THE MAKINGS OF THE CUP
HOW THE PRETTiEST TROPHY in bASS FiSHinG iS mADE
It takes years of hard work and skill development , followed by a week of near-perfect performance to become Forrest Wood cup champion . For the folks at MtM Recognition , the company in oklahoma that manufactures the Forrest Wood cup trophy as well as awards for numerous other professional sports , the process of creating the cup is sort of like that – an extended period of cutting and polishing that all comes together in the final stages on the assembly table .
“ to build this award , if we had all the components sitting on a table waiting to be built , would probably take half a day ,” says brad Myers of MtM . “ but the process of getting all the pieces cut and polished – because everything that gets cut has to be polished – with sand etching and sanding , would probably be about a two-week process .”
We asked Myers to go into a little more detail on the make and makeup of the cup that every bass angler dreams of hoisting at FlW ’ s summertime finale .
the tRophy
• the main body of the cup is made of nickel silver that is stamped into a mold using a hydraulic press . Myers says nickel silver is much more durable and resistant to scratches and tarnishing than sterling silver . that means it ’ ll shine longer yet won ’ t require the champ to spend as many hours polishing his trophy – unless he wants to , of course .
• the handles and emblem are cast of pewter and then plated in nickel silver before being installed .
• the cup is 28 7 / 8 inches tall , including the lid , with an 8 5 / 8-inch-tall base ( not shown ) that is 16 1 / 2 inches square . the diameter at the base of the cup is 9 1 / 8 inches .
• MtM builds the base in layers . the very bottom is black acrylic , under a piece of black sunstone , which is a proprietary cast resin stone that looks like granite , but is lighter and easier to work during the manufacturing process . text is etched into the sunstone and then colored . on top is a 3 / 4-inch-thick burl stone and a 1 / 4-inch-thick slab of black sunstone .
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2016 I FLWFISHING . COM
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