This week I helped Rob as he experimented with building his first ever cafe seat.  After deciding the shape, we made a cardboard pattern and mocked it up on a frame to make sure the proportions were right.  Then we traced the pattern pieces onto a sheet of steel.

After cutting out the pieces, we smoothed out any rough edges on the wire wheel and hammered flat any bends.  Then the piece was rolled through the slip roller to give shape.

We decided a slightly concave end piece would give the seat some character, so we hammered the steel with a nylon mallet.  To get a really tight bend, we then hammed it over a steel hammer head.

The pieces fit pretty good.  Next Rob tacked the pieces in place with a few TIG welds.

The steel used was a little rusty, so before a full weld happens, the pieces will have to be cleaned up to ensure a strong weld.  It’d be cool to stamp some numbers on that back end plate eventually.  We’ll see what happens.