Tag Archives: curved steel

Pumpkin Carving & Steel Bending: What Do They Have in Common?

Carving pumpkins is a family tradition in the Smith House, a tradition that started 20 years ago with one of mine and Jaime’s first dates. But like most events in our household, it is not something we just do without thorough planning and preparation. We follow a strict set-up, we have our designs in mind before we start, we have all of the tools we need at hand, we tackle challenging designs, and most importantly, we have Chinese food waiting for us when we are done! But in all seriousness, the steps we go through to carve pumpkins are very similar to the ones we go through when dealing with a project involving a curved steel component.

Steps for Pumpkin Carving

1) Plan Ahead: Buy Your Pumpkin Shortly Before Halloween

2) Buy Your Pumpkin from a Pumpkin Patch or Supermarket

3) Select a Healthy Pumpkin Free of Nicks, Bruises and Cuts

4) Pick the Size You Need

5) Choose a Design Before You Start Carving

6) Choose a Method for Carving Your Pumpkin

7) Trace Your Design on the Pumpkin

8) Set Up a Spacious Work Area

9) Select the Right Tools

10) Remove the Filling

11) Carve Your Design

12) Display Your Pumpkin

Steps for Steel Bending

1) Plan Ahead: Early Involvement of Key Players, especially Your Bender/Roller.

2) Buy the Steel: Have Us Quote Your Job Labor + Material or Purchase Your Own Steel from a Service Center and Have it Delivered To Us

3) Select the Material that is Right for Your Job: HSS, Pipe, Tube, Angle, Channel, Wide-Flange, I-Beam?

4) Pick the Size You Need: Use our Handy Calculators or refer to our quote indicating the lengths we require to successfully bend your project.

5) Work with the Engineer, Architect or Bender/Roller on the Project to Perfect the Design of the Curved Steel

6) We will Choose a Method for Bending Your Steel Based on Your Needs and the Application of the Product

7) We Bend Per Your Template and/or Drawings.

8) We have a 50,000 sq ft Shop with Ample Room to Handle Large Structural Projects and Smaller Repeat Orders.

9) We have the Right Tools with State of the Art Bending Equipment, Bend Dies, Fab Equipment and a QC Department.

10) No Need to Remove the Filling! We DO NOT fill your HSS with other Structural Members. We are able to Bend HSS Members WITHOUT adding extra Material and Weight.

11) Bend, Roll, Spiral, Fabricate, Form!!

12) Erect, Assemble & Display Award Winning Projects Featuring Curved Steel Members for the Steel Industry to See!

“Student Experience Center” Curved Steel Canopy at Oregon State University

The college tours continue and a few weekends ago, we had the pleasure of visiting Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon and seeing the curved steel canopy at the Student Experience Center.

Student Experience Center Curved Steel Canopy Oregon State University

The project was bent out of TS 20″ X 12″ X .500″ WALL. Bent the hard-way to the tightest radius of 101′-8″ inside. Always fun to see our handy work in person!


Curved Steel at New Skate Park: “It is So Fun to Drop In!”

“It is so fun to drop in!” Sherwood Skate Park just opened and it is awesome! Filled with kids every day! Albina was thrilled to be a part of the project bending 4 lengths x 20 ft. Tube Steel 2″ X 2″ X .188″ WALL A500 GR B to a 42 ft radius and a 46 ft radius, as well as 3 lengths x 21 ft.: 2″ SCH40 A53B ERW bent to a 12 ft radius and a 5 ft radius, for the lip/rail that runs the perimeter of the park as well as for the benches kids sit and skate on.

skatepark rails
skatepark benches
skatepark rails

Spiral Staircases at the Newly Renovated Space Needle

Albina Co. Inc. bent the spiral staircases at the newly renovated Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. The Space Needle’s rotating glass floor, dubbed “The Loupe”, is located just below the open-air observation deck and Albina Co., Inc. was the steel bender/roller for the custom spiral staircases connecting the two areas. Albina Co., Inc. bent 1″ thick x 13 ¼” wide A572 GR 50 to yield three 180″ pieces and three 144″ pieces of rolled plate and 1″ thick x 10-13/16″ wide A572 GR 50 to yield one 80″ piece of rolled plate. We also bent tube steel 10″ x 6″ x .625″ WALL A500 GR B to a 11’ 6” inside plan view radius (the easy way). 

Space Needle Spiral Staircase at "The Loupe"
Backside view of spiral staircase at the Space Needle
People walking on the spiral staircase at the Space needle
the space needle

Curved Steel Roof at the M-Car Wash in Davie, Florida

Albina recently completed a great project for a curved steel roof at the M-Car Wash in Davie, Florida

Materials bent for this project included Tube Steel 10″ X 4″ X .250″ WALL A500 GR B yielding 3 pieces. Albina cut the material to length, prepped and primered each piece. Tube Steel 10″ X 4″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B- yielding 12 pieces bent the hard way.  Albina’s scope of work was to bend, trim, holes, weld caps and grind per drawings.  NOMMA #1 finish welds.  Prep and prime paint after fabrication.  Exposed. We also bent 3″ SCH40 A500 GR B to yeild 15 assemblies.  Albina Cut, Fit, weld and grind per drawings.  NOMMA #1 finish.  Prep and Prime after fabrication.

Curved Steel Roof M-Wash Davie, Florida
Curved Steel Roof M-Wash Davie, Florida

Albina Co., Inc. Recognized at “The Spheres” IDEAS2 Presidential Award Ceremony

“The Spheres” in Seattle, Washington have been all the buzz lately! “The Spheres” were featured in the May 2019 Edition of Modern Steel Magazine as the buildings were awarded the AISC’s IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication!  Just this last week, our VP of Sales, Brad Lund, was able to attend the award presentation ceremony at “The Spheres” in Seattle and we were awarded a plaque to display in our office. See below for some AMAZING pictures!


Albina Co., Inc. was the steel bender/roller for the Curved Steel Bio-Sphere buildings in Seattle, WA. Albina bent 750,000# and 1,050 pieces rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis. Almost 8 miles of welding work and grinding was avoided because of Albina’s ability to bend a portion of the project. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to the fixtures within 1/32nd of an inch! Albina Co., Inc. also bent the handrails and spiral staircase for the interior of the buildings.

Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Interior Shot of the “webs” used to help create “The Spheres”
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Brad Lund receiving the AISC IDEAS2 Award for Presidential Excellence in Fabrication
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Curved Steel Handrail 2nd floor of “The Spheres”
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
A close up of the “webs” used to help create “The Spheres”
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Curved Steel Handrails and Spiral Staircases on the interior of “The Spheres”
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Curved Steel Spiral Staircase at “The Spheres” (looking down)
Albina Co., Inc. Steel Bender/Steel Roller for "The Spheres" In Seattle
Curved Steel Spiral Staircase at “The Spheres” (from ground level)

Curved Steel Helps to Create a Unique & Meaningful Monument in Des Moines

“A Monumental Journey” by Kelly James Marshall for the Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation. The monument is featured in the August issue of Modern Steel “What’s Cool In Steel.” The monument celebrates the legacy of African American laywers who founded the the National Bar Association in 1925 and the monument symbolizes communication among diverse people and legal system, that while not perfect, strives to be balanced. Find more details about the project in the above article featured in Modern Steel.
Albina bent various materials for this project including:
3 x 40 ft: 5″ X 5″ X 5/16″ ANGLE A36. Cut and bent to net 8 pcs (leg out). Bent down to a 68” inside radius.
1 x 20 ft: MC3 X 7.1# A36. Cut and bent to net 2 pcs (flanges in).
2 x 48 ft: TS 6″ X 6″ X .625″ WALL A500 GR B. Cut and bent to net 4 pcs. Bent down to a 58” inside radius.
1 x 48 ft: TS 6″ X 6″ X .375″ WALL A500 GR B. Cut and bent to net 2 pcs. Bent down to a 77” inside radius.

Kerry James Marshall (American, born 1955) A MONUMENTAL JOURNEY 2018 Manganese Ironspot brick, steel, granite approx. H. 30 ft, D. 19 ft

Commissioned by Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation; Greater Des Moines Public Art Foundation Collection, 2018.1 Photos: Ben Easter

Curved Steel Monument
Curved Steel Monument
Curved Steel Monument
Curved Steel Monument

“The Spheres” Grace the Cover of Structure Magazine

“The Spheres”, the recipient of the AISC 2019 IDEAS2 Presidential Award for Excellence in Fabrication grace the cover of the August Issue of Structure Magazine! The article focuses on the inspiration, the vision and the design of “The Spheres.” Albina bent 750,000# and 1,050 pieces rectangular tube steel bent the easy way and a portion bent off-axis for this project. Almost 8 miles of welding work and grinding was avoided because of Albina’s ability to bend a portion of the project. Almost NO correction was needed during fabrication or erection as the bends fit to the fixtures within 1/32nd of an inch! Numerous Pacific Northwest businesses collaborated to make The Spheres possible.

Curved Steel Sections of The Spheres Erected
Curved Steel Sections of The Spheres Erected
The Spheres in Seattle Washington
“The Spheres” Seattle, WA.

Difficult, Tight Bends Create Unique Curved Steel Vestibule Frames

Albina recently bent some Tube Steel 6″ X 3″ X .500″ WALL A500 GR B as double 90° bends to a 17″ inside radius the hard way. These are difficult, tight bends for this material and the bends turned out perfectly! The bends will be used as vestibule frames for a lobby entry.

Tube Steel 6" X 3" X .500" WALL A500 GR B as double 90° bends to a 17" inside radius the hard way for vestibule frames
Tube Steel 6" X 3" X .500" WALL A500 GR B as double 90° bends to a 17" inside radius the hard way for vestibule frames
Tube Steel 6" X 3" X .500" WALL A500 GR B as double 90° bends to a 17" inside radius the hard way for vestibule frames

Albina Featured as the Bender/Roller on Two “What’s Cool In Steel” Projects in the August Issue of Modern Steel

Check out the August Issue of Modern Steel for “What’s Cool In Steel” Albina was the bender/roller on two of the featured projects including the Basher Pedestrian Bridge at the San Diego Zoo (pages 23-26) and a Des Moines sculpture titled “A Monumental Journey” by artist Kerry James Marshall (pages 30-31). We are working on securing some final install pictures of each of these projects! Stay tuned!

What's Cool In Steel