Abstract Wall Hangings from Scraps

These pieces were made out of some scrap metal pieces just cluttering up my shop.  We sold the top piece at a craft show. It was several levels and the dimension made it interesting.  My wife wanted to keep it and I told her she could keep it if we didn't sell it at our next show.  She raised the price by about $30 on it thinking it would ensure it wouldn't sell.  It seems that the higher price was what we needed.  Someone bought it along with several other pieces!

Moose and Bear Lamps

I made these lamps for our bedside stands.  They go well in our bedroom that has log cabin wallpaper.  I don't have these for sale in my shop, but would be glad to make them for anyone who would like them. I can also use any of our patterns to make a scene on a lamp.

Bridge for an Adirondack Creek

I built this bridge for a man who owns property in the Adirondack Mountains. There was a bridge spanning a creek on his property that was no longer safe. He comissioned me to do this custom bridge building project. The bridge is 10 feet wide by 33 feet long. Last spring it was put into place and covered with wood. We have been invited to his property and when we go we will take a picture of it in place.  It is a cool thing to know that I built a bridge that will be in the Adirondack Mountains for many years. This is the largest metal project I have done.

                                 BRIDGE UPDATE 7/24/10

Today we went to the Adirondack town of North Hudson to see my bridge in place over a creek.  It has been covered with wood and gravel and placed on concrete walls.  A beautiful railing has been placed on it.  The owner still plans to trim the rubber off, but it was in place and he is happy with it.  He said that so far he has a truck with equipment go over it that weighed 75,000 lbs and it did fine. Below are some pictures of the bridge and the creek it spans.

                                           

                                          

                                          

                                          

                                          

Homemade Foot Operated Helve Hammer

I made this foot operated helve hammer.  I used it to make this centerpiece bowl and candle holder bowls for my wife.  She uses the bowl as a base for seasonal centerpieces on our dining room table. 

Homemade Anvil

When I first made my forge, I did not have an anvil, so of course, I made my own. It weighs 312 lbs.

 I call it my "Poor man's anvil."

Forged Letter Opener and Leaves

These are a few of the first things I made with my coal forge.  The leaves have been made into key chains, necklaces and earrings.

Homemade Coal Forge

I have recently become interested in blacksmithing and started by building my own coal forge to get started.  I searched the internet and saw a few to model mine after.  I customized mine with attachments and features that I wanted.  I think mine came out nice and it works well for me.  The only drawback is that I have to use it outside, which makes it only a seasonal activity here in upstate NY.  A propane forge is my next plan for an upgrade.

Rocket Sculpture

I was picking up three hot water tanks from someone who needed to get rid of them.  I don't usually pass up a chance to scrounge things that have metal in them.  As I was loading the tanks into my truck I got the idea that I could make a rocket with them.  I had a fourth at home, so that was the project for the next week. I made the rocket in two sections and used the boom attachment on my tractor to lift one to the top to place it for welding. My wife said she was glad she was not here to witness that.  I also used a little helium tank that was used for balloon filling, and part of a scuba tank that I got from my uncle.  The wings on the rocket were made from side panels of an old furnace.  The bottom of the rocket is an old metal wash tub and the leg base is made from scraps I got when a welding shop I worked for closed up in 2000. I painted it with a gray paint that I also got from the welding shop and held onto because I knew I'd use it some day.  The only new thing on the rocket was the black and red paint.  This spring I am going to paint letters and numbers on the side of it.  This is now in our front yard and makes a nice landmark to tell people where we live.  Not many people can say "It's the house with the rocket in the front yard." 

Cannon Sculpture

I thought it would be fun to make a cannon sculpture.  I had an old oxygen tank that used to be my dad's in the 1970's.  He sold it to my uncle when we moved to Florida. I just got it back from my uncle a couple of years ago.  The inside of the barrel of the cannon uses half of a scuba tank that I got from my uncle (the other half of it I used in a rocket project to be shown here in the next post).  I made the wheels out of flat steel and used a roller I have to make it round.  All of the rest of the pieces for it were pieces I have had in my scrap metal building.  It will be a sculpture in our front yard in the spring.

Bucket Repair

I had to repair this bucket for a friend.  It was full of holes and needed large pieces replaced. The edge is as straight as I could get it.

Tumbler

This is a tumbler that I made for the purpose of tumbling some of our smaller metal items to get the slag off of them from the initial cutting.  I put things like nuts, bolts and scrap little pieces of metal in the tumbler.  These things work to knock off slag and smooth the edges of the pieces a bit.  The propane tank used to belong to my wife's grandfather.  I wound up with it over 30 years later!  The tumbler is powered by a drill that I attached to it with a pulley system.  It is a noisy operation, but it works well for what I need.

Paper Brick Maker

I made this metal mold to make recycled paper bricks that can be dried and used in fires.  The piece in the bottom of the mold has holes in it to push water out as the top piece is pushed down on the mixture of water and newspapers/paper. Magazine paper or any paper with coatings can not be used because of the toxic fumes they may give off when burned.  The paper is torn into small pieces and put into a bucket with water and a little bleach to help the breakdown process along.  After a day or so of soaking, I mix up the paper with my hardcoat paddle (hardcoat is like drywall mud, but not really) to make it more of a pasty mixture.  I fill the form and use a press to help me compact the paper as tightly as possible.  I then take the top piece off and push the paper brick up from the bottom by flipping the form over and pushing out the bottom piece.  The brick then needs to dry completely for about three months.  I love the idea of recycling things into something useful.  These may be more useful if I had a fireplace, but we do a lot of campfires in our yard and these will help our firewood last longer.  I have heard different reports of how long and strong they burn, but even if they don't burn for long, I am recycling and will get to enjoy them in my fires.