I’m at it again, trying to stand when I should be sitting…..

Uh oh, what am I doing now? Why sit when you can stand?

Let’s get a’buildin’!

I have some rusty angle iron, some twisty legs off a coffee table. A channel piece from something. All cast off metal. Found objects. The inspiration was the coffee table legs, of course. That’s how it works with me. I find an object and it gets the gears moving.

This was a few planks I had joined for the last stand I made, back in May, but I changed the design and didn’t use it. So I have a top and the pieces for the bottom. Not to put them together.

My old welder I just got back from my old job.

It’s a little beat up but I know how it works and how to fix it. The fabrication should be easy……maybe.

The legs will be the feet of the stand.

And the angle iron will help hold the board.

Just a few tacks…

It does not want to penetrate. Damn. Old welder or rusty weldor. Or both.

That’s holding a little better. It just has to stay so I can run some stronger beads.

Now I have to do some strong welds and then grind down those ugly tacks.

Strong but still ugly. There’s a joke there.

Getting the hang of it again. Like riding a bike. Of course, the last time I did that the chain broke and I fell off and dislocated my shoulder. What can go wrong here? Famous last words.

Welding is playing with fire that’s brighter than the sun and just as hot. It’s like wielding the elemental power of the universe. Fun stuff.

You should try it.

The angle iron is on, now for the flat piece.

Not totally flat. It has some structure. But notice how thin it is? Those legs are about 3/4 inch square. The flat piece is a bit….thinner.

welding thick to thin is hard. Let’s see if I still have it.

Aww yeah.

Not blowing through. You have to heat up the thicker metal with the wire electrode (I’m using a mig welder with a shielding gas mixture of argon and co2) then zip back and forth to the thinner material, making sure you don’t blow through the thinner stuff.

The penetration is good. That’s what she said.

I almost blew through there on the left. But I held it together.

The bottom is done. Mostly.

Now for the wood. That’s what she said.

As much as I like the bark on this front edge, I don’t think it will work on this piece.

You’ll see why in a moment.

Before I finish the wood I’ll need to drill some holes.

Notice the uneven edge….

That makes it easier to center it on the bottom. I just kinda eyeball it.

Now the finishing treatment.

Ima gonna play with some fire!

Burn baby burn.

Just enough to darken it. It’s pine from repurposed pallets by the way.

And since I tend to do things a bit alternatively, instead of polyurethane or what have you, I’m using wax from a candle to deal it. A “pine” scented one, to be precise.

Hey, it’s almost Christmas time.

I just rub it on….

Then I use the torch to melt it, and then just polish it with a rag.

To finish the bottom, I use lacquer, mostly because I like that it dries fast (I’m impatient) and you can polish it to a high gloss or subdue it to a soft luster.

That’s that.

I think it’s cool.

Some nuts and bolts and washers to attach the two pieces….

And Bob’s yer uncle!

I’ll be using it in the upcoming Winter Silhouette show in Kannapolis, North Carolina, December 2nd and 3rd.

You should come on by, see what else I have in mind. It’s a great little show, free and open to the public. The displays run the gamut from classical to very creative. The trees are top notch as well. I hope to see you all there.

I like it my new stand. The tree is a hackberry. I might even use a beer bottle for the companion. Just for fun.