Tom Miller hammers home an historic project in Orange cemetery

Be they chain link or little fences, these additions are often around the graves of those wealthy enough to afford such an elaborate gravesite.

Time, though, has damaged these historic gravesites and in the Orange cemetery those that have been damaged are being repaired by Newbridge blacksmith Tom Miller.

"Over the years those graves have either had the metalwork vandalised or they've deteriorated through the weather or movement," he said.

"My job is to fix them without prettying them up."

It's that condition of making them appear authentic which is different for Mr Miller who has a well-deserved reputation for creative metalwork.

"There are all different variations in styles and as a restoration project it's my job to make it look like nothing has been damaged, or repaired," he said.

Chain links and posts are just two of the parts that he has to reforge, and getting the details right takes some effort.

"To replicate anything that's missing I've had to build tools such as the serrated punch to make it the same as the others. You have to make a lot of tooling for a job like this."

Mr Miller then has to age the pieces so that they blend in with those already in place.

Accelerating the rust is achieved by hydrochloric acid or heating the metal up until it's red hot and let it cool out in the rain and let it oxidise naturally.

It's not something that he's usually trying to achieve.

"I like to make things that are spick and span, but this is actually trying to duplicate what's already there, which is an art in itself,' he said.

The project is part of Orange City Council's cemetery's maintenance budget.