Light Gauge steel news from the Americas – December 7, 2007

Friday, 07 December 2007 09:09:46 (GMT+3)   |  
       

Steel jewelry for the modern man

Finally, the perfect product has arrived for the man who likes jewelry but still wants to appear masculine: steel arm cuffs.

David Feldman, partner in the NYC jewelry-supply company Metalliferous, designed the man-bracelets as part of his first men's collection to meet the growing demand from men who love to accessorize - Reuters recently published a report that men's jewelry sales nearly doubled from 2004 to 2006 to reach $6 billion.

To give the cuffs an interesting look, they are handcrafted using the ancient "Damascus Steel" technique, which involves welding together a few hundred layers of hard and soft steel and then etching the steel in acid, giving it a pinstripe or woodgrain appearance, depending on the complexity of the welding.

One reviewer claims that the cuffs, which range in price from $200 to $500, are surprisingly comfortable. Some pieces are even inset with diamonds or 14K gold ends for the man who's not afraid of a little bling. Click here to see a picture of some of these unique bracelets, and pick yours up at Fassbinder at 39 8th Ave. in New York City. 
 

Indiana Beach braces itself for new thrill ride, "Steel Hawg"

The Indiana Beach amusement park recently announced that it will build the Steel Hawg, which will be the first major steel roller coaster in the state.

The 96-ft tall Steel Hawg features loops, rolls and plunging drops, reaching a top speed of 41 miles per hour during the 75-second ride.

"We were looking for a new thrill element, and this is definitely going to be it," said Tom Spackman, Jr., Indiana Beach executive vice president. "The coaster will be a very distinctive ride with tight turns, 90-degree banks, inversions and one-of-a-kind elements. It rolls upside down and around like a fighter plane would."

The Steel Hawg's manufacturer, S&S Worldwide, Inc., calls the style of the coaster "El Loco" (which means "crazy" in Spanish).

Mr. Speckman said that parts will start coming in February, and construction will begin in March. The coaster is slated to open in May of 2008.

Click here to see the stunning design of the Steel Hawg.

Art and heavy industry collide to create steel-beam trees

In an unlikely pairing, two award-winning artists teamed up with Pittsburgh steel contractor, Somerset Steel Erection, to create something beautiful.

The artists, Kathleen Mulcahy and her husband Ron Desmett, wanted to design, cut and fabricate two large steel beam trees for their corporate offices of American Eagle Outfitters in Pittsburgh, and when they met draftsman Mike Egger and his co-workers at Somerset, it was love at first sight.

"We knew as soon as we talked to Somerset Steel that it was the one," said Mulcahy.

Somerset used software to lay out the design, and five drafts and two months later, the company had a plan. Somerset connected the pair with Lincoln Contracting & Equipment, which delivered and fabricated the two trees, which were 40-feet tall and 25-feet in diameter. Some of the branches alone weigh more than 1,500 pounds.

Erecting the trees took three weeks in November and required over 20 welders and technicians from Somerset on site.

Mulcahy said that American Eagle wanted to have these pieces to represent Pittsburgh's steel industry with a modern twist: "They wanted an image that takes what was old - in memory of it - and brings it back new. It shows now we have this growth with another kind of industry."

Photographer documents dismantling of Geneva Steel

In his collection, "Dismantling Geneva Steel," opening this week at New York's 511 Gallery, photographer Chris Dunker presents a series of pictures documenting the 2007 dismantling of the Geneva Steel plant in Vineyard Utah, and, one could say, the end of America's industrial era.

The plant, constructed during WWII, was once the largest steel plant west of the Mississippi River. In 2007, it was closed down permanently.

Dunker, a photography professor at Utah state,  was allowed access to the plant after months of persistent phone calls (and after agreeing to shoot photographs of the remaining executives there in exchange).

A description of the collection on the 511 Gallery's website reads, "Amidst the destruction and demolition, Dunker finds beauty in the reductive elements of the building's truss and the quietude of the once-bustling High Line."

The collection will be displayed at the 511 Gallery in New York from December 6 through January 19.


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