Common Crane Inspired Rusty Garden Sculpture (DIY Rusted Steel Sheet Project in a Bit Abstract Origami Style)

One sheet of steel had been patiently waiting for attention outside for more than a decade before it met me. I looked at it and I simply felt that I have to do something beautiful out of it.

Enough sheet metal to bring the idea to life, grinder with a lot of cutting disks, welding machine, some pens/markers, 3d program and enough free time.

I used a regular 3x1250x2500 mm sheet of steel. Ideally I would use Corten steel which rusts quickly and then stays with its looks for a long time, but regular steel is also ok for these kind of projects.

The first step is to figure out a shape to make. I sketched different ideas onto paper and ended up with this bird design because I wanted the sculpture to be as high a possible. I would have liked to make a spider but the amount of metal was the main limiting factor.

After sketching ideas onto paper I worked in Fusion 360 to create a shape that I would be happy with. An important factor about different 3d shapes is that things don't always look the same in real life as they do on screen. Through my everyday work and DIY experience I have learned that it is very good to see things on larger scale even in a simple form (paper/cardboard) before starting the build. Shapes in real life tend not look as good as they look on screen and this small amount of extra work might end up saving time and money in the long run. Even with this bird (which might look as a simple 3d shape) I ended up changing angles and dimensions several times before being happy with the shape that I cut out of paper (the paper hanging on the wall is not the final shape).

Cutting, here I come!

The 3d model enables to take accurate measurements out of every flat surface. Knowing those angles and dimensions I marked right angles and points onto the sheet using an angle protractor tool and measuring tape. A thin piece of wood (slat?) is a good material to use as a guide for the cutting disk. A straight line is the most important nuance to catch because this enables to avoid most of the welding onto the outer side of the sculpture.

Welding is not very difficult but it takes time because everything needs to sit well together. If you have an extra pair of hands to use then I highly recommend it. I decided to make most of the welding spots to the inside of the construction because grinding the welds down on the outside would be an extra work and it wouldn’t be a very simple work to do because the lines/corners of the surfaces have to stay as straight as possible.

First I welded together the outer pieces of the body. Then I added one L – profile to the inside of the body. This is the place where the leg is going to be welded and adding this L-profile will make the construction stiffer. This sheet metal is not that thick and the bird is not very short either. It won’t rust away immediately but over time this will happen and this is the first place where it would brake.

To the inside of the leg I added one piece of U-profile I had lying around. I did so because I wanted to have as little small welds on the outer side as possible (I grinded those few flat as well) and also this piece adds some strength and durability to the construction in long term. The sheet metal will eventually rust away and this U-profile will add some resistance to a sudden fall.

The piece of metal which is at the lower end of the leg needs to be something thicker. I had some 8 mm thick sheet metal from previous project and used that. Onto that piece I welded a M14 bolt which I needed to attach the bird to the concrete base. Welding the neck and head piece to their right place was just some more welding job.

Something needs to hold the bird up. I made a simple concrete base with a hole in it. Making a simple square shaped mold for concrete is easy. I had a short piece of water pipe from my house build which I glued into its place with inside the mold. This will leave a big enough hole inside the concrete to bolt the bird to its place. The bird is not in the centre of the base because it leans forward and in that position the base can work a bit better against falling over.

After everything is welded together it is easy to just attach the bird to the base weight with a single nut. Thanks to its length it is easy to lift the bird up. I am happy with the end result, it fits well into the garden.