Metal fabrication project
Smokey Steel
A stainless steel protective case for cigarette boxes.
- Year
- 2025
- Brief
- Metal fabrication assignment
- Technical Execution
- End-to-end: concept, CAD, fabrication, finishing
Overview
Smokey Steel began with a 70-year-old cigarette case I inherited from my great-great-grandfather — the man I'm named after. The piece is a quiet tribute to that object, reimagined as a modern protective sleeve for a standard cigarette box.
The case was designed in SolidWorks from 4mm sheet metal, then acid-etched to cut the outline and engrave the geometric pattern, hinges, and fold marks into the surface in a single pass.
I folded each sheet by hand on a sheet metal bender, then polished and finished every face by hand. After many iterations on the etched pattern and the order of folds, this is the result — a small object carrying a long story.
Gallery
Process & details
Inspiration — my great-great-grandfather's case