Metal allows you to realize many creative ideas. But working with it requires special skills, abilities and devices. However, the result is durable, original and unique.
Thanks to the malleability of the material and the talent of the master, do-it-yourself metal crafts worthy of admiration appear. They become the pride of a personal plot, cottage or home interior. Let's look at a few examples and working methods:
Sheet metal owl
To work with a thin sheet of metal, strong and sharp scissors are sufficient. Thanks to them, beautiful metal crafts are created in the form of animal figures, various patterns or abstractions. What is needed to make a metal owl:
- Thin sheet and narrow strips of metal;
- Substrate in the form of a wooden rectangular board with a thickness of no more than 0.5 mm;
- A set of various nails and elements for fastening;
- A spoon with a rounded end. It will allow you to form the necessary image of an owl by squeezing out feathers and other parts of the body;
- Sharp scissors.
Stages of work completion
They are not particularly difficult, but will require patience and attention. Detailed review:
- A full sketch is created;
- Thanks to a permanent marker, the diagram is transferred to the metal from the inside;
- Use sharp scissors to cut out the necessary elements;
- To squeeze out a pattern on the inside of the metal or highlight grooves, use a spoon with a rounded end;
- The buttons create the owl's eyes. Can be replaced with metal elements with a similar shape. At the author's discretion, such details are used as additional decoration for the bird;
- When all the parts are ready, the owl is assembled;
- To secure parts of metal crafts, nails or other fasteners are used.
Implementing ideas from leftover wood
Homemade products from leftover wood at the dacha are one of the cheapest and most common options:
Stumps and poles are often used to make unusual furniture that decorates the entire area.
Boards are used to create swings that will not leave either adults or children indifferent.
Pallets are a great idea for the production of armchairs, sofas, and a mobile table on wheels.
You can make a path from the remains of an old tree.
How to use welding to create metal crafts?
Welding allows you to quickly and reliably connect metal parts, but this method requires compliance with safety precautions and developed skills in working with the appropriate equipment. Electric welding is used for this, since it is portable and accessible compared to its gas counterpart.
To create metal crafts by welding, a transformer, welding machine or inverter is used. The choice is related to accessibility, the nature of the work, and the preference of the author of the metal product.
Decorative openwork ball made of cement.
To work, we need a cement solution - mix a thick solution of 1 part sand, 1 part cement.
We immerse a rope in the solution, it can also be strips from an old T-shirt, etc. We inflate the balloon and prepare a stand for it where it will dry. This could be a regular bucket.
We wrap the ball with a rope in cement mortar.
After the solution has dried, use a needle to blow off the ball. All! Our garden art object is ready. Can be painted if desired.
What metal crafts are created using welding?
In fact, everything, right down to artistic work in the form of sculptures of people or animals. But most often welding creates:
- Installation of all kinds of structures;
- Repair work is being carried out;
- Garden supplies are made.
Photos of available examples are offered on our website dnevnikmastera.ru. Almost all illustrations are accompanied by detailed master classes on making metal crafts using welding and other methods.
Decorating the area with plastic bottles and caps
Plastic bottles are the most popular and numerous decorative material. Before you throw them in the trash, imagine what original homemade products you can create from them with your own hands:
Palm trees made from brown and green bottles look unusual at the dacha even in winter: collect a lot of bottles, depending on how tall the tree is, take scissors and go into the world of fantasy.
Unique curtains on the windows or decorating all the walls of the house from the bottoms of the same plastic bottles will decorate any area.
If the number of bottles is simply huge, do not be lazy to make a gazebo, first build a metal or wooden frame.
Practical use of bottles is also possible in the form of small greenhouses for growing onions and radishes.
A small plastic fence is a good way to organize a summer cottage.
How to work with a welding machine?
This requires experience, practice and strict adherence to safety regulations. First, the newly minted master practices on a damaged piece of metal. This is necessary to acquire knowledge of igniting and maintaining an arc based on maintaining a constant gap between the electrode and the workpiece.
After this, the technique of making a weld is studied. If it turns out smooth without difficulty, then you need to learn how to correctly regulate the current strength to work with different thicknesses of the workpiece.
At its core, welding in the process of creating metal crafts is used to connect two parts. This occurs by melting the surface of the future joint. A solid metal structure is formed through the use of an electrode.
However, this is not an easy task and requires a lot of practice and experience, since it is necessary to ensure that the top layer of the workpiece melts, otherwise holes may form.
After acquiring basic skills in creating metal crafts by welding, you can move on to doing simple work to gain experience. For this, it is more profitable to use an inverter, since it has increased mobility and consumes less electricity.
New life for unnecessary things
In addition to the materials described above, you can also use very inconspicuous things at your dacha:
From canisters you can build a rack, a shelf for small items, or a scoop. Old wrenches and spoons make convenient hooks for hanging.
The wooden ladder is a unique bookshelf. Old books are unusual shelves for vases or small items;
An interesting screen is assembled from hangers. Half a wooden barrel is a convenient place for pets.
After renovating your bathroom, don’t rush to throw out the old one, but create a garden bed in it. An original and unsurpassed flowerbed will be made from an old piano.
You can also use teapots, pots, glasses, deep salad bowls, unnecessary shoes, umbrellas, and a chandelier as unusual flower beds.
Bird lovers can make houses for birds from teapots. Broken tiles after renovation in the bathroom or kitchen will perfectly decorate the path in front of the house in the country.
Those who like to assemble mosaics will love the path made from bottle caps. Bicycle wheels are suitable for erecting a fence or supporting climbing plants.
An old boat would make a great designer bed. Garden chairs repainted to match the color of the walls, perfect shelves.
Create and create masterpieces. Any items can be used to transform a summer cottage; there are simply countless options, and a short article is not enough for this. And a summer cottage is an excellent option for self-realization.
What can you make from an old bicycle for your garden?
Old bicycles were found on the balcony and attic, but it was a pity to throw them away. Then you can give them a new life by transforming them into something useful for the garden. For this purpose, it is not necessary that the vehicles be in a suitable condition.
You can use the remaining parts to create an unusual flower bed. It is formed by attaching a flowerpot with flowers to an accessible metal structure left over from a two-wheeled product.
Stand for cucumbers and other cultivated plants
Wheels from several bicycles are used for this. If rust is found on them, it is cleaned with sandpaper. The bicycle is covered with 2-3 layers of metal paint.
Some skip this stage to create the effect of the presence of antiquity. What is needed to create this metal craft for the garden:
- Bicycle wheels;
- Wooden block;
- Heavy and small stones to secure the structure;
- Comfortable shovel;
- Antiseptic;
- Stretch film;
- Wire;
- Strong hammer;
- Scissors.
Step-by-step instruction:
- A shovel is used to dig a hole for installing a wooden block at one of the ends. To protect against rotting, it is coated with an antiseptic in several layers. After drying, the edge chosen for immersion in the ground is wrapped in several layers of stretch film. This will provide insulation from moisture.
- Help will be required for installation. One holds the post, the other fills it with heavy and small stones. A strong hammer is used for compaction.
- If possible, the structure is filled with cement. If it is not there, then a mound of dense soil is created. It is carefully compacted.
- If cement was used, you must wait until it is completely dry. Then the wheels are connected to the post using wire.
Cucumbers will be able to curl around the wheels and be attached to a support to receive maximum sunlight. But this design will also be useful for other plants that can grow vertically and twine around objects: grapes, beans. However, the height of the wheels should be comfortable for unhindered harvesting.
If you liked exploring the possibilities of metal crafts, check out other materials on the site. There is still a lot of interesting things here.
Tires from cars for creativity
Car tires look great in the design of a summer cottage. Moreover, it is a very plastic and flexible material that can be easily painted, so there are many options for use:
You can get a very comfortable and unique ottoman if you cover the tires with thick rope or sew a fabric cover and make a seat out of plywood.
Multi-colored flower beds will create a bright mood even on a cloudy day.
Everyone's favorite border, dividing the flowerbed area, is still at the height of fashion in garden plots.
An original newspaper rack made from half a tire on metal legs in any color is a good idea for scattered magazines and newspapers.
If you stack the tires on top of each other, sprinkle with soil and plant grass, you get a fence that can be made to any height.
Decorative animals in the form of swans, crocodile, dragon.
Flowerbeds in unexpected places
Paradise can be placed in the most unexpected places, using the most unusual household items. Modest flowers in an old children's tin or plastic bathtub look touching.
An extravagant composition will be achieved if lush greenery is placed in an earthenware sanitary ware (perhaps only brave gardeners with a developed sense of humor will dare to do this).
But a washing machine - activated or automatic - used as a flower bed looks like part of a fantastic landscape. A romantic plot can be played out with the help of an old musical instrument that has lost its practical value: a piano, guitar, accordion, having become a haven for flowering plants, seem to be sounding again, performing the best melody of their life. Dilapidated furniture braided with living stems and leaves is also fabulously transformed.
Note!
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What materials and tools will be needed to make a rack?
To store fairly heavy items, racks are made from steel equal or unequal angle 40x40, 45x45, 50x50, 30x50 mm with a wall thickness of 3-5 mm. Typically, hot-rolled corner steel is used for these purposes, which is primed and painted to increase corrosion resistance. For this purpose, it is convenient to use “2 in 1” primer enamels, which serve as both a primer and a finishing coat. If for the manufacture of a structure you use a corner that has been used and has become covered with rust, then it is better to purchase “3 in 1” metal paint. It functions as a converter of rust, soil and decorative enamel.
For flooring, plywood, OSB, chipboard, and less often sheet metal are used. To store large items, the covering of the shelves is made of bars located with gaps; for storing small items and installing cans of preserves - from plywood, fiberboard, chipboard, OSB, boards. Metal flooring is made in cases where it is planned to store heavy objects. A big disadvantage of wood is its low resistance to aggressive biofactors. The tree quickly rots, becomes moldy, and is damaged by insects. To extend its service life, the wooden covering is treated with antiseptic compounds. To increase resistance to fire - fire retardants.
Installation
The most common, simple and cheap installation method is electrode welding. However, it requires experience. All you need for the job is a welding machine, electrodes, a metal saw or grinder, and gloves.
To have an idea of the future fence, it doesn’t hurt to make a sketch of it. It will help you decide on the choice of foundation and overall design: weld the rods perpendicularly or parallel to the load-bearing metal pillars.
Ready-to-install fence sections welded from reinforcement
They are fastened at such a distance from each other that a person cannot get between them. Usually this distance is 10–12 cm. Otherwise, the fence will not be able to perform its main function. But on which side to fasten - internal or external - this is decided by the master. Household welding machines must be turned off after working for 13–15 minutes. Therefore, the workpiece should not be cut all at once, but in portions, in an amount that is enough for one flight.
Assembling a frame for a fence and gate from reinforcement
Some experienced welders solve this problem by heating the bend of a metal rod with their welding machine. Finished fencing decorations are sold in specialized stores or blacksmith shops.
Decorating the fence with various bent elements
It is difficult to combine reliability with beauty and grace. But a good craftsman can make an attractive and durable fence for a city site, home, or office using ordinary reinforcement. And if he has good taste, he will achieve an attractive combination of a metal composition with stone, wood and brick elements. Such a fence will look very original and stylish. And no one will pay attention to the fact that the entire structure is created from simple, unsightly reinforcing bars.
Sculpture of herbs and flowers
Their production begins with the creation of a wire frame, preferably a welded one, which is covered with a metal mesh, clarifying the shape of the sculpture and fixing the straw-earth base.
Seeds of herbs and flowers are sown in this mixture in accordance with the aesthetic design: the mane of a lion or horse, the hair of the Little Mermaid can be represented by tall, spiky grasses or lushly flowering plants, Snow White's costume - yellow and blue flowers, hare fur - white, fox fur - orange and red etc.
Such figures require constant care: regular watering, correction of the base and shape, but the result is worth the effort.
Direct assignment
An integral part of a reinforced fence is the construction of a strip or columnar foundation. The first option costs a lot of labor and money. A trench is dug along the perimeter of the site, which is subsequently filled with solution. It is prepared from M200 concrete or a higher grade. The dimensions of the foundation ditch depend not only on the weight of the entire structure, but also on the characteristics of the soil. The main thing is that it is deeper than the frozen layer. Otherwise, when the soil freezes, it expands, swells and pushes the concrete base upward.
The bottom of the dug trench is covered with sand, which is generously moistened and compacted. Formwork is installed, which can be boards or sheets of any flat material. It is fixed with spacers. The supporting pillars are installed strictly vertically and secured with a reinforcing frame before pouring the solution.
The process of installing a fence made of reinforcement
Time intervals are needed for each horizontal layer to set. The concrete finally hardens in about a week.
The second type of foundation for fencing is pit-columnar. It is much cheaper than tape. Installation takes less time. Only the underground support of each pillar is concreted, and not the entire perimeter of the site. Here reinforcement is not used at all.
Paints - to the studio!
Painted items play a significant role in garden decoration. For example, barrels for collecting rainwater can be painted, turning them into nesting dolls or funny kids, an old man and an old woman, painted with flowers or traditional folk ornaments like Gzhel, Khokhloma or Gorodets painting.
Painted in clean, open colors, tin cans of paint, baby food or other substances, used as planters, hung on a fence, the wall of a house or a specially built stand, will become a striking design solution.
Interesting compositions are made from painted pebbles. If several stones of approximately the same shape and size are painted “to resemble a cactus” - a green background and light lines imitating spines - placed in flower pots and beautifully arranged on a pre-prepared area, you will get almost a real greenhouse.
And larger cobblestones firmly rooted in the soil can be turned into cute cats, good-natured hedgehogs, colorful snails and turtles or funny dogs with the help of paint. The main thing is to choose the right color scheme and select the necessary materials and tools.
Properties
Conventional reinforcement is smooth or corrugated steel rods of various shapes, lengths, and cross-sections. They come in metal and, in addition to strengthening concrete products, are successfully used for installing fences. In recent years, polymer ones have gained wide popularity.
Scheme and patterns for fencing made of reinforcement
It has the same quality characteristics as any metal fence. Preparation and pouring of the foundation are carried out according to the same principles. In addition, such a fence has good maintainability. Individual parts can be updated or replaced without much difficulty using welding. In most cases, budget fences are used to surround summer cottages without any special frills. The protective functionality of fences is very important there. Their installation is simple and can be done by a home handyman.
Fence made of reinforcement and brick posts
For a fence, it is better if it is smooth, round in cross-section, 25 mm thick. It is good to use for both longitudinal and transverse parts. It has a high level of strength and corrosion resistance. There are no restrictions when welding.
Crafts for the garden. DIY garden gnomes made of cement
These cute garden gnomes are also very easy to make.
For the gnome we need cement, a metal rod, stocking and rope. We pour the cement solution into the stocking, and insert metal reinforcement into it for strength. By twisting the rope, we form noses and legs. Let's not forget about the beard - this is an additional piece of material under the gnome's nose. Hang the gnome by the top of the cap and leave to dry.
When the cement has dried, remove the gnome and polish the top with a more liquid solution of cement and gypsum. We are waiting for the gnome to dry and we can tint or paint it. Pretty guys, aren't they?
