My SS Sculpture

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Hello Everybody!As I promised, well... a while ago, but better late than never... I figure. I apologize for such a long delay. And again, thank you all whose advice helped me to complete this project. Here it is - a sculpture that I finished last spring. It's called Wing. Now it's on display in the Detroit area, at an outdoor sculpture show along Ford Road in Canton, MI.Let's see, where should I start...It all began with a scale model, 16”x6”x3”. Then I had to build the thing full size, which is the same digits, but in feet. I decided to use steel tubing for the frame parts and stainless steel sheets for the sides, the "body" of the wing. I figured - an outdoor sculpture must me VERY sturdy, so I thought 12GA stainless steel would be adequate. That's where all my troubles began. First I tried to cut the sheets with an angle grinder. That was quite fast all right, but I used up one cutting wheel every 10"-12". It was very dusty as well. Then I tried to cut with a jigsaw. My HILTI jigsaw didn't have a problem, but the blades also went very fast. That's when I finally broke down and decided to get a plasma cutter. First I wanted to rent it, but the rental units were either 220V (and I didn't have that in my old garage), or unavailable. So I got a Hypertherm Powermax190c plasma cutter. After that things got much better. It wasn't as fast as with the angle grinder, but more predictable and much quieter.I used MIG tri-mix gas for welding stainless to mild and stainless to stainless. That worked well, without any discoloration. And SS didn't lose its stainless properties (as I found out a few months later).The idea was to use a combination of stainless steel and mild steel, and let the mild steel parts happily rust, so there would be a contrast between the materials. It actually turned out better than I expected. Even after a few months of outdoor conditions, the stainless steel parts look as new as they were in my garage, except for some bird droppings here and there.I estimated the weight of this thing at about 1000 lbs. So loading it on the trailer was an issue. Thanks to my buddies (in miserable weather) we successfully loaded it. Of course the truck broke down on the way from Chicago to Detroit. The mechanic said: “I'm not gonna fix your truck until you tell me what's on your trailer!” We told him, it's a part of an alien ship...After all this I learned a few things:    * Never again should I deal with stainless steel, unless it's a question of life and death. I still have one leftover 3'x8' sheet of 12GA stainless steel. Very heavy.    * My future sculptures MUST be made in separate modules that I can easily transport and assemble on the spot.    * Use only a stainless steel wire brush on stainless steel. Some surface spots started rusting, and I had to clean them with a rust-remover. It worked well, but I had to scrub it.    * What else...  The pictures follow: Attached Images
Reply:more pictures: Attached Images
Reply:some more: Attached Images
Reply:Pretty interesting piece.  I really like the contrast between the rusted steel and the stainless steel.  Was this sculture your design or was it someone else's design and you built it?Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Reply:Hey AndreiR, It's good to see your project come to be.  Looks like you accomplished exactly what you set out to do.  Very nice.  I remember you were working on cutting methods and trying to decide which way to go.  I am also glad to see what you learned in the process and what you learned never to do again.  This is always helpful.Last edited by smithboy; 10-22-2006 at 04:17 PM.Smithboy...if it ain't broke, you ain't tryin'.
Reply:Awesome job!me too like the contrast...You´ll never regret buying that plasma cutter My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:Thank you all for your nice comments!And I want to say that this forum is an awesome land of knowledge. It's so great that you all are willing to share your experience. This sculpture is my design from start to finish. I was always fascinated by wings plus I started reading about Daedalus (the Greek myth about the man who created wings for himself and his son Icarus in order to escape from captivity) and that myth inspired me for this. I thought that a wing lying on the ground will create a conflict/question: wings belong in the sky but this one is lying on the ground, why? There is a drama of falling from the sky and at the same time a  potential for future flying, if the right hand picks up the wing. So that's the idea. The shininess of stainless steel was suppose to make it, kind of, out of place: it's too clean to be lying on the ground, and it sort of reflects the sky, thus making the connection with the sky. But you look at the other side of the sculpture and see the structure, the man-made part, the complexity, rust. All those thoughts... I just started working on another sculpture, so I'll keep you posted when I'll have something to show.
Reply:whoooooaaaaaaaaaaa My Babies: HF Drill pressHF Pipe Bender3   4.5" Black and Decker angle grindersLincoln Electric PROMIG 175that´s it!
Reply:I love outdoor sculpture. The public liability issues make it tough for sculptors here. Though they're probably tougher over there in the land of litigation.What are the reflections like off the stainless steel? I presume it's angled so that drivers don't get blinded.
Reply:WOW so deep............Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American G. I. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Reply:i know you call it the "wing"i think it looks like an angry bug..(pic 11 on the spot)...zap!I am not completely insane..Some parts are missing Professional Driver on a closed course....Do not attempt.Just because I'm a  dumbass don't mean that you can be too.So DON'T try any of this **** l do at home.
Reply:The surface is less shiny than a washed car or a windshield. And yes it's at an angle, so it doesn't blind anybody. The liability is covered by the show organizers.1000 lb. angry bug? why not? fine with me.
Reply:Pretty cool, looks like a lot of work.   Looks like a house in the background, Is it on the front lawn of your house?  or a business?
Reply:Originally Posted by DerekPretty cool, looks like a lot of work.   Looks like a house in the background, Is it on the front lawn of your house?  or a business?
Reply:I like it! I too at first was reminded of an insect ( a bee ) and was not surprised when someone else saw something similar. "Only dead fish go with the flow"
Reply:verry cool summer is here, plant a tree for mother earth. if you dont have time or space, sponcer some one else to plant one for you.feel free to shoot me a PM or e-mail me at [email][email protected] i got lots of time.