I grew up watching my dad build custom furniture with his hands. Every stitch, every pattern, every button lined up perfectly. He was a phenomenal craftsman whose clients rarely appreciated the depth of his talent, and watching that shaped everything I’d come to believe about doing work worth keeping.
With his health in decline my career path started out completely different.
I spent over a decade in healthcare both in clinical and leadership roles before I let myself return to building. It started in the garage – parts for my Jeep, a camping trailer, then a fire pit for our backyard. Each piece drew the kind of admiration that turns into a first commission, and in 2019, DLR Metalworks was born. Now, it’s what I do.
When you commission a piece from me, you're not handing your idea to a shop that will build a hundred of them at the lowest possible price. You're working directly with the person who will design it, cut the metal, weld it, and finish it - and who holds it to the same standard as if it were going in his own backyard.
I build things designed to endure their intended function for 50+ years. Not "high quality", "best" or "long lasting" - those phrase is too easy to say and too hard to prove. I mean structurally, materially, and functionally built to outlast the person who ordered them. I use only the highest quality materials available, I never outsource overseas, and I'll never claim something I don't believe in my heart to be true.
Get a Free Consultation NowThe fabrication market is dominated by speed and price. Nobody’s talking about building things that will still be doing their job 50+ years from now.
I am. That’s why I back my heirloom builds with a 50 year, money back warranty for the original owner. We discuss exactly how you’ll use the piece, I build it around that use, and I stand behind it for as long as you own it. If it ever breaks because of my workmanship, you’ll get money back in your pocket.
I’m the opposite of Amazon. If you’ve learned the hard way that the cheaper, faster version always disappoints, we’ll get along well.
