Horseshoe Bull Rider

This summer I made a bull rider welded out of horseshoes and tools for a 4-H project.

To make this I used 5 and a half horseshoes, a vice grip, wrench, spade drill bit, washer, mig wire, and a cut up handkerchief.

And I used a MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welder, oxy-acetylene torch, metal bandsaw, bench grinder, vice, and vice grips to make the project.

 I cut off two ends of a horseshoe with the metal bandsaw, ground them to fit well against the vice grip, and welded them to the base as feet and to the vice grip for the body.

I then cut a horseshoe in half, taking out part of it in the middle and then welding it back together to make it smaller. I attached the legs at an angle at the back of the bull. For the tail I ground down the end of a spade drill bit and slid it in the hole at the end of the vise grip.

For the horns I took a wrench and cut off the end. I bent a hump in it with the oxy-acetylene torch and welded it on the head

For the rider I cut the torso and arms and bent those and the legs with the oxy-acetylene torch. I twisted MIG welding wire with a drill for the rope around the bull. I then welded that all together onto the bull. I finished it off with welding on a washer I bent for the hat. I completed the project with a piece of handkerchief for the cowboy’s scarf.

The entire project was heated with the oxy-acetylene torch and submerged in a bucket of oil to blacken it. for this step I took off the scarf.