Architectural Fabrication

In 2018, I won a town grant for a paid apprenticeship at a local metal fabrication shop: Leo Gaev Metalworks. On the first day of work, my first job was to sweep the floors. During that summer, I gradually started to work on more technical fabrication projects. Those have included staircases, structural columns and railings as well as smaller more detail-oriented projects such as finishing serving dishes for a local Indian restaurant, kitchen hood accents, and signage.

Relevant learned skills include: MIG and TIG welding, proficiency with angle grinding, finishing and painting (large and small scale), installation and integration into large construction site work, and general shop maintenance.

Most importantly, though, I learned to fabricate and design to a high standard, realizing that everything was important.

a set of handrail brackets with ground-down welds and random-orbital sanding prep for eventual painting

TIG welding on a stainless steel garden-gate bracket

Town of Carrboro Bridge Project

The largest project I was involved in during my summer apprenticeship was fabricating and installing cor-ten railings and inserts with aluminum silhouettes. I assisted with the finishing of over 50 silhouettes, involving at least 5 different stages of sanding and polishing (the final finish was a scotch-brite random-orbital sander finish), as well drilling and tapping the mounting holes to affix these to the perforated panels.