouts and the frames were 5" wide. Quite stunning.
Another photographer friend did a rip on the A Street Industrial finish using a local welding company and an angle grinder.
 
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