There’s a certain satisfaction in taking raw material and shaping it into something beautiful—something functional. This set of copper shelf brackets, listed as Copper Shelf Bracket – Industrial Style, begins, as most things do at SmithWork, with an idea and a sketch, but the real story lies in the making.
The process starts with placing the copper piping in a custom jig—an essential tool for consistency when soldering the brass to copper pipes. The jig holds everything steady while the solder sets to precision. You’ll see in the gallery the early stage: the brass held in place, the copper pipe ready to meet it.
Once joined, the elbows were soldered to the upright pipes, giving the pieces their first breath of structure; they begin to look like shelf brackets now. Interestingly, this is where I used to stop the fabrication—clean up the solder and polish. And they were a popular design, so much so other builders began to follow suit using copper rather than mild steel piping. So we upped the skill ante by introducing the auxiliary piping on the copper shelf bracket’s side.
The next slide depicts auxiliary pipes after they were measured and forged into shape. Polished too, as it makes for easier final polish. These are just for looks; they don’t reinforce the bracket or create weakness, yet they bring that unmistakable industrial feel—part vintage, part machine-age elegance. After soldering them to the main body, we polished each section to a warm gleam, locking the design into its final shape.
What began as separate parts—copper pipe, brass fittings, forged auxiliary piping—has now become something whole. With cast iron flanges added and every joint buffed to a mirror shine, these brackets are more than just hardware. They’re a glimpse into the rhythm of the forge, the quiet focus of hand work, and the beauty that happens when utility and artistry meet.
Perhaps the only complication in this process is building the jigs. Once they’re made, you can practically reuse them over and over again. Unlike forging copper pan hooks, like the 31" Copper Pan Rack with 8 Hand-Forged Hooks, which rely on muscle memory—the development of a skill that builds up over a long period of time. Even so, there’s still variation in every shelf bracket. Each one is unique, made slowly and with care. The kind of piece that doesn’t just hold up a shelf—it tells a story while doing it.
