Metal Perch

[Slartybartfa]

This is something I've long wanted to try. Ran across this video today of a guy making a perch out of steel plate and I'm of the opinion that this guy is having way too much fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Foz3yH5rY

[undercut]

This is something I've long wanted to try. Ran across this video today of a guy making a perch out of steel plate and I'm of the opinion that this guy is having way too much fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5Foz3yH5rY

Pretty cool. I really like the stump with the hollow portion on the top. Perfect for making the curve and not getting a bunch of vibration back from the material.

You got an English wheel, Slartybartfa?

[Rambozo]

I'm of the opinion that this guy is having way too much fun.

He would probably have a lot more fun if he had a MIG or a TIG for that kind of work.

[Brian Ski]

This is something I've long wanted to try. Ran across this video today of a guy making a perch out of steel plate and I'm of the opinion that this guy is having way too much fun.

Well I am sure glad I looked at the video... I thought you wanted a human bird perch or a sex swing.....

The guy is really good at what he does... Long video but he should all the different ones at the end.

[CGCINC]

I like when he hammers.... It's like a Benny Hill show.
He does some nice work but I agree, Mig would be easier, at least for me. Looks like he knows how to stick weld pretty good though!

[everlastsupport]

That fast forward does have a hint of Benny Hill.. Just need that music. hahaha.

[CGCINC]

That fast forward does have a hint of Benny Hill.. Just need that music. hahaha.

http://www.televisiontunes.com/Benny_Hill_Show.html

[everlastsupport]

Yep. Now add the hot girls. You got it.

[Slartybartfa]

Pretty cool. I really like the stump with the hollow portion on the top. Perfect for making the curve and not getting a bunch of vibration back from the material.

You got an English wheel, Slartybartfa?

No, no English wheel, nor planishing hammer. But I'm pretty sure I could scare up a stump somewhere and gouge a depression in it. Did you notice that hollow tapers sort of like a 3-dimensional French curve? It has curves of different radii, so you can hammer on whichever part of it suits the sharpness of bend you want to impart. Pretty cool, but I bet it took him all day to make that fish.

Wife lives near Seattle (long distance 2nd marriage, 2 careers, my kids still in high school). When we got back together after 30 years apart (old G.F. that I shoulda' married the first time), I noticed all over the Seattle area you see metal fish (salmonids, mostly) sculptures like what Benny Hill Jr. was making. They're very popular. Some are crude, others are works of art. You see them at craft shows, in restaurants, public buildings, etc. As odd as it seems, the idea of crafting something like that out of steel is somehow calling me. Now it's got me thinking next time I see a downed tree that's been cut up, mebbe I'll grab a piece and practice making 3-D curves.

[undercut]

[QUOTE=Slartybartfa;33692]Wife lives near Seattle (long distance 2nd marriage, 2 careers, my kids still in high school). When we got back together after 30 years apart (old G.F. that I shoulda' married the first time)

So nice that you got a second chance!

Now it's got me thinking next time I see a downed tree that's been cut up, mebbe I'll grab a piece and practice making 3-D curves.

I wish I saw this video last year! I've noticed a few stumps sitting by the curb since that time. The missus thinks (knows) I'm a bit of a packrat so I'm not sure how she'd react to seeing me drag home a stump!

[Brian Ski]

I wish I saw this video last year! I've noticed a few stumps sitting by the curb since that time. The missus thinks (knows) I'm a bit of a packrat so I'm not sure how she'd react to seeing me drag home a stump!

No problem dude... Stop on by and pick up this stump... Got a picture of my boy sitting on it. BTW 54 inches across... One of three I took out... Look how close it is/was to the garage.

[undercut]

No problem dude... Stop on by and pick up this stump... Got a picture of my boy sitting on it. BTW 54 inches across... One of three I took out... Look how close it is/was to the garage.

Good job falling that tree. It DID go in the direction you wanted, right?

Thanks for the offer. I'll need to see if my local Fedex depot has a box I can put that in to ....

[Brian Ski]

Good job falling that tree. It DID go in the direction you wanted, right?

Oh ya... We had to take them down branch by branch.... At least 12-15 branches per tree... I had people stopping by to watch. I would tie a big azz cable around a branch cut it and pull it out of the way... A few white knucklers.... Some were over the house and garage...


The neighbor was happy to see that one hit the ground... Dropped in between 2 garages... Missed them both by about a foot.

Another way to trash a thread!!!!

[jakeru]

That concaved-out stump as a dolly is pretty cool.

I hear shot filled leather bags can be used to similar effect. Would like to give it a try sometime as well. Maybe build something hammerformed in aluminum. Intercooler end tanks?

[DaveO]

When he was welding the lips on I thought it was clever when he used residual weld heat in that rod to form the next section of lips. Then I noticed that bit towards the end when he was grinding upwards with a plume of sparks showering his face.

He never showed how he made the individual segments on the dorsal fin, for instance, I wonder if that's a trade secret.

[Slartybartfa]

Looks like he cut the profile out of steel, ground it to fit, and welded it on. Next shot shows him going at it with the angle grinder and a flap sanding wheel. In between I suspect he took a 4" angle grinder with a cutting wheel in it and sliced into the piece to produce the dorsal spikes. Might have used the cutting torch, but the spines are pretty close together, so I'm thinking the cutting wheel, and maybe a grinding wheel before the flap sander.

Whatever way he did it, it looks like a lot of fun. Melting steel, beating on it with a hammer, making lots of noise and getting really dirty. What could be more enjoyable?

[Rambozo]

My guess is the plasma cutter for the slots. They look melted. I like how he used the stick welder to add texture to the fins and such with short arc strikes and drags. Looks likes lots of fun, for sure.

[DaveO]

Plasma cutter noob question: he cut one outline of the body, then traced it on another sheet and cut, then lined them up and ground them to match. Is there a reason he didn't just cut two sheets at once? Seems like he could have saved some time in cutting / grinding.

[Brian Ski]

Plasma cutter noob question: he cut one outline of the body, then traced it on another sheet and cut, then lined them up and ground them to match. Is there a reason he didn't just cut two sheets at once? Seems like he could have saved some time in cutting / grinding.

My guess, like a torch is it would fuse the two together. Maybe not like a true weld but enough it would be quite a hassle to get them apart.

[fdcmiami]

My guess, like a torch is it would fuse the two together. Maybe not like a true weld but enough it would be quite a hassle to get them apart.

if you were looking for a way to produce an item like the fish and make money you're going to have to be a bit more creative than the guy in the video. you can use pneumatic set down tools for the hammering. we used to use them to set pittsburgh seams in commercial ductwork. take of the edge guide and hammer away; you can change out the hammer heads for different finishes. you can stress relieve the sheet metal and form it using a needle scaler also. and sand blasting. they actually use a mil spec shot peening procedure to fabricate airplane wings.

cutting with a plasma, hand held, is an option but programming a machine to cut a hundred is a better one. i would also try to determing what the true size of the cutout was in the flat after forming it. (it could be formed in a simple homemade press). personally if i were doing a bunch and did not have a cnc plasma then i would cut them on a beverly shear or a hand held power shear. called double cuts.

as far as welding, this guy is burning rod because he probably has nothing better but you could tig the two pieces especially once you got the flat pattern worked out.

once, in another life i welded fish; fish tails for motorcycles using an oxy/acetylene setup. it was a manifold arrangement and a flux was introduced through the system. i only lasted about two weeks but i learned to do it and they went together quickly. a lot of these arts and crafts projects look good but you need to make money at it or what? you have to produce numbers because steel perch aren't much good for eating.