Hi!
I’m looking for someone to make me a custom Cor-Ten or weathering steel bench in Dallas. The brown rusted looking kind as per the reference.
Any leads on someone who can make this for me locally would be very much appreciated!
Details:
Travertine top on corten steel base 4mm (8ga) internally welded metal.
Total Dimension: 16.5in H x 78in L x 17.5in D
Deadline: As soon as possible but can wait 4-8 weeks for completion if necessary.
This is where I would source the material. 1 sheet would probably do it. (4x8_ft)
You can cut it on the dynatorch cnc plasma.
You didn’t mention dimensions or steel thickness but I would say 11 gauge is needed (1/8”)roughly. Unless you want to build square tubing supports underneath the sheets on the sides
There is also the fun of how to get the welds to be a close match in weathering if they are visible from the outside. The usual wire in our MAG machines is not one of the usual recommended filler wires. Or design for the welds to be on the inside only, and whoever does it will have to fight the usual tendencies to weld both sides.
Ok…I see a couple issues here.
For starters Cor-ten is basically just a rust patina and rust is an insulator therefore, you’re going to have a hard time cutting it on the Dynatorch. Ask anyone that’s tried to cut a rusted piece of metal, including myself.
What usually happens is you will end up either losing Arc completely or you will have pretty large sections of your cut where it rooster tails and doesn’t actually cut through.
Had that happen a couple times when i was being lazy and trying to cut corners.
This is why most people I know that have cut cro-ten will wire brush a corner to clean the rust off and attach the ground to that corner so they can get an arc with a hand plasma. And a lot of times that doesn’t work so they end up cutting it with a grinder and cutting wheel.
As for getting welds to match, that’s a fairly simple process.
All you have to do is take the piece outside, wire brush the welds and then spray them with a vinegar, water and salt solution every 10 minutes for an hour and then just let it sit outside, in the sun, for a few hours.
Check on it periodically and reapply Your solution as needed.
I have done this multiple times with yard art that was requested to have a patina.
If it was me building this bench, I would do a 1x1in 14ga frame and use 16ga sheet to complete the look, leaving an open bottom for drainage after sprinklers or rain.
I would either hand cut the cor-ten and clean the weld joints or use mild Steel and a patina solution.
If the vinegar water and salt solution doesn’t give you the look you want, there is a company (I would have to look up the name) that makes different patina solutions for different results including black, blue, green, brown, etc.
Here is a breakdown on this.
Dimensions:
In the future post how big the piece is suppose to be. You don’t need to have exact measurements but saying it need to be around 8’ long, 2’ wide and 2’ tall helps people figure out how much material they will need to make this as well as let you know where small adjustments in it can save you money on material costs.
Steel:
onlinemetals.com or Metals4U would be the two best local places. Online Metals has a DFW warehouse and Metals4U is 15 minutes from DMS.
I would go with 11ga to 8ga on it, you can use a thicker piece of steel but the weight will go up as well as the cost.
One 4’ x 10’ should be enough to make this but depending on the dimensions you might need a second sheet.
The steel needs to be clean, that means no rust or patina on it. This will make it where it is had to cut and weld the steel. The weathered look will need to be done after the steel has been cut and welded.
Wood:
A lumber supply store will either have a piece of wood in the size that you need or you will need to get some boards and glue them together and them plane them down.
Fabrication:
The CNC plasma cutter can easily cut this out as well as any internal braces and brackets that you will need. To connect the top of the wood bench to the steel base you will need brackets and this can be easily cut out on the plasma cutter.
Once everything has been cut it will be pretty easy to weld everything into place. It is big but thanks to its simple design it can be put on the floor and put into position. Bricks or some discarded brake disks can help hold it in place.
MIG welding will be your best bet. You can tack and weld everything together with it. This includes and braces and brackets that were cut out.
Patina:
This will take a while but it can be done at home. Look up different ways to add a patina to steel, there are products that are made for doing this so I would just buy one and apply it to the steel.
Assembly:
At this point you can put the wood top on the bench and bolt into place.
Moving:
I forgot to add this when I first wrote this. This thing is going to be heavy, weighing over 200 pounds so you are going to want 4 people to move this. I would either have a trailer or a truck that has a full size bed to move this in.
So…yeah…I have to agree. What size, materials (other than Cor-Ten…), etc. is important. This is what I dug up on an image search
https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/seating/benches/frama-comtemporary-64-bench-beige-travertin-corten-steel/id-f_11827423/
and that puppy slips in just over $10,000. That one is a touch over 8 feet, so I’m presuming we’re talking something smaller, which should reduce materials costs, handling costs, etc. Travertine, like this one, vs. concrete or wood or granite or marble for the lid could change all that substantially.
Thank you for posting an interesting query. It was fun looking at what I thought this would take, and I am now much more familiar with Cor-Ten. Neat product!
So going off the link that Jast posted this is going to get more expensive and a lot heaver.
I would go with 7 gauge steel which will help hold up the top since it is made out of stone. Overall the weight on this will be around 500 pounds if not more. 300 pounds for the steel and 200 for the stone top.
Cost for material is really going to go up. The cost of steel will be around $1,000 with tax, and the cost of the top will vary from $150 - 700. Material costs will be around $1,700 dollars. Then you have to factor in the cost of labor and then moving this. Overall this isn’t a hard design but the sheer weight and size will add a premium to someone building it.
Also how soon do you need this? You never mentioned if this was a rush job or a “at your leisure” job? Asking because this can really change how much it will cost to make this.
Given the weight involved, have the metal store you buy from do the initial cuts to break down the sheets into slightly oversize so you can do the final cuts. But getting them down into say 200# or less pieces will make the project much more manageable for two people. The cutting fees will be well worth it.
After assembly, the engine hoist will probably be easiest to move into a pickup and get through doors. The gantry can be used once outside the shop doors if desired.
Looks like a great project.
Thanks! I’ll look into it!
So you can get pickled & oiled steel for quite a bit less. It cuts ok, I used 7 gauge for my front bumper.
7 gauge sheet is about $275
Additionally you can get drops from Coremark that are already have a nice patina on it. This might be a cheaper option.
Hey!
That’s the same bench on the link and in my reference however that $10k one is hosted on a third party collectors website. The manufacturer actually sells this bench for $2,700 with a trade discount but that’s still out of my budget. Especially considering that it would need to be shipped from Copenhagen to Dallas which would probably bring the cost up to double that.
I figured that a similar material that is used to make those weathering steel outdoor rectangular planters that sell for $300-$500 could be used for this and I’ve seen people offering to make them in custom sizes on Facebook Marketplace and Offerup in Dallas so I figured it would be possible and much cheaper to make this bench here and thought I would put this post up to see if I got any leads.
I don’t think the referenced piece weighs anywhere near 500lbs as it’s a decorative bench that is part of a small brand’s furniture line sold online with global shipping options.
Appreciate all of you commenting and spreading your knowledge and ideas!
Hopefully I find someone to help me with this! I would love this made as soon as possible but don’t have any hard deadline in mind as this is just for my home.
Details:
Travertine top with corten steel base 4mm internally welded metal
Dimension: H 1.5ft / W 6.5ft / D 1.37 ft
If you are a DMS member show up tonight at 8pm and I will show you how to use the CNC plasma cutter. I haven’t heard anyone on the forum offer to do this for you for $. DMS is typically a DIY sort of place. There are artists at DMS who take commissioned jobs and work at the space but most of us are here as hobbyists and volunteers. If you just want to pay someone to make it for you just use sendcutsend and have the sides laser cut for you. The rest of the bench is pretty simple.
FWIW I agree with @TBJK. I would just use plain old a36 steel. You don’t need Corten. The 4mm thickness is roughly 8 gauge. Coremark metals recently got rid of most their big rusty pile but you might be able to find something to meet your needs at roughly .75 cents/lb
You might want to publish your budget. People that a capable of creating this can then decide if it is worth their time. One offs are always more expensive than mass market items. Who knows, maybe someone can make some adjustments to keep the cost down. If you are hoping for someone to do this for $20 an hour, then you will be disappointed. At the minimum you should expect 3X the material cost. Everyone wants something that is unique and cool, but there is a reason these types of items are rare and not plastered all over Facebook Market Place. It requires skill, time, and $$$.
P.S. I don’t do metal work.
Thanks so much!
I agree - it’s a very simple piece to make once the pieces are sourced and cut.
I emailed Online Metals and they said they had it so fingers crossed.
I wanted to update this thread as I was able to make the piece locally!
Thanks to @Mrholthaus for the Coremark recommendation. They had the steel I needed for a good price and were able to cut it for me as per my design and specifications and deliver it to me. I then found a local welder that came to my house and adhered the 4 corners together internally. I added 6 rounds of a vinegar, salt and carbon dioxide solution to the metal to create the patina rust and then found a marble remnant from a countertops fabricator and had it cut to my specifications and glued to the top.
In total this cost me about $1k to make and was pretty quick and easy!
