This week we’re heading to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to spotlight a builder whose talent, work ethic, and old school metalworking skills jump right off the page. Meet Josh Boggs, he’s 31 and runs Steel City Blacksmithing, a one man shop turning raw steel and imagination into true one-off machines.

Josh grew up on two wheels. Dirt bikes hooked him at six years old, but it wasn’t until 2017, at twenty-three, that he brought home his first Harley. He’d had sport bikes before, but never anything you could chop, stretch, weld, or turn into a full custom build. Add in the influence of Jesse James, Billy Lane, and Indian Larry during the Biker Build Off era, plus years of welding and heavy fabrication on Jeeps and trucks, and it was only a matter of time before custom motorcycles took over. Josh calls it an obsession. It shows.

The centerpiece of this spotlight is Josh’s 1975 XLCH 1000 named Alimony. It runs a divorced Rotary Top transmission and sits inside a fully polished stainless steel frame that he designed and built from scratch. Every inch of this machine carries his fingerprints.

• Lowbrow Customs Gastank
• Cooper Smithing Co. Rear Fender
• Mid USA Brakes
• Twinside Italian Motorcycle Parts Triple Trees
• S&S Super E Carb
• Lowbrow Air Cleaner
• Swap Meet Special Handlebars
• Tires from J&P Cycles
• Everything else was cut, machined, bent, welded, or formed in house.

The engine came to Josh already bored, stroked, and fitted with heavy cams. With a foot clutch and no front brake, he figured that was more than enough power for the streets of Pittsburgh. Sometimes less is more.

Nearly all the fabrication was done by Josh himself. His fiancé Jordan was hands-on during final assembly. Bob and Brandon Buchmeir pitched in to wrap up the last few loose ends before the bike made the trip to South Dakota. Friends Jay and Logan also helped here and there along the way.

Gordon Olliff laid down a custom candy brandywine that looks unreal in person.

Josh’s favorite moment came during the twisting of the downtube. It’s solid 1.5 inch hex stainless, and getting it hot enough to twist required creativity, a smelting furnace used for melting copper and gold, a gear reduction system, and a whole lot of heat. Stainless starts to move around 2000 to 2200 degrees, so even standing several feet away felt like your shirt was about to catch fire.

Josh built the wheels with a process he developed about six months ago. The frame was his first full stainless frame, with every tab and mount machined on his CNC mill. Foot controls were carved from one-inch solid stainless and turned down to fit the lever mounts. He even made the front axle, burning in a hex with EDM to give it a low profile just because he could. This is the kind of detail you only get from someone who understands tolerances, runout, and precision at a machinist level.

A standout memory of Josh's was unveiling the bike at Cycle Showcase during Sturgis at the Steel Pony Campground. It was Josh’s first time at Sturgis, and between the long hours, sacrifices, and the pressure of getting the bike finished in seven weeks, finally seeing it under the South Dakota sky made everything worth it. Riding around the Black Hills on his daily rider turned the whole week into something unreal.

Josh, thanks for sharing your story and trusting us to spotlight this build.

If you’re reading this and want your custom motorcycle featured on Deadbeat Customs, reach out. We love showcasing the builders keeping the culture alive.