Corner Piece #3 – Part 1
I have always wanted to build a corner piece with a concrete core. Here are the two that I have previously made.
I had to be careful to provide a large enough footprint so that they would be stable. While I was building them I was thinking about concrete and the fact that the weight would help the stability of the piece. I now have the concrete skills to pull it off so I decided to jump in with a model.
There is no client involved so the model is a bit rough, almost like a 3D sketch.
This piece centers around the concrete so that I where I will begin. The concrete elements in my work are cast. This means that I will have to think inside out. The form material is a special plywood that is waterproof and has a smooth coating. I refer to it as “Red Board”
Here is the finished form.
Note: this component is cast upside down.
Now I will show the individual pieces that make it up. I need to stay one step ahead as the cast concrete can lock itself into a poorly designed form and require the destruction of the form to get it out. Yes I have made that mistake!
The back of the form
The front of the form
There is also a separate piece for the top (not pictured). All of the parts are caulked in place so that they will be water tight. I should mention that I use UHMW plastic to make the facets for the corners. I use the facts to relate the concrete to the rest of my work. Plus I can change them to give the casting a different look.
The concrete mix and the extra materials to give it a bit more strength go into the mixer.
The form gets loaded and agitated to encourage the bubbles to work their way out.
Three days later I free it from the form.
It was a successful pour!
To be continued…
Corner Piece #3
Part 1
Part 2
