A couple of projects today ....

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This is for all ya long-haired hippies out there who don't remember the '60's.  (Okay, not really, but hey, it sounded good!)Peace And Love:That's a 20" bicycle rim.  The wrenches were junk from a thrift shop, and the gear was a Bendix gear from the same BMX bike I got the rim from.  How d'ya like thatawesome metallic purple?And, since I'm down here in the southwest, I figured I may as well make something southwestern:Currently this is an unfinished piece (got some welds to grind down, and repair one of the uprights).  Those bars are from the rear end of three different bicycleframes, welded to a 12" rim.  Not sure if I'm going to paint this one, or let it rust.  For those of you who are wondering, this is a replica of the New Mexico sunsymbol.. o O (Neighbors'll sure think twice about hammering at 6:30 in the morning - I'll break out the grinder again and spend another full day cutting and grinding ....)
Reply:Lookin' good! I remember the peace sign, had several shirts with that front and center in the late '60s. I was born and raised in New Mexico, and I'm living here now, again. The photo of the Zia is NOT something I built, just took a photo of it in Riodoso, NM. I added the other 'cause I thought it was neat!   Attached ImagesOnly when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:Great gate!  I like the shot of the totem pole in the car window, too.You remember the '60's????  Then you didn't do enough drugs ...... LOL.Seriously, though, my g/f was a true hippie from the Kingdom of All Hippiedom, Berkeley, California.  (Good ol' Bezerkeley ....)  Tie-dyed shirts, peace symbols, mini-skirts, flowers in the hair .......... you name it, she was right in the middle of it.  She mainly grew out of the hippie look, but still has some peace symbols here and there.  She's been gone all day, doesn't even know I built this yet ... As for the sun symbol, I have a book of petroglyph drawings (that's ancient art on rocks), and I noticed that most of the symbols were just a bunch of lines.  Hmmm ........ if the ancients could do the drawings in chalk or whatever they used, why can't I do the same drawings, but in metal?
Reply:Go for it! This on my oldest Daughter's kitchen wall, I didn't build it either, wish I had, I like it. It's made of light weight metal and painted, stamped probaby? I didn't take it down and look at it. It's about a foot long tho. Attached ImagesOnly when the last tree has died and the last river has been poisoned and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.                                         -Cree Indian ProverbSA 200 LincolnVictor Torches
Reply:I already got a bunch of them critters running all over my walls ....... frogs and dragonflies, too.  They sell a lot of those at the bi-annual street fair here in Tucson.  Only problem with 'em is they're plasma-cut, and that's one thing I DON'T have ....(yet).Only a foot long?  Geez, tell that girl to go out to Four Corners and get one of the BIG lizards ...... Hell, be a good daddy and build her one.
Reply:[QUOTE=SpyGuy;290426]Great gate!  I like the shot of the totem pole in the car window, too.You remember the '60's????  Then you didn't do enough drugs ...... LOL.what 60's?
Reply:I guess the Indians gave up on the Zia sunsign. I don't even remember which tribe claims it as theirs but they raised cain with the state for using it several years ago. It all went away over time though. I have one hanging on a gate and one on a stand in the rock garden that I made from ring gaskets for RTJ flanges and 1/2" cold rolled. A brother-in-law kidded me that the Indians would have me in court for using their symbol when I made them.
Reply:That symbol shows up in a lot of different indigenous cultures, and in different regions in slightly varying forms.It can be found from North America to the farthest regions of South America.I can't see how any one culture could lay claim to it though!#1. If you don't like what I wrote, or if it offends you, then don't read it!#2. I am living life the way I see fit, if you don't like the way I'M living, tough sh**!
Reply:Well, since we're on symbols ....My Celtic knot, made from a couple of 27" bike rims:(No, I didn't make that patio table !!)The knot itself is 3-D - that is, the rims are welded so that they cross each other.  I was originally considering cutting each piece so it would lay flat, but I liked the"pop-out" version more.(Oh yeah, g/f finally saw the peace sign - loved it!)Last edited by SpyGuy; 06-19-2009 at 12:00 AM.