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horseman1_gw

Rebar art around the house?

horseman1
19 years ago

Anyone do a little metal art around the house? Here is a simple little one made of rebar that hangs in the entrance to the house. Rockin A!

Show me your projects. I have a few towel hangers made of horse shoes and stuff, but I'm not too artistic. The sign was made by my sister in law. She on the other hand is really good.

Comments (7)

  • gonefishin
    19 years ago

    Haven't yet but thanks for the idea Kurt. I'll get back to you on that, but I am sure that others will post. Blacksmithman already has shown some of his work in another thread, which was quite excellent, as was Davids.
    Think that I will start with some house numbers, and work my way up from there. You know, work my way on up to the alphabet. Being unemployed and with no visible means of support (retired) I have had several people encourage me to get into metal art ! \":^) Some say that there is a lot of money in it, but I have not thought much about it because I have never thought of myself as artistic either. Perhaps your Rockin A is the inspiration that I needed !
    I have bent a few pieces of rebar for supports and things on some of my projects, but always bent it cold and never heated any. Bending it cold, it tends to break as I approach a 90* right angle, think that I will try heating some and see what happens. That might just push me on over the edge to do something about that coal forge thing that has been nagging in the back of my mind, which gives me another idea. I have a couple of good sized chimineas (outdoor fireplaces) in my "compound" (area enclosed with a "rustic" wood fence to hide my shed/doghouse/office/workshop and the most recent addition, my tractor shed). One is pottery which cracked, the other is cast iron. I burn wood in them when it is cold enough (safely, of course.) I could try heating some in one of them, but it might not be adequate, but I have a good torch. I might make my numbers 0 thru 9, do the alphabet then figure a way to make something to space them and hold them so that they would be interchangeable, maybe a bar across the back with a bolt welded on it, a slotted piece to stick the bolt thru and a wing nut to hold it in place and a handle, then pick out something like JONES @ 4215 to heat and use like a branding iron on a piece of wood (oak, cedar etc). How is that for elemental ? Then would people want things like "Flozelle Hosendove @ 16189 Posthumos-Meandering Airport Boulevard" ? Or something simpler like "13999 ditto" They say you gotta crawl before you walk, etc. One problem is, I sometimes have trouble deciding whether some of my ideas are "fertile" or "fertilizer", if you know what I mean! \":^) Guess I could always blame it on you Kurt. Dang, can you believe I thought all that junk up just while typing this ? Oh well, perhaps it needs to go to the R & D (Reflections and Don't know) department.
    Bill P.

  • lazy_gardens
    19 years ago

    Check the table and chair pics ... the bunny is cast bronze, which is out of our league, but the furniture is rebar, sucker rod and heavy wire.

    Here is a link that might be useful: welded chair

  • horseman1
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    Hey Bill,

    I used heat to bend the rebar. Also, Rockin 'A' is the unofficial name of the ranch :). One project I have in mind is a gate into the arena that has the Rockin A in the middle of the gate. A scroll or two in the corners and a horseshoe latch. If only I could win the lotto I could quit working and do this stuff. Maybe I should buy a ticket sometime :)

    Most of my ideas are pretty much full of fertilizer :). I dont have much spare time to do things these days. I have many more ideas than I do time anymore. I still get time to do a few little projects here and there. Sometimes I have to do them at midnight, but the still get a little of my time.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your projects.

    lazygardens,

    That is neat stuff. Looks pretty complicated for the non-artist like me.

    Kurt

  • gonefishin
    19 years ago

    Hi Lazygardens. That is neat stuff, intricate with a lot of detail. Bet it took a lot of time to do. I can imagine that wrought iron chair in the Arizona sun would become a branding iron and if you sat on it would soon hear bacon sizzeling! Show me yo brand ! I have seen some of your postings on the other gardenweb forums, and glad to see you here.

    Thanks Kurt, it is good to know that the addition of heat will help with the breaking problem in bending rebar. I will bet that you can make a real neat gate for the ol Rockin A spread. If you get real ambitious, find you a couple of old dead trees with a fork at the right height, a pole to go across them to span the entrance and suspend a big Rockin A over the entrance to your "Ponderosa". If you do not already have your gate fixed in your mind, sketch it out, make the frame, then as time permits, start filling it in. I know that time is a problem when there are other demands on you, and I am enjoying the luxury of retirement and being able to do what I want to, when I want to. And if I decide that tomorrow is a better day for it, oh well ! I will work no metal before it's time. \":^)
    On one of my "treasure hunts" and perusal of our local scrap metal yard. I found a pile of old, used horse shoes and latched onto them, thinking that someday I would find a use for them, or perhaps that a pile of them would help me win that lottery. You can't win if you do not play, as they say. So far, it hasn't worked, but perhaps that too has it's time. My next project is a metal frame for a box to slip on a Garden Tractor sleeve hitch. I posted a couple of questions regarding that on the Garden Tractor forum, under that thread title, and since this forum seems to be lagging and a bit slow, will take the liberty of doing so below, hoping that it doesn't upset Ed again! I see that he and Kevin have responded over there and will go thank them. \":^)
    Bill P.



  • lazy_gardens
    19 years ago

    I want to clarify:

    I DID NOT MAKE THE FURNITURE!!!! I bought it from a local nursery.

    However, it's perfectly do-able if you have a lot of wire ans patience.

  • sharolyn
    15 years ago

    I have a garden project I want to do but need help. I Have a stucko wall in my backyard that is about 15ft tall and longer than my ranch style house. I want to create art using rebar up to the top of the wall. I'd like to bend the ends of thin rebar into swirls. I thought this would add to the otherwise large blank ugly wall. I will have art work that will last, something I made and latter I can add a rose climbing up it. So... Can thin rebar be bent into swirls without buying tools for this. How dose one do it. Any ideas and sugestions would be great to hear. My husband will be doing this as I come up with the design ideas. He also tells me I bite off more than I can chew> There's got to be a way we can get this rebar to bend the way I want it. I'm not giving up yet!
    Thanks for any help
    sharolyn

  • jude31
    15 years ago

    I have not read all the postings and I realize what I have to say may not apply to you all. When I saw the word rebar it reminded me of what happened to a friend. He was tying a plant to a piece of rebar that was in the ground and in a freak accident, fell on the rebar. It pierced his neck and he is now paralized from the waist down, so be very cautious.

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