It's Father's day tomorrow, (or maybe yesterday by the time I get this finished) and I need to hook up my three fathers with presents.

Well, I dabble in (amongst other things) steel artwork. I like using reclaimed steel as it is recycling, inexpensive and I get to make some fairly cool stuff! I try to model my animals after the real thing and usually search out a bunch of pictures of the various forms of the animal before building one. Remember this is just a representation, not an anatomically correct model.

These are made from garage door opener chain (same as a bicycle chain, just longer) and some drop off from a metal fabrication shop. I try to collect a box/bag/bucket full of anything I see in quantity. Of course the materials you find will not be identical but the process is the same.

I recommend starting out with the flat one (on the right) and them moving up to the 3D wall climbing model.

Step 1: Tools

Tools: You will need the following:

A fully functional Brain - Some of these processes are inherently dangerous. Always use the proper safety precautions and donÃ¢â¬â¢t work over your head.
WelderÃ¢â¬â¢s protective gear (a shade 10 helmet and gloves at a minimum)
A fire suppression device (AKA garden hose)
A welder Ã¢â¬â I use my trusty, dusty Miller 135 with a 25% CO2 and 75% Argon mix and .030 wire. I greatly prefer MIG (Metallic Inert Gas) over wire feed (flux cored wire) as the splatter is almost nonexistent and I get more steel for the buck.
A good solid work surface (or a cheesy one and an anvil)
A hammer (AKA a Bingy Bangy!)
An assortment of pliers
A grinder (angle grinder of pneumatic grinder Ã¢â¬â your choice)
Curved forms such as a roll of tape or coffee can or other such roundness

Optional but helpful tools:
Welding magnet(s)
Small punch(s) (starting punch and/or drive pin punch)
An oxygen & acetylene torch (a propane torch will also work for chain this small)

Step 2: Materials

For this project I used:

Bicycle (or garage door opener, or go kart or any other small type) chain
Metal fab shop drop-off. As mentioned earlier, you probably will not find identical material. You can substitute anything your imagination can come up with. Nails are the first thing that pops into my mind, IÃ¢â¬â¢m sure you can think of many others.

Step 3: Cut the Bodies to Length

Decide how long your centipede will be. then cut a length of chain for the body.

I'm building three so I needed three lengths.

Step 4: Finish the Ends (Free Bonus Lesson!)

In any design, terminations and connections are what draw the eye (Thanks Mr. Belt), so I like to finish the ends of the chain by removing the cut link.

Free bonus lesson! - This is also how you properly shorten a chain!

Grind off the head of the pin.

Align the outer plate of the chain over a hole in your work surface or anvil so when the pin is driven through it will fall through the hole.
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Using a starting punch and a hammer, punch out the pin. Be sure to support the outer plate as close to the pin as possible. This will minimize distortion of the chain.

Step 5: Prep Chain for Welding

If you have ever tried to weld a chain before, you probably have noticed they tend to be coated in grease or oil. This makes the MIG welding process tad bit difficult. An easy way around it its to burn off the oil before welding.

Coil up the chain on your heavy duty work surface.

Use your torch to heat up the chain and burn off the oil. You will be left with a light grey coating of ash and a chain ready to weld.

Step 6: Align the Body and Weld It!

Using your protective gear and welder, set your welder on a low setting and practice on some scrap chain. When you are confident you can weld the chain without burning through then...

Using your curve template (roll of tape, coffee can etc...) set the chain so it resembles your version of a centipede.

If you are going to make the centipede look like it is climbing a wall, leave a straight section in the middle (or wherever you'd like) so you can bend it later.

Using your protective gear and welder, weld the plates of the chain together. I find that if I start in the middle of an inner plate and move to the outer plate, then back toward the other outer plate I burn through less.

If you are having great difficulties, try pulse welding it. Just pull the trigger for a fraction of a second, wait and do it again until you have the chain welded solid on the outside.

Step 7: Bend It If You Dare!

Bending a small chain like this is a bit iffy. You have to heat up the link that will be on the outside of the curve and stretch it. If you try to heat up the entire link, you will collapse the plate on the inside of the curve.

I used my Oxy-Acetylene torch but a propane torch should be hot enough to get the link to glow.

Get a piece of pipe to bend the chain around.

Tack a vertical surface to your work surface to simulate a wall

Only heat one or two links at a time.

Make your bends slowly and gradually - remember, you can always heat it up and bend it some more.

To get a more graceful curve, heat the links where you welded the plates and bend them as well.

Step 8: Preforming the Legs

The industrial drop off is very, very sharp, IÃÂ¢Ã¢ÂÂ¬Ã¢ÂÂ¢m OK with that as centipedes are really quite dangerous. When finished, these critters should not be handled by little children, just like the real ones.

I strive to get my models to be semi realistic so I didn't use the legs as I found them as it would have curved the legs inwards too much. What I did was straighten one tip of the curve (crescent?) so the legs would stick out more and give it a wider stance. (No politician jokes please!)

Of course if you are using nails for legs, youÃÂ¢Ã¢ÂÂ¬Ã¢ÂÂ¢ll have to put a curve into them rather than take it out.

Hold the leg against the edge of the anvil (or heavy duty work surface) with a pair of pliers so there is a small bit of the curve sticking up.

Strike the curve with the hammer (bingy bangy) so it flattens out the curve. If the edge of your work surface leaves a ding in the inner edge of the leg, dress the sharp edge of the work surface with a grinder.

Step 9: Adding the Legs

I alternate the legs left to right in each opening of the chain.

Use a welding magnet to hold the body to the table. Remember to try not to conduct current through the magnet itself, rather conduct it through the work surface.

Using a pair of pliers, hold the straightened tip of the leg through the body, and weld it from the opposite side. I tried to fill the hole in the link completely as it strengthens the body.

Don't worry if you don't get the leg in the exact position. They are quite easy to bend after it is all welded together.

I usually do all of one side first, skipping every other link, then add the legs to the other side.

Step 10: Adding the Head and Tail.

I cannot distinguish between the head and tail of any centipede. Therefore I;m not too worried about specific nomenclature. Suffice to say that one end is the front, and the other is the back. I figure the straighter end are the tails (stingers in the back), and the outreaching ones are the heads (feelers in the front). I'm sure some of the bug fans out there in instructable land will be able to clarify this for us.

I used the same crescents for the head and tail, I just straightened them out further.

Form your stingers and feelers.

Holding them with a pair of pliers, weld them to the roller at the end of the chain. Add a bit of extra weld as they will be sticking out and are easy to bend or break off. This will also add a bit of visual mass for appearance.