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If you compress Eiffel Tower on its bottom, you get a sheet 6 cms thick.
Iron is the only " transparent " material (few matter and much toughness)
Shaping that " transparency " giving it movement, volume and details :
that is the aim of wrought-iron work.
That is why, following ethics, the wrought-iron craftsman has to make by himself all parts of his work, except those reflecting cultural tradition (such as in Provence area the pine cones,...)
Buying industrial parts and fitting them together is metalwork, a job worthy of respect, if one does not claim another status.
Air cylinder which diameter is the base of Eiffel Tower, as well as its height, is heavier than Eiffel Tower (17 000 tons against 13 000 tons)
To raise in the air and get lightness, iron has to be especially wrought : balls and spirals must be forged in full rail (never setting up lead or cast iron collars), you have to give detail, where spirit and hand give life to matter.
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