Building Orca - Episode 18: Orca Lettering at Metal Works
September 16, 2025 · 24 min · 28K views · Tiverton, Rhode Island
What this video covers
Louis Sauzedde visits Metal Works in Tiverton, Rhode Island to have five copper transom letters cut for the replica of Orca, the boat from the film.1:44 Working from historical photographs of Orca's transom, Sauzedde estimates each letter at approximately 10 inches by 10 inches — derived by using a visible 19-inch barrel in one photograph as a scale reference.1:02 The shop, a family-run architectural sheet-metal business operating since 1961, offers copper in 16-ounce (21 thousandths of an inch), 20-ounce (24 thousandths), and 32-ounce (32 thousandths) sheet stock; Sauzedde selects the heaviest, 32-ounce copper, reasoning that thinner material risks bending and damage on the transom.13:55 Shop metalworker Mike demonstrates the cutting method: tape a paper pattern directly to the copper sheet, punch a starter hole with a hand punch, then cut around the pattern using offset shears — left-cutting and right-cutting — entirely by hand, no CNC or power cutting.20:17 The finished letters will be fastened to the transom with countersunk flathead bronze screws.15:02 Sauzedde notes that multiple historical Orca transoms exist and their photographs show inconsistent lettering, so the design is partly interpretive.14:45
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