Bob Caras

Bob has been involved with metal for over 45 years. Fresh out of college, Bob went into tool and die as an apprentice for eight years, cutting his teeth under the tutelage of his father-in-law, Chet Parsons. After his time as a tool and die maker, Bob progressed to tool engineering for about 10 years, until his passion for industrial design led him into another realm of the metals industry.

Slightly switching gears, Bob bought into a commercial metal fabricating company where he put in his time in managing some 35 employees while honing his metal fabricating skills.

At long last, Bob realized that all of this experience and management was calling him to found his own company, and in 1993 he founded Ledgerock Fabricators Inc where he settled into his calling in the ornamental and architectural metal fabricating industry, or as he likes to call it, “art with utility”.

When Bob is out of the shop’s office, he can be found pursuing his other passions of boating, fishing, radio controlled boats and airplanes, motorcycles, and metal sculpture. Recently, both Bob and Ben are in a outdoor show called “METAL-ITY” which will run through October 1, 2021 in Maynard, Ma at ArtSpace Maynard. Due to Covid-19 the show is all outdoors for everyone to enjoy.

Benjamin Caras

Ben’s experience as a third generation custom metal fabricator, and artist, Benjamin was born in Boston in early 70’s to parents with artistic and technical backgrounds. With a father and grandfather in the tool and die business, and a mother who was a painter, Benjamin was growing up in fertile ground for creativity combined with technical acumen.

At age nine, Benjamin started creating objects out of various metals, becoming increasingly sophisticated as a craftsman. Eventually, Ben moved beyond the shaping of metals for strictly utilitarian purposes and began to explore the medium’s aesthetic possibilities, particularly in the area where organic forms meet industrial design. Custom metalwork as art became Ben’s passion.

After high school, Benjamin worked in several jobs that prepared him for the technical aspects of making sculpture via progressive metal craft and contemporary architectural fabrication methods. He then attended Ormond College in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1997 to study the arts. There, he received an NCVA award in art and design. In 1999 he attended West Virginia University on an Art Department Performance Grant to complete his BFA in sculpture. He received his Masters of Fine Art from the University of Massachusetts in 2008, with an emphasis in digital design and production.

Benjamin’s work has been shown in a number of galleries and institutions, including RISD (2007) and the Dorkbot Organization NYC (2009). His recent solo exhibition, entitled "Reconstructing Nature", was shown at the University of Massachusetts gallery in May 2008. You can see his spinning “Fireball” at Garden in the Woods in Framingham, Massachusetts. In 2019 Ben was in two shows in New Bedford, Ma at Artscapes called “Shore Currents” and “All Decked Out.”

Along with his design work at Ledgerock Fabricators Inc, Benjamin currently teaches digital design and production at Northeastern University in Boston. He helped develop the Makers Space in CAMD. One of his latest developments is a class he developed involving Assistive Design. The course is intended to expose students to new materials and techniques that, when implemented thoughtfully, can improve the lives of disabled people. He is also at work exploring the concept of CNC application, 3D printing and the creation of ideas that lead to fine art, as well as lecturing about art, DIY, Metal Design, and CNC digital production.