Rebar like they use in concrete is fairly cheap and easy to work with.
Copper pipe like they plumb houses with works well too.
I've also uses treated lumber.
You should draw something up and price the materials then go for it.
Have fun with your project.

Copper is not all that inexpensive to my mind if you have a lot you want to make all at once. My husband is gradually replacing our wooden trellises and making them out of copper. Besides the cost of the copper, there's the cutter for the tubing, solder, flux, torch and rebar to hold it in place. They will last & last though and you won't have to be buying replacements every few years and they have lots of design possibilities. Very decorative. Rebar, by itself, is much less expensive, but not quite so attractive.
Here's a link to an article on making copper trellises to give you an idea of what's involved in making them:

http://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/build-a-copper-pipe-trellis.aspx

Who says you have to go with black tho on the rebar, you can spray paint it a variety of colors....

they steal copper in a lot of cities and sell it for scrap

i just use rebar

I have made several trellises out of cedar using gorilla glue to seal the joints. My trellises are new, but I have bird feeders that have been made this way that have been hanging out in the breeze for over 5 years in N.E. Ohio with no faults. It only cost me 40 dollars to make an arch connecting two beds in my garden, the arch is seven feet tall and seven feet across, technically it is a big square, but you get the idea about how inexpensive it was to build. I've included a picture, hope this helps. I am extremely handy with woodworking, but you should not be intimidated by this project, you would not need to be anywhere near as meticulous as I was to have an excellent result.

Here is a link that might be useful: garden trellis

I have heard of copper being stolen & sold in cities, but that has never happened to me. I live in a small city and have used copper in signs for an herb garden by an historical building in the next city over. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had a problem with theft.

I also prefer rebar(s). When the climber grows, one doesn't even see the structure any more. Here is Laguna, in years 2 or 3.

{{gwi:233578}}

Excuse me for the mess in front of the garage.

I prefer copper (or wood) trellises to rebar because of the way it looks to me when it is not covered during parts of the year by the roses. Rebar rusts, so painting as suggested is an option unless you like that look. It is relatively inexpensive though and 3/8" rebar would be easy enough to shape into whatever form you want.

I might just add that we have bought very nice quality metal trellises at Home Depot, BigLots! and Harbor Freight.

Jeri

I made quite of few trellis's out of metal electrical conduit. It is relatively cheap and can be bent easily to make arches. I made some columns by creating 2 ladder-shaped structures by drilling holes in the conduit and used nuts and bolts to connect them-then use some more "rungs" to connect the 2 "ladders" together. Finally, I painted them with a flat dark green enamel. When the climbing roses grow, it completely obscures the support structure.

Ceterum, your Laguna looks fabulous. I'm surely getting this one this year!
Cheers,
Sanju

Hey, thanks for all your input. From my experience at Home Depot or Lowes, the metal ones are not "inexpensive" and are only six feet tall at most. Some of my climbers get to 12 ft. I'm looking at making a trellis at least 8 to 10 ft tall. The plastic and wooden ones just don't seem to last for me at least. You've given me some good ideas! CJ

cj,

I always think a trellis design complete with the type of materials used should be determined by the surroundings and whether it is to be free standing or not. Then you kind of get the curved vs straight feel and pick the materials accordingly. I'm up to almost 20 climbers now between fences and trellis' of various types. I've done some that are solid copper, some that are a combination of copper and cedar, some that are a combo of treated 4x4 and lattice. Treated lumber w/ cedar gets you 10 years minimum. Copper and rebar get you almost forever. Each time I build one I like to try and make it unique. I'm getting ready to do one for my niece that wraps around the end of the deck I built her last year. I need to give her back the privacy she lost with the deck being so much higher. I'm thinking of designing a combo painted wire mesh and cedar.

Thank you, Sanju; I mean, Laguna is thanking you via me.