It wouldn't have to have been done hot, but you would need prohibitively expensive forming roller equipment for this.

Update on this project. I found a place in Dundalk Maryland called Joseph Kavanagh Co. They have been in business since 1866 and specialize in bending all kinds of metal. They were able to bend the larger radius for me, but the smaller secondary radius was too tight to be done even with their gigantic heavy equipment. The cost to bend two 78" long pieces of 2"x2"x1/4" to a 20 inch radius was $150. I have cut both of these pieces in half to create the matching sides for two brackets. On to these curved pieces I have welded pieces of straight angle stock. The secondary radius will be created by bending a piece of flat stock, cutting the outward arm from a piece of 1/4" sheet, and welding the two together to form the angle. I will post pictures as it all comes together.

Cheers,

Werner

Thanks for the update...sounds like a good and economical solution.

Images as promised:

Looking good....looks like this is the upper wall/ceiling corner, on picture the radius looks larger for some reason. How do you rivet them?

Hello,

Some updates on the brackets. I just finished the work, and the pieces are now ready for sand blasting and POR15. The rivets are not real rivets. I cheated and used lag bolts. There is a nut on the opposite side.

The bracket is upside down in this picture. It is for the upper wall and ceiling. The existing structure is currently self supporting. I am adding a significant amount of weight to a section of my house that is cantilevered 4ft over the lower level of the building. The existing method of framing can likely handle the additional weight, but in order to prevent sagging over time I have built these brackets (two). The design is largely for appearance and less for structural support.

I modeled the design off of the Patterson Park Pagoda. I have combined features from the top and bottom of the original. What the original looks like:

I will post additional pictures after install.

Cheers,

Werner J Stiegler

Thanks again for the pix...

Updates on the install:

Sand blasted parts:

Holes filled in with weld on the right piece:

Finished Product:

Werner

I looked at your "Park Pogoda" link and I think that the gentle curves could have been roll formed. The sharper bends would require heating. I think that the craftsmen of that time would have used blacksmithing methods to make the sharper bends. The angle iron would have been heated in a forge to a dull red or at least orange temperature and forced over a form. the piece would have had extra length and trimmed to length after forming. The angles may have been hot riveted together before forming and the rivets tightened afterward. If the village smithy did it, there might be hammer marks on the part.

The simple way that a backyard craftsman might make the sharply bent pieces is to make pieces out of flat stock, shape and then weld the pieces together.

The park pagoda iron seems to have been hot riveted. This was a common technique for building bridges and other iron structures over a hundred years ago. It required a 3 man riveting crew. One man heated the rivets to red hot and tossed them to the 'bucker' who caught the rivet and inserted it in the hole and then held a heavy bucking weight against the rivet head. The buck weight would have have had a depression for maintaining the rivet head shape. The 'riveter' formed the rivet head using a pneumatic hammer. As the rivet cooled, it shrank in length and tended to tighten the joint. The riveting process when properly done causes the rivet to fatten and completely fill the hole. Timing is of the essence. The rivet must be formed before it cools too much.