From Drawing to Crate Custom Stainless Steel Fabrication
Most problems on a stainless steel commission are decided long before anyone starts welding. Grade, wall thickness, fixing type and crate design all get locked in early, and changing them later is expensive. This is the sequence we run, and what you need to give us at each point.
Stage by Stage
- EnquiryA photograph with no size or exposure cannot be priced, so the first exchange is usually spent asking the same questions. Send the size, the site exposure, the finish and the fixing you already have, and the first reply is a price and a lead time.
- Grade and thicknessGrade chosen on cost fails on a coastal site, and thickness chosen on looks fails where the public can climb on the piece. We recommend AISI 201, 304 or 316 and a wall between 1 mm and 6 mm against the real exposure and handling.
- Shop drawingsFoundations get poured before the base plate geometry is known, and the crate then has to wait for a new base. Shop drawings for large commissions carry the base plate, bolt pattern, weight and lift points, issued before production starts.
- FormingA form that is pressed wrong cannot be corrected later without showing in the reflection. Spheres are stamping press formed on tooling that covers 19 mm to 3000 mm; sculptural forms are hand formed to the drawing.
- Welding and seam grindingAn unblended weld reads as a flat line across a mirror surface from a long way off. Seams are ground and blended until the joint disappears in reflection. This is the step that separates a finished piece from a fabricated one.
- FixingsDrilling a polished piece on site leaves scratches that cannot be corrected in place. Holes, threads, pedestals and base plates are all made before the final polish.
- FinishingPieces finished at different times never quite match under the same light. Whole runs and room sets are polished or coated in one batch.
- Approval and packingA piece that arrives wrong is expensive to send back from another continent. Batch photographs go out for approval before the balance is invoiced, then the piece is foam wrapped and cased with a cradle.
What This Changes for You
- One workshop from sheet to crate, so nothing is lost between subcontractors
- Grade and thickness recommended against your site, not a default
- Shop drawings early enough to reach the civil works package
- No site drilling of finished surfaces
- Approval photographs before the balance is invoiced
- Crating designed around the actual form
Products This Applies To
Garden SculptureLarge Stainless Steel Sculpture - Moon Gate
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Garden SculptureLarge Stainless Steel Sculpture - Windmill & Eye of the Sky
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Stainless Steel SpheresHollow Stainless Steel Balls Diameter 19 mm to 3000 mm
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Garden SculptureGarden Decorative Stainless Steel Stone & Cobblestone Sculpture
View DetailsCustom Fabrication Questions
What do you need to quote a custom piece?
A drawing or photograph, the overall size, the site exposure, the finish you want and the fixing you already have.
Do you charge for shop drawings?
Shop drawings are produced as part of large commissions once the order is confirmed.
Can you build to an artist's model rather than a drawing?
Send photographs from several angles with the intended dimensions. We will tell you what is buildable in sheet steel before quoting.
How much can change after the deposit?
Finish and small details can still move early on. Grade, thickness and overall geometry are fixed once the sheet is cut.
What is the lead time on a custom piece?
15 to 30 days after the deposit is received, depending on size, complexity and finish.
Start With a Drawing and a Date
Send what you have and we will tell you what is buildable, in which grade, and by when.