How to make steel?

How can I make giant flowers out of steel?

• What tools do I need to make giant flowers out of steel like these: http://ny-image2.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.81270098.jpg And also how do you think the artist makes these: http://ny-image0.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.190943368.jpg Like how does he make the spheres? Thanks.

• Answer:

  These days the leaves and flowers would be cut with a plasma cutter and since the leaves look to be the same on the various flowers, they were probably cut with a computer controlled cutter rather than a manual one. Half domes (the center of the flower) are available from sources like King Metals http://www.kingmetals.com/Default.aspx?page=category%20search%20results&CatList=20323&Parent=932&tree=921*Balls+%2f+Spheres*0%40%40932*Hollow+Steel+Hemispheres+%2f+Half+Balls*20323@@ The purple spheres in the other picture were almost certainly fabricated by a professional shop equipped to make the large spheres (probably by using detonation forming of hemispheres as die forming would cost too much for the matching dies) which were then punched (see the cone flange at the base of the rods in the closest one) for the rods to be welded in place and the whole custom painted - repeatedly. You could make either one of these as one off by using a plasma cutter and a pattern to make the pieces (including the gores of the spheres which would then have to be curved and welded)