Skip’s Copper Accent Trellises

Finished up a “Spring” Trellis project. They will add support to some Lavender Star plants. I sketched up a drawing then enlarged and printed it to the inside dimensions of the trellis plan. I decided on 3/8″ copper tubing which can be bent by hand and a tubing bender. After initial cutting and forming to shape, a cap was soldered on one end and the opposite end was beveled and shaped to conform to where it would be soldered. To prevent adjacent joints from de-soldering, I used wet strips to act as heat barriers. Additionally, the formed end was pretreated with a bead of solder so it would be easier to heat, flow the solder and then cool to adhere. Each joint was dressed to remove any excess solder and make it appear as a smooth transition. The copper will be left to patina naturally.

The frames are made of redwood and all joints are stopped mortise and tenons. They were pre-finished with Superdeck Exterior Transparent Stain & Sealer by Duckback Products (www.superdeck.com ) prior to adding the copper accent piece. The top rail was left off till last. Holes were drilled, at proper angles to accept the copper and the bottom was epoxied in first. After hardened, the top rail was pre-drilled then epoxied and mortises glued to the stiles. The bottoms of the stiles have rebar that extends into the planter to add stabilization. The bolts run through fabricated copper stand offs that give separation from the stucco and frames.