Turn Scrap Nuts & Bolts Into People!

For as long as I can remember, we had boxes of nuts and bolts sitting in the shed, just gathering dust. I really wanted to take these things, there were essentially scrap, and make something cool.

The premise is quite simple, take the nuts and bolts, and weld them together into something cool, in my case a person reading a book, but the possibilities are almost endless for what you can make. I saw a 'WALL-E' online so I think that will have to be my next attempt.

• Welder (I used MIG, but an Arc Welder should work, just be more difficult)
• Angle Grinder / Hacksaw
• Bench Grinder / Metal File
• An assortment of scrap hardware (nuts, bolts, nails, ect.)
• Wire Brush
• Crocodile Clips
• Bench Vice

I want to prefix this step by stating that is only second time welding, and first time using a mig welder, so take everything I'm about to say with a pinch of salt.

I spent a bit of time experimenting with different settings, making sure that I got a good weld, without burning through the thin materials.

I started with attaching the head and torso together; for this I used a bolt and a nut. I knew I wanted this guy to be reading a book, so I he need to be looking down slightly, so I clamped the bolt that would make up the torso into a vice, and used a torch to heat it up, then a pair of pliers to bend it.

I then used a vice to hold the nut and bolt in position, this can be a little fiddly so be patient. I then did a few small tack welds to secure it. It's worth mentioning that the splatter from the welding can damage the vice, so either cover it or use an older one you don't mind getting stiff.

After getting the tack welds, I then continued to properly secure it in place. A wire brush is great to make it look shiny again.

For the legs I used two bolts. I put both of these into the vice, and used the torch and the pliers to bend them. I did both at the same time to make sure the bend was even. I then used an angle grinder to shorten the legs, and then the bench grinder to remove the rough edges; a hacksaw and metals files would work just as well though.

I then positioned the torso and legs on a block, in the position that I wanted. This is quite fiddly as well, and did take some trial and error. I then tack welded the legs into place. If you're using a metal block, be careful not to weld the legs or the torso to it!

I then completed the weld, being careful not to burn through the materials.

I used nails for the arms and some angle iron for the book. I started by using pliers and a torch to bend the arms, and an angle grinder to cut the angle iron down to size.

Using two blocks of metal, I positioned the arms so that they were holding the book, and then tack welded them into place. I then cut the overlap of the arms (sorry, I didn't take a picture of this) using an angle grinder, then a file to remove the rough edges them down.

Using a crocodile clip, I clipped it onto the body, and then placed the book and arms on top of that, then tack welded into place.

Finally, I used a wire brush over the whole thing to remove the splatter and to clean the whole thing up.