What is the "COOLEST" thing you ever made?

I wonder if it would be a good idea for all this creativity to link to each other through our websites. You guys have done some cool things that dont compete but augment my own fabrications. Any interest in linking?

Doyle Carver

Well Doyle, we need to see pictures of your stuff! Don't tease, man. David Todtman

David,

He posted this URL earlier in this topic. He makes great stuff.

Bob

This is a handrail I made on my own porch. Always wanted to try a web and I think it worked out well. doyle

The coolest thing I've made so far is a metal welding table. But then I've only been welding about a week. It's a blast! On the horizon is a cool project to make a Rock Fest cruiser out of a riding lawn mower chassis and engine. Rock Fest is a big 4 day rock concert with camping so my plan is to build a frame on an old mower to hold a couch or lazyboy chair to cruise around the campground with.

That is really cool looking - my wife walked in and said that!!!

Sounds like a project someday.

Martin

What is really cool looking?

Why don't people include the message they are replying to? Hint hint hint!

Lane

More fiberglass and woodwork than welding, but the engine/ drive unit assembly was welded (multiple times)..... I built a 15' Hovercraft- kinda like a big "air hockey" puck with 92 HP pushing it around- with no brakes! If anyone is interested you can see a write up (that needs major updateing) at

in the "Viper" section...

I normally fabricate special use industrial machines. The artistic side of me likes to design/build ornamental iron beds and some other furniture. But the most fun I've had in a while are shown in the links below! It isn't the average bear.

Kenneth

I nominate the guy who started this thread for a big "attaboy" in unison!

The coolest thing I've made is puny in comparison to the things y'all have built.

And, in fact, it's not finished. But the concept is:

"A swiss army truck". The first module was a gin pole I built from drill pipe. Once it was fitted out with chains and tackle, I built a tow bar attachment from 7/16" x 3" square tubing. The inside of the tube has a telescoping piece of 2" solid steel bar.

By means of a 3 ton chain fall, the gin pole lifts the bar, which pivots from the trailer hitch receiver. This "stinger" as the wrecker guys would call it, forms the basis for the other "swiss army" attachments.

The first of these attachments is a swiveling tow bar. I've towed a couple of 5000 pound trucks with it and nary a disaster as yet I own so many old cars and trucks I need my own private service wrecker. And that's what this is.

But I also am an around-the-bend do-it-yourselfer with a bad back. So I just finished a forklift attachment. It also fits onto the end of the stinger. The forks are welded to two short pieces of 3/8" angle iron which are then bolted to a 4 foot piece which is what's connected to the stinger. Holes are drilled in the 4 foot backbone to enable me to increase or decrease the spacing of the forks, which are pieces of thick 3" flat bar. I also reinforced these by bending some 1/2" dia. rod around the entire assembly. These rods are "sprung" and pre-stress the forks with upwards tension.

The fork assembly attachment is hinged. It articulates by means of two tractor draw-bar turnbuckles. This enables me to get the forks under a pallet on the ground and lift it high enough to load it onto the other flatbed truck, or vice versa.

Since I don't have the engineering know-how to figure the lift capacity of the contraption I'm gingerly experimenting with it. Up to now I've lifted a half-pallet of concrete blocks which I estimate to weigh 500 pounds.

If I can successfully lift a Cummins B engine without dropping it I'll consider the project a success. That weighs about the same as a full pallet of blocks or perhaps a wee tad more.

Some time ago, while scavenging the highway shoulder, I found a perfectly fine grader blade edge. At that time the wiz-ards in this group collectively opined that it was made of Hadfield steel.

The third (and final?) implement hasn't been built yet so it's off topic for this thread.

But I'll tell you about it anyway... It'll be a box scraper. Even some kind of earth auger may be feasible...

After I get it painted all purty I might make my first ever contribution to the metalworking drop box.

So the race is on.

Gentlemen, start your welders!

Vernon

This is really cool looking if I do say so myself.

Look at the previous email. It was the handrail. Martin

I'll take that "Attaboy" and hope the thread just keeps going. I like seeing all this "Cool" stuff. We have some pretty creative people out there and I like sharing what I know with others.

I make knives and have someone visiting my shop almost every Saturday, I share everything, and keep no secrets. I feel that we can all make each other better, so why not do it.

Keep the :Cool Things" coming.

Bob

These links don't work for me. Anyone else have problems? Lane

Yeah, neither have worked for me. I tried yesterday when I first saw the post and today when I saw your post. It may be temporarily down. Sometimes sites go down simply because of the increased traffic caused by public advertisment on usenet.

Well, Bob (alias "Attaboy")

You never know how long a thread will last.

Some years ago, I posted an inquiry on rec.guns entitled something like "7.65 Argentine Mauser... Safe to shoot?"

Something like two years later the thread was still going...

In my estimation this thread is eminently more worthy...

Vernon

Bob wrote: .

I can't decide between these...

That's 10" thick, danceable/climbable and stores in the ceiling of a cruise ship theatre. Real Neon too!

There's a steel frame behind all the carved foam, and the step pyramid lifts up and retracts to make the whole thing 10" thick. The steps were framed once in steel then re-built in aluminum when the steel weighed too much. The whole piece also flies into the ceiling for storage.

All welding with Millermatic 200 MIG, Aluminum with spoolgun.

Stuart

The absolutely coolest thing I've ever built is sitting in my studio right now and I don't have any pictures of it online yet, so my SECOND coolest thing is something I call "Aphrodite Rising from the Foam" It's the third thumbnail down at:

James Kelsey, Port Orchard, WA

I am not one for "Art" as in sculptors and such but you make some pretty cool stuff. I like the "Aphrodite Rising from the Foam" sculpture (and a few of the others). I don't know how people like you get your ideas cause that stuff does not come to me.

I am a little more functional with my knives and gates and you have a talent that is different than mine (if mine could be called a talent) but I appreciate your creativity.

Take a picture of the thing in your studio and post it for us.