You can make jewelry, garden figurines, an owl, a spinner, ironing board legs, and even a berry picker out of metal.
Metal crafts are the most durable. It is not necessary to have a welding machine to join parts. This can be done with a soldering iron or super glue.
DIY metal owl
It's interesting to create a similar thing. You can make it out of unnecessary parts. Here's what will suit you:
- bicycle chain;
- one nut М16;
- two M8 nuts;
- two nuts М10;
- 2 reinforced washers М6;
- 2 balls from a bicycle bearing;
- one small self-tapping screw;
- 5 or 6 cm of wire, the diameter of which is 3 mm.
When you make such metal crafts, immediately place the parts right side down so that you can use them correctly. This also applies to the eyes of the owl, which you will do first. Fix the metal ball in these parts and connect them together by choosing welding, soldering or using superglue.
And here's what the owl's eyes will look like from the other side.
The body of the bird will be an M16 nut, it is this that you attach to the newly created eyes.
Do not forget that you need to connect the parts using any of the above three methods from the back, then the owl will look neat in front. The beak will be a self-tapping screw. Attach it between the eyes, and glue or solder a metal wire bent in half without winding on the top of the self-tapping screw.
You can shape the eyebrows at any angle to make the metal owl look angry, good-natured, or brooding. The wire bends well.
Next, for this metal craft, you need to attach two nuts instead of the legs, which go under the number M 8.
Take 2 washers and use pliers to fold each in half. This will create owl wings. They need to be attached to the side of a large washer, which is the torso.
In order for the owl to stand firmly on its feet, or rather, on its paws, you need to make a pedestal for it. To do this, you can take a variety of metal objects.
Wrap such a circle in a chain if you want the owl podium to be so delicate. On top of it, place this wise bird by gluing, soldering or welding it.
And from unnecessary metal objects, you can make several of these birds, then you will have a whole collection.
Metal crafts can be made from the most unexpected objects. For example, if you've changed your faucet, don't rush to throw it away. You will get a wonderful durable spinner. For this, only the rotary knob for the water supply is useful. Therefore, if you changed this part, use the old unnecessary one.
How to make a spinner from a metal faucet?
Take the handle from the tap, saw off the unnecessary part. The remaining workpiece must be well filed with a file at the cut so that there are no chipping.
Take the bearing according to the size of the hole in this part of the handle from the tap. If, as in this case, it is slightly smaller, then you need to first wrap it with paper or foil, and cut off the excess.
But first, prepare the bearing, wash it in technical grease so that the finished product rotates well, without effort.
Slide the bearing back into place with paper wrapped around it. Cut off excess paper. Now, at the junction of the hole in the handle of the tap and the bearing, apply glue, lubricating the paper with it.
Further, for such a metal craft, you will need to put caps. Metal plugs are suitable for attaching a mirror. Take one and just cut to length.
Now put this part in place, in the hole in the tap handle.
This is such a great metal spinner. Now you can rotate it, play and not be afraid that it will break.
When you have mastered such simple things, you can move on to more global ones.
How to make flowers from metal?
From this material, beautiful long-lasting flowers are obtained. See how a rose is made from metal.
For this you will need:
- thin sheet steel;
- hammer;
- steel rod, the length of which is 38 cm;
- pliers;
- tag for manual arc welding;
- acetylene burner;
- manual coffee grinder;
- hammer with a sharpened edge.
First, draw and cut out future flower elements on paper to make a template. The first layer of the plant includes a small bud, which is bordered by three petals. The diameter of this blank is 7 cm. The second row includes five petals with a diameter of 9.6 cm.
The third row includes five petals, the diameters of which are 12 cm. 4 and 5 rows each include 6 petals with a diameter of 14.4 cm.
The last row is 5 identical petals with a diameter of 9.6 cm.
Attach the resulting templates to sheet metal and paint over them with a small or dry bar of soap.
Place templates close to each other to save material.
Now cut out these layers of the rose. Do not discard the clippings, as you will then make leaves from them. Now take the blanks of the petals, drill a hole in the middle of each, the diameter of which is 0.6 cm. Using these holes, you then string those blanks onto the stem. If any scale remains after cutting, it must be removed. You will do this by passing the flower elements through the sections of the manual grinder.
To further get a rose from metal, start collecting it. To do this, bend the first two rows; these petals do not need to be given a special shape. Now string the first row of petals onto the rod and slide it to the edge. Heat these blanks to make the metal red. Now you will bend them using a hammer and pliers. Shape the bud so that it becomes firm.
Also, a steel workpiece can be processed with a torch clamped in a vice. Now attach the second row of petals to the stem. They will also form a dense middle bud.
Further, such flowers are made of metal as follows. You also need to string the rest of the petals, but their ends need to be textured. Let the edges be wavy to resemble the petals of a real rose.
The row with the sepal must be bent downwards. Make a weld along the stem to reinforce the metal flower.
From the material that you have left from cutting out the petals, cut the leaves. They need to be shaped and then welded to the stem. To make spikes on it, turn off the gas on the welding machine for a second. Then the metal will start to come out. Lean it against the stem to make thorns.
Thus, you can make large quantities of metal flowers, creating such a picturesque bouquet.
If you have accumulated unwanted metal spoons, instead of throwing them away, you can also make long-lasting flowers. Check out the following ideas. They will tell you not only how to make picturesque bouquets, but also various figurines, clocks and other items.
What can be made from metal spoons?
Such a flower for the garden is made from metal spoons and a small bowl. We cut off the straight parts of the spoons with nippers, and the curved ones will just need to be glued with superglue around the bowl or attached using a welding machine. If you also have unnecessary forks on your farm, they will help you create the following metal crafts.
To do this, you also need to cut off the straight parts of the spoons and forks, then fasten them together. Around the core of the forks, you will place spoons in two tiers, which will make the lily petals. But don't throw away the straight parts of the spoons and forks, they will help you create the following metal crafts.
Take these remaining blanks and bend them using your pliers. Now spread evenly on the work surface so that the ornamental pieces are on the outside. Glue or weld these elements to a circular washer or similarly shaped metal object. Attach an iron or aluminum stem, the same handles from spoons and forks can become leaves. And from the working part of these cutlery, you will make petals for the next flower - it is located in the photo on the right. As you can see, the outer petals are spoons and the inner ones are forks. Attach them to the center of the round shape and fix them on the stem, which is covered with leaves. The next metal flower will help create two rows of spoons. You will place some of the working parts on the wrong side, and others on the front side.
If you have a lot of spoons of different sizes, then make such a multi-tiered flower out of them. In the middle, you attach small coffee tables, then there is a row of teahouses, then dessert and tablespoons. You can paint the core to make it look so elegant.
And if you have old shoulder blades, you can weld them together to create a flower. You can use metal spoons instead.
Other metal crafts are also interesting. For the next one, you will need to write numbers or glue them using a template. Attach the clock mechanism to the back of the metal circle, and fix the hands on the front side. A spoon will become a minute, and an hour? fork. Also, these cutlery must be glued to the back of this circle in order to get such an original watch.
If you have old, unwanted knives, turn them into a dragonfly.
4 spoons will turn into butterfly wings, and the handle will turn into its body. Such garden crafts will decorate your hacienda and you will not have to spend money on them.
And in the house you place a photo, an ordinary fork will become a holder for it. Then you will need to bend the two lateral teeth forward, and the two central ones back with pliers.
But this is not the only piece of jewelry that can be made of metal. Bend the working parts of the forks by pulling them towards the fork handles. A loop is formed at the fold where you will thread the chain.
And bend the prongs of the forks so that they become wavy, and some turn into curls.
If you completely remove the working parts of forks or spoons, and drill a hole in the handles, you get original earrings.
If you like black and white, take a dark base and glue white painted cutlery onto it. Use a light frame. Styrofoam ceiling skirting boards are suitable for her.
Make napkin rings out of spoons if you want to receive guests of the highest standard. They need to be bent, and put on an artificial stone or amber in each spoon. Secure this decoration with a wire, giving it the desired shape.
Speaking about what can be made of metal, it should be noted that even an old ladle made of this material can be turned into a candlestick. Attach it, and put a candle in the scoop.
When you glue your cutlery to the back of a round mirror, it looks like the sun. Nice to look in such an accessory.
Even furniture handles can be made of metal. Cutlery is also used as them.
Such an original solution will surely be appreciated by guests and pets.
If you need to put small things somewhere, you can use ladles and spoons for this. They need to be slightly bent and put in the working parts of the thread, paper clips, clothespins.
If you clean the spoons, you can make sparkling fish out of them. To do this, saw off part of the handle from each, leaving a small tail, this you will cut with scissors for metal into 2 parts. Drill a hole in each piece to become an eye. And through the hole at the top, you will stretch a thread or fishing line and hang the fish on a fork, the teeth of which will give an interesting shape. Then the fork will look like an octopus.
You can make this kind of garden decor out of metal.
If you need to call your family for lunch, you move these forks, they will make a sound like bells. Hanging cutlery can also develop from the wind, and you can listen to the chime of the wind.
How to make a berry harvester yourself?
You can also make it out of metal with your own hands.
To make one, take:
- galvanized steel;
- tin and flux for soldering;
- marker;
- scissors for metal;
- steel wire;
- hammer;
- 2mm steel wire or bicycle spokes;
- an aluminum tube taken from a ski pole.
From galvanized steel, cut a couple of strips measuring 15 by 3 cm and bend each in half lengthwise. On the one hand, at the end, you need to cut off 2 cm from one and 2 cm from the second workpiece.
On folds 1 and 2 of the strip, make notches at a distance of 5 mm from each other using an emery wheel.
Further, for such a metal craft, you need to cut off a couple of strips 18 by 5 cm in size to turn them into end walls.
At one and the second end of the bent blanks, you need to drill along the hole, then make a marking in order to drill along the hole at the ends of the wide strips.
Now fold these four blanks to make a rectangle and secure the ends.
Insert knitting needles into the created notches. They must first be treated with flux for soldering, then soldered to one and the other strip.
To make a metal craft holder, cut 2 strips of 15 x 1 cm from a sheet of steel. But if you don't want to do this, then just take two flat skewers.
Cut a piece 18 cm long from the aluminum pipe and flatten the ends of the workpiece, then make a hole in these places.
Now take two narrow strips or two skewers if you used them and drill holes in the center and ends. Bend each such blank on both sides as in the photo.
Rivet these curved blanks to the ends of the tube to make the next holder.
Using a hammer and a chisel, you need to level the teeth, directing them to one side, and drill holes in the four corners of the walls. Raise the side panels by bending them inward and attach the holder to the holes created.
Lift the knitting needles up and attach the pouch, securing it with wire and rope. This is where you put the berries. Even a trouser leg from unnecessary jeans is suitable as such a container. And its length can be adjusted by stabbing with a pin. Now you can pick wild berries using such a hand-made harvester.
The following product will also come in handy on the farm. After all, you can't do without ironing. And it is quite possible to make a device for this with your own hands.
How to make a metal ironing board with your own hands
You can make it exactly the size that is right for you. Perhaps ordinary ironing boards seem too narrow for you, and in order to iron large bed linen as soon as possible, you will make it wider. Plus, you can save a lot.
In this case, the ironing surface is made of waterproof chipboard, but you can use plywood.
The standard size of the ironing board is 122 by 30 cm. If you need a narrower device so that it does not take up much space, then you will reduce these dimensions, and if you need a wider one, then increase it.
Sand the end faces of the chipboard or plywood.
Now you will need to cover this blank with fabric. A coarser thick fabric goes down, and a thinner fabric on top. Cut out these materials 5 cm (2 inches) to roll onto the wood base.
Attach with a stapler. This will fix the denser fabric. And on a thin one, you will need to make a curtain on all sides, hemming it in order to then insert an elastic band or nit here. Then you have a removable cover that you can wash if necessary.
But you ask, where are the metal crafts? After all, the topic is just that. But it is from this material that the legs for the ironing board will be made. They are made using metal tubes, attaching crossbars to those. Make holes in the center of the long tubes to bolt them together.
Use rivets to attach the metal legs to the wood base. To do this, cut 4 strips of tin and give them the desired shape.
And the other two legs will be fastened with a retainer, then it will be possible to give the board the desired height.
These metal crafts can be made with your own hands. Many more things can be made from this material, for example, a fly, a spider, a cobweb. Watch the process of creating these items.
Check out ideas for what you can do with scrap metal.