Welding

In furniture fabrication welding has a constraint that structural steelwork does not: it has to hold and it must not show. On an object that will be burnished or left clear, the bead cannot simply be covered — it has to be dressed, brought back to level and blended until the surface is continuous again, because every discontinuity reacts to chemical treatment differently from the surrounding metal and reappears as a shadow.

The process is chosen for the material, the thickness and the position of the joint. On brass and copper heat input has to be watched closely: these materials conduct heat very quickly, tend to distort and can oxidise along the bead. A badly planned tacking sequence produces a piece that twists as it cools, and no amount of dressing straightens it without leaving marks.

For that reason the geometry is held by fixtures and references: the piece is always positioned the same way, tacked in a set order, and completed by alternating sides to balance distortion. On repeat runs, the welding fixture is what makes the tenth piece the same as the first.

After welding comes dressing: grinding, levelling and blending of the bead, then re-homogenising the surface with the same operation as the rest of the piece — satin in the same direction, brushing, sandblasting. It is the longest phase and the least visible in the final result, and it is exactly where a well-made piece shows itself.

How far the dressing is taken depends on the chosen finish: under an opaque paint there is more margin, under a clear coat there is almost none. This is why the finish enters the conversation at design stage, and why the shop wants to know it before welding rather than after. Where an invisible joint would cost too much, the alternative is to declare it: a joint designed to be seen, aligned and regular, is a detail; a joint badly hidden is a defect.