When we started Apex Creations, one of the things we wanted to be able to do was take an idea and turn it into a finished product ourselves. Our fire pits have become one of the best examples of that because the entire process happens right here in our shop, starting with a design on the computer and a sheet of steel.
We started making fire pits as we became more comfortable with our fiber laser and began looking for products that really took advantage of what the machine could do. We wanted something that wasn’t just decorative, but something people could actually use and keep for years. That eventually led us to the design we use for most of our standard fire pits today.
Our standard fire pits are about 31 inches square and 18 inches tall and are made from 12-gauge steel. We have made several different designs, including patriotic, wildlife, and Tennessee-themed versions, but one of the biggest advantages of making them ourselves is that we aren’t limited to those designs. We can change the artwork, add names or logos, and even change the size or shape of the pit for a custom project.
The process starts on the computer. Before we ever cut a piece of steel, we have to get the design ready and make sure everything will work once the individual panels are cut and put together. Some designs are fairly straightforward, while others take quite a bit of work to get right. One thing we have learned since starting Apex is that something that looks good on a computer screen doesn’t always translate perfectly into something that needs to be cut out of steel.
Once the design is ready, we load the sheet onto our 5×10' fiber laser and cut the individual pieces. This is probably one of our favorite parts of the process because it’s when the project finally goes from being a drawing on a screen to something you can actually pick up and hold.
After everything is cut, the pieces are cleaned up and prepared for assembly. From there, we fit the panels together and weld the fire pit in our shop. By the time it’s finished, what started as a flat sheet of steel has turned into a complete product.
One project that really pushed us beyond our standard designs was a custom Buffalo Bills fire pit. A customer came to us wanting something very different from the four-sided fire pits we normally build. Instead, this one would be a 36-inch-wide hexagon with a completely custom Buffalo Bills design.
That project gave us the opportunity to take what we had already learned from building our standard fire pits and apply it to something completely different. Going from four sides to six meant we had to rethink the design, fit-up, and fabrication rather than simply changing the artwork on one of our existing pits.
It ended up being one of the more unique fire pits we’ve built, and it was also a good example of what our equipment allows us to do. We’re not limited to the sizes, shapes, or designs that we already have made. If someone comes to us with an idea that’s completely different from anything we’ve done before, we can sit down, figure out how to make it work, and build something specifically for them.
Projects like the Buffalo Bills fire pit are also some of our favorites because they push us to learn something new. Every custom project adds a little more to what we’re capable of doing, and sometimes a customer’s idea ends up showing us possibilities we hadn’t considered ourselves.
Like with most things we’ve made since starting Apex, there has been a learning curve. Our process has gotten better as we’ve built more of them. We’ve learned things about designing for the laser, fitting parts together, welding them, and making the overall process more efficient that we simply didn’t know when we started.
That’s one of the things we want the Apex Journal to show. A finished product doesn’t really tell the whole story. There are a lot of steps, decisions, mistakes, and lessons between having an idea and having something ready for a customer.
For us, that’s really what Apex Creations is about. We get to start with an idea, figure out how to make it, and then watch it become something real.
Interested in purchasing your own Apex Creations fire pit? Click here to explore our stock options, or here to tell us about what you're looking for in a custom fire pit.
