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Pushed by unfolding events, a crop of "For Sale" signs has been popping up all over the country this summer; selling houses, boats, cars, motorcycles, RVs, and many other things. A lot of these signs are made from thin sheet steel or aluminum. One might inquire on Craigslist about possible used signs, or perhaps harvest directly from the sale or purchase of something. At the end of the last step, there are some other bowls I have made with this method, out of license plates and a stop sign. Pretty much any thin sheet metal will work.
The idea is to stress the metal up into a bowl shape without having to use any welding or complicated tools. By making a few slits here and holes there, you can bend, fold, and pin the metal together pretty quickly with some tin snips and a drill.
Assuming the sign is free, only a couple bucks' worth of fasteners are needed. Tin snips or a Dremel, pliers, a drill, a wrench, a screwdriver, and a ratchet would be handy to have close. Only takes an hour or two; most of the time is actually laying out the cuts more so than the actual construction.
It uses the same basic principles of this chair on a smaller scale: http://www.instructables.com/id/Nine_Square_Chair/
For sale here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28562050
The idea is to stress the metal up into a bowl shape without having to use any welding or complicated tools. By making a few slits here and holes there, you can bend, fold, and pin the metal together pretty quickly with some tin snips and a drill.
Assuming the sign is free, only a couple bucks' worth of fasteners are needed. Tin snips or a Dremel, pliers, a drill, a wrench, a screwdriver, and a ratchet would be handy to have close. Only takes an hour or two; most of the time is actually laying out the cuts more so than the actual construction.
It uses the same basic principles of this chair on a smaller scale: http://www.instructables.com/id/Nine_Square_Chair/
For sale here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=28562050
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Signing UpStep 1Drills/Cuts
All dimensions are approximate; tweak to fit the size of sign that you have. Refer to lines on sign in pictures to guide your rough geometry.
Decide how big you want the bowl to be -- the walls on this one are about 3" wide. Measure 3" in from each side and run lines to create a smaller rectangle offset inside the original perimeter.
Then measure 2" down from each corner in each direction. Connect these lines so each corner is "clipped." Measure the midpoint of the cut line. Connect that midpoint to the corner of your small rectangle. This is the center cut line to create the triangular fins at each corner that turn the sign from flat to bowl-shaped.
Clip off corners. Drill a hole at each corner of the inside rectangle. The corner holes on this bowl were 5/8"; choose whatever bolts you have handy for the bowl's "feet" and drill accordingly.
Then, bisect each triangular "tab" you have now created, measure an inch or so down, and drill hole 3/16" or so on each side. Refer to photographs for placement.
Cut down the centerline of your "tabs" into each corner hole.
Decide how big you want the bowl to be -- the walls on this one are about 3" wide. Measure 3" in from each side and run lines to create a smaller rectangle offset inside the original perimeter.
Then measure 2" down from each corner in each direction. Connect these lines so each corner is "clipped." Measure the midpoint of the cut line. Connect that midpoint to the corner of your small rectangle. This is the center cut line to create the triangular fins at each corner that turn the sign from flat to bowl-shaped.
Clip off corners. Drill a hole at each corner of the inside rectangle. The corner holes on this bowl were 5/8"; choose whatever bolts you have handy for the bowl's "feet" and drill accordingly.
Then, bisect each triangular "tab" you have now created, measure an inch or so down, and drill hole 3/16" or so on each side. Refer to photographs for placement.
Cut down the centerline of your "tabs" into each corner hole.
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Yeh, but luckily we don't have that many foreclosures here in Australia. We are one of only two first world countries that has avoided the recession (I think the other was South Korea).
Kevin Rudd has willfully accepted credit for this: clearly it was his good management that kept us out of the recession ... NOT!
If it wasn't for the hard work and saving of the Howard government in the 12 years prior to KRudd, we would not be where we are now...
Unfortunately, I think Obama will soon be voted out of office, as is the case with Rudd. I would have loved to have seen the first black President of the United States be a success, but it seems as though he will turn out to be full of hot air like Rudd has. Yeh, okay, health care reform, I know. But I was expecting a lot more.
coroplast is one trade name --