Kolbermoor Germany: Josef Still Metallgestaltung

Josef Still Metallgestaltung is located in Kolbermoor, Bavaria, Germany. The duration of my externship was June 9 - June 18. We mainly worked on a custom motorcycle inspired table, and a sculpture for the city. The photos from this externship can be found in "Germany Photos"

Indian Racer Table

The table is inspired by the "wall of death" stunts found in carnivals; the wooden top is made from slats from one of these walls. The shape and angle of the legs imitate the walls.  The parts I participated in were the tapering of the legs, the forging of the base, the forging of the feet, the texturing of the spokes, and the fabrication of the tank.

Process:

Legs

The legs were forged from 80mm x 10mm flat bar. The taper was drawn very precisley on a piece of sheet metal. The tapers start at 70mm x 10mm and taper down to 40mm x 10mm over a length of 130mm. once the tapers were drawn out the ends got trimmed, then the bars were straightened cold. The main purpose of the straightening was to get the twisting out.

Base

The base was cut out of a large sheet using a ellipse template we had laid out. The ellipse is made using the concentric circle method, a video is linked in the Germany Photos gallery. A rectangular hole is cut in the center, the corners are then nicked as well, this will allow the plate to roll open easier. then two large bars are welded to the backside of the plate to stablize it when it is being heated and bent. the plate is additonally clamped to the sawhorses it is sitting on. The torch is used to heat the edges and then it is struck with the flatter and sledge. 

Spokes & Feet

The spokes were made of 5mm round bar and run quickly under the hammer to give them a lightly chamfered texture.

The feet were made under the hydraulic press by taking 20mm x 40mm at 30mm long, they were heated and squished down to 20mm tall. this caused the sides to bulge out in a way that can only be achieved under the press.

Tank

The tank is fabricated out of two side wall pieces that were cut with a plasma cutter, the shape is meant to be the gas tank of the Indian motorcycles used in the "wall of death" stunts. The top is a piece of flat stock that is bent mostly to shape using the hydraulic press and finished with the torch in the tight bend at the top. The pieces are tacked together then welded. The welds were then dressed. 

Wheat Sculpture

This wheat sculpture was made as a gift to the city of Kolbermoor for my time there, it is meant to be a cross over between the cities of Charleston and Kolbermoor, the wheat represents the agricultural importance of wheat to the region, the shape of the wheat is a cattail which is a common plant in coastal areas like Charleston. The twist used for the head of the wheat is also the "pineapple twist" which gives it a cool appearance and also pays homage to the common symbol of hospitality which is the pineapple. 

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