Workbench
by Lew Larason
David John grew up in Lahaska in a home located along Route 202, and he does his metal crafting in a building right behind the family residence. Growing up, he was surrounded by antiques. His father, Dallas, enjoyed collecting antique tools. He was an industrial arts teacher and metalwork was his hobby. David’s mother, Florence, loved antiques and worked for local antiques dealers. In the late 60s Florence and Dallas opened up Oaklawn Metal Craft and Antiques Shop (now David John Metal Artisan). David learned metalwork by helping his father.
After graduating from high school, David attended Penn State University, earning a B.S. in civil engineering. After about three years, he found that work was not what he wanted to do. Since he had grown up doing metalwork and always enjoyed it, he decided that was the direction in which he was going to go. He left engineering in 1969 and joined his father in the metalworking business.
About 30 years ago, Joe Truitt began working with David. They’re a good team and, along with copies of architectural metalwork, create handcrafted reproduction lanterns. The lanterns were very popular. David replied, “Our lanterns are superior because of the way we make them.” He explained, “We hem the edges, use four pieces at the corners for rigidity and add extra thickness where additional strength is needed. The glass is double and sits in channels. That makes it easy to clean or replace.”
The lanterns are exact copies of the pieces made in Philadelphia during the 1800s. However, the originals were made of tin, which caused them to rust. For that reason, David uses copper. “We also can craft them in brass, but we feel that copper is the best.”
Although the workshop has some power tools such as a drill press and a lathe, he and Joe do a great deal of the fabricating by hand. When making a lantern, they begin with a sheet of top-quality copper. Then, using a pattern, the piece is laid out, depending upon the style and size of the lantern. Straight lines are cut using a foot-powered shear, while curves are cut with hand-held shears. Corners, hems and angles are bent, folded and clinched using a hand-operated brake.
When the time comes to assemble a lantern, it is done over a fixture, a sort of mold. The first thing they do is clean joint surfaces with a flux. Then, the joints are soldered together using an acetylene/oxygen torch. After assembly each lantern is cleaned and rubbed with steel wool. David said, “We usually don’t age the metal. It colors naturally. Because of acid rain and so on, it generally get a patina fairly quickly. However, if a customer wants a lantern aged, we can do it.”
To finish reading this story about David John Metal Artisan, turn to page 80 in the Spring 2015 issue of Bucks County Magazine.