As I’ve begun learning to make things with metal, I’ve been captivated by many of the unintentional visual artifacts left behind. Techniques like welding, plasma cutting, hammering, and oxy-acetylene torching are generally used to modify a 3D form, but I wanted to make a piece that specifically highlights the artifacts they leave behind.
This video below is a stop motion of 447 frames captured over about 15 minutes of torching a 24″x24″ piece of sheet steel. Even though I’ve put a lot of hours in using this technique, this is actually the first time I’ve been able to watch the process without darkening effect of protective eye wear and the pressure of operating the torch.
NOTE: For proper viewing, click the link to my Vimeo page and view full screen in 720p HD
Oxy-Acetylene Torch on Brushed Steel from Daniel Nelson on Vimeo.
I brushed the steel beforehand to remove the oily milling on the outside, so the temperature changes would be more visible.
The rainbow outlines the edges of the areas that have been heated, while the dot is literally glowing hot.
The fading intensity of the glow traces where the torch as been. Note the dark blistered circles in the areas that received the most heat.
The light from the torch isn’t as bright as a weld arc, but looking directly at it will damage your eyes. Because of this, it is necessary to wear darkened glasses while working. Unfortunately this makes it very difficult to see colors.
By keeping a sustained concentration of heat on a single spot, the steel has heated to the point of melting and left a hole behind.
The blistered area outside cooled more quickly than the plate steel behind. Because of the size difference, it was not able to fuse itself back and will now flake off.
With the oxygen turned off, the acetylene gas alone leaves a beautifully rich matte black coating.
Unlike the areas that flaked off above, this splash of molten steel was able still hot enough to bond back to the main plate.
Detail of the rainbow colors left on brushed surface.
