Restoring historic metal structures, especially nineteenth and early twentieth century wrought iron and steel bridges, requires the skills of crafts men and women who know and are skilled in the industrial processes used in fabrication of historic bridges. Many bridges were fabricated with industrial tools, processes, and metal no longer used in steel fabrication: shop and field riveting with pneumatic tools, forge welding, and wrought iron.
A shop webinar tour is scheduled for Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at 3:00pm EDT at Bach Steel, Nels Raynor's metal fabrication shop in St Johns, Michigan. The webinar begins with an introduction by Raynor and Nathan Holth, followed by a shop tour with Raynor describing the tools and skills he and his crew of preservationists use to restore historic metal. Nels Raynor and his crew have learned through their hands-on work the value of the original elements of a historic riveted truss bridge and the voices of the crafts men and women within these historic records.
