The next step was to assemble the metal pieces. The beauty of working with CNC cut pieces is that they are deadly accurate. I because I was building a box I didn't even have to use a square or level. It was a simple matter of making sure the edges and corners lined up and then tacking everything up. I welded the inside corners first for strength and then ran a bead up the outside edges. This was ground down nice and smooth for looks.
The Pencil rod came next and then the square tubing. The key is to get the proportions and flow of the piece nailed at this stage for there's no changing things from here on in. The assembly needed to be strong enough to withstand shipping many thousands of miles plus lots of handling.
Tomorrow I'll attach the mesh over which we will sculpt the rocks and other details.
