Windmill

I made this windmill in 2008.  The first picture shows my first phase with the windmill at about 6 feet tall.  After a while I decided it needed to be taller so I added 4 feet to the height.  We use it for yard decoration and to decide if it's too windy for our outdoor fires at our campfire area. 

Homemade Hydraulic Press Brakes

I needed brakes to use with the products I make for our metal shop.  It was much more inexpensive to make them myself so they were exactly what I needed.  I already had the steel and the springs.  The only investment was the smallest jack. The top picture is a press brake I made to bend some of the things I make for our metal shop.  I use it to bend bookends mostly.  The middle picture is the unfinished second brake that is painted in the last picture.  I use this one to bend our napkin holders for the shop.  I have bent 10 and 14 gauge metal so far with them. 

AJ's Modified Lawn Mower

This started out as a lawnmower we bought in 1997 when we lived in Florida.  We brought it to NY with us and used it for a couple of years here.  After I had a problem finding replacement parts for the rear pulley, I took the original motor from it and put it in another mower that I now use.  I took the body of this old mower and made a "buggy"  for my 15 year old son.  Now we can ride on our modified mowers together out in the pastures and down by the pond.

Modified Rims for Homemade Utility Vehicle

I had to modify the front and the back rims for my homemade utility vehicle. For the front tires I needed to have a wider rim.  I cut the center out of the narrow stock front rims and put them into another set of wider rims that I had.  (Photo 1 and 2).  For the back, I had to put more of an offset onto the existing rims. I used pieces from the original front rims to add this offset on the back rims.  I added 4 inches to each side. (Photo 3 and 4).  The original distance between the back the back tires is shown in the 5th photo.  The new width its shown in the 6th photo.

Homemade Utility Vehicle

I started this homemade utility vehicle with the lawnmower. It was a good winter project. I cut the frame and lengthened it by 2 feet.  I moved the motor back one foot.  I build\t a seat so two of us could ride it at one time.  The steering column is in the middle so I can sit in the middle if alone.  I made the back of the bed hinge down for easy loading of things.  I put a ball on it so I could tow small trailers. I also made a snow plow for it.  My wife and I bought some remnant fabric and covered the seat that I made. We used recycled foam from seat cushions from my parents' motor home. I bought new tires for the front and back.  I had to modify the rims that came on the lawnmower so the new larger tires would fit.. I will show that process in the next post.

Homemade Wood Stove

I built this woodstove in 2005 when I was building my new shop.  I didn't have a furnace in it yet to keep it warm while I did the drywall and painting.  I made a place for it to exhaust out of one of the windows by using a cut out piece of tin.  I made the stove out of flat steel.  I had to buy a kit that had the door and the collar that goes around the base of the smokestack.  It worked well.  Now I have an oil furnace in my shop and I wish I had a place to use the stove now. 

Recycled Metal Fire Ring

This post is showing two different things.  I decided today that it was time to try out my recycled paper bricks that I made with my brick maker.  I had made a portable fire ring out of an old water heater and some scraps of steel.  I have a grate in the bottom of it, raised about two inches for air circulation space. This is our winter fire pit since our summer area is closed up for the winter.  The brick seemed to work well.  It did not burn too quickly like paper.  It burned slowly and acted like a piece of wood in the fire.  I think that it works best when used along with wood, but it did well for the first try!

Saratoga Racing Wall Hangings

We live about 20 miles from the world famous Saratoga Race Track.  I made these one of a kind wall hangings to bring to a craft fair we were doing in Saratoga.  We sold the top one to a local resident.  We still have the bottom one. 

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."