If you've ever had to answer yes to questions like these,,,, "did you really think washing the shop rags with the bedsheets was a good idea?" or "Any idea who spilled por15 on the kitchen carpet? or this "Did you put your 94's in the dish washer again? Cause the kitchen smells like gas." Has she ever wondered aloud "why am I even involved with you?" "what good is he and why cant he get his shorts in the laundry basket? Well here's your chance to show her what you can do! Turn scraps into art and maybe you'll be able to make up for that unplanned dryer explosion. There's been a couple other threads on this and I figured I'd add my take, just in time for the holidays. Now I gotta warn you, some of the tricks and tips used here may look a bit off the wall but they are perfectly safe (most of the time). So lets get started,,,, First off the center, I use a stainless 1/4" bolt ground down and swirl polished. To get it looking like a flower part and not a car part I use a drill and a flappy wheel. (all by myself today so I didnt get everything photo-ed) Hold the end of the drill with the bolt in it off the edge of the bench, (low gear, full speed) and use the flappy to round the flutes off and then add the crown. You'll end up with a decent swirl polish with a little practice and it can be polished to mirror if you desire. I like the swirls so I hit it with some compound and spin it with the drill just to give it some shine. One thing, you might wait a bit after the flappy before you polish it, as it will be a bit warm. I've made a lot of things this way and have yet to blow anything up in my face, however, your mileage may vary. Be carefull! Now we need a stem,,, 3/16th brake line works perfectly,,, cut off a 12" section and deburr the ends. Second thing,, the roses I am posting here are both going to be clearcoated so there are a few extra steps to add some textures. If your going to paint your roses you can skip these steps. Now for some style on the stem, if you dont have a lathe (like me) you'll need a contraption and tig.... Looks scary but I have yet to shock myself or feed it any fingers... Run the battery almost dead and put it in low gear, use the ruler as a slide for your torch hand, hold the trigger on the drill with the other hand, balance on one foot while you run the pedal with the other. You can make multiple passes to get it the way you like it. Its safe,, I swear! I give em a quick spin with some 1000 grit to clean/polish them a bit. (wait a few on this one too they will be warm.) now you can weld the centers onto the stems, These will start to yellow a bit from the heat, you can repolish that back off if you like. It may come back if you apply to much heat when welding the petals on though. now we are ready to make some petals, you'll need 4 sizes and at least 3 of each size, I have done 4 on occasion. Another one you can skip if your painting,,,, To get some texture on the petals I sanded one piece with 80 grit in one direction, the other I DA-ed with some 120 grit. Its easier if you make patterns for the different sizes, the smallest is 3/8"x3/4" and they increase 1/8" increments. Time to make some carpet snaggers,, when cutting these out ther isnt any need to make them rounded, points or facets are perfectly ok. Once you've got em roughed out lightly file and deburr the edges, just to knock off any sharp edges, the shape takes car of itself. now to knock some shape into them,, heres what you need. The hard over soft works much like a miniture shot bag. The metal reacts pretty fast and it wont damage the finish on the non-hammer side. Grab the blank with a small pair of vice grips so you dont end up with a bunch of bloodblisters..... Also try and grab each blank at the same depth so when your final trimming things end up the same size.
make sure that you are hammering on the nonfished side if your just gonna clear em! start hammering in small circles working from the center out, stay off the edges the best you can. They blanks will curl up pretty fast and wont have enough depth so you'll have to hammer them back flatish,, the smallest ones need to be deeper on the round end and the larger ones need to be deeper at the base to clear the welds on the previous layers. For the outer layer you'll need to hammer in this area, hold it with your fingers and tap lightly! Now to reverse the top edge,, smallest get none, and the biggest get a double,, use toothless vice grips for this to cut back on the tool marks. grab on the line and pull it back,, then reset and go again. Randomness is key here and dont be afraid to twist and pull a bit to get some shape. for the double,, start on the inside line, then start on the second line, again randomness is key and the more shap the better! Now we are ready to weld!,, I use a tig as that what I got, these can be soldered or brazed too. Start by trimming the teethmarks off, then start tacking the petals on,, once they are all tacked and fairly even/straight then you can weld them up. continue with the next size petals, trimming off the teethmarks, you need to trim the 3rd/4rth layer at the base so they will fit tighter to the stem, the uncut one is on the bottom,, This is what you'll have,, Not bad for a start.
now for some leaves! these are my favorite parts to make... these need to be cut rounded, no points or sharp edges... load them up in the brake or the vice and knock a bit of angle into them,, then beat the crap out of them, this is the pattern you need to hammer into it,, once you got both sides curved you can hammer down into the backbone to get more curve,, for the tips you need to pad your hammer and tap from the top side,, and you'll end up with this,, BTW,, congrats, you just made an ever elusive reverse. quick easy and painless! Attach the leaves about 1 1/2" inches down from the base of the flower, bend the stem for a more natural look,, mask off the center and shoot some clear! I use shiny on the flower and flat on the stem and leaves. and heres the other one I made,, this one I timed, 3 hours start to finish, but I have made a bunch of these,, (15) so you might take a bit longer. one of the coolest parts (at least on the bare metal ones) is that all the color is from the heat of the welding proccess, and can be enhanced with a propane torch if you feel the need.
Great job and the talent shows....I think you got to much time on your hands... Just kiddin ...very nice roses my wife's favorite, our planters are full of them. I'm sure your attention to detail shows in your cars.
and if you thinking your not up to this,, you can get the one pictured here on this auction,, http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=7257050#post7257050 Thanks!!! no not a shifter, its a purty to sit on the shelf. Its also a good way to practice controlling your hammers on something that will look great even if you misplace a blow here and there.
I made one of these last year for my wife while i was bored at work. She loves it. And shows it off in a little partylite candle display thing as u enter my wife.she loves tellin people about it
the cats are fine, they get banished to the office when I am welding so they weren't able to get in my way. it takes a 3-4 hours to make one this way, time well spent though if you think about it. You are creating a family heirloom to be enjoyed for generations. Thanks for the replies!
Wow That's pretty smooth. I made an intake for the wife for her B-Day once, then bought her some flowers. Pretty slick my friend.
That is very cool man. I'm going to have to try my hand at a couple of those one day. I've made a lot of handmade gifts for my wife over the years....they're the ones she remembers. Very nice work.
This is awsome to see how others do it. I have been messing around a little bit with making metal flowers I did this commissioned piece last year for some dear friends.
The Jalopy Journal
