Welded Nail Christmas Tree Ornament

This ornament is a creche' I saw on eBay.  Antique square cut nails (2nd photo in this step) lend themselves to artwork of all kinds.  See also my Instructable on making a Jerusalem cross for hanging on the wall. 

Square cut concrete nails are now available in the USA as a standard item at Lowe's and Home Depot stores.  These nails are heavy enough to weld without burning them away.  I have made this ornament using 1/16" #6013 rod on a 220 volt stick welder and also at a setting for 1/8" stock on a flux core wire feed welder.

Step 1: Begin with the shed roof

I weld small parts on a piece of aluminum angle clamped in a vise.  The aluminum allows me to weld small parts and takes away excess heat that would cause the part to melt and blow away.  Place two nails tip to tip at an angle associated with a shed roof.  Weld them together lightly.  You do not need a lot of strength.  At the same time, knock the slag away before disturbing the setup to make certain there is fusion between the two pieces. 

Comments

[poofrabbit]

I really like this a lot, I enjoy the symbolism with the nails...lovely.

[Phil B]

Thank you. As I mentioned, the design is not original with me. It is great that these square cut nails have become widely available through home improvement stores. Generally the nails are 2 1/2 inches long, but I recently saw a couple of other sizes at Home Depot. Did you see the welded Jerusalem Cross I made with these nails? (Click on the hot link in the previous sentence.) My daughter is an art teacher in a Tennessee high school. She was also a contestant on TLC's "Craft Wars." Her episode was broadcast June 26, and she won.

[poofrabbit]

That is really awesome about your daughter! I will check out the Jerusalem cross, I'm sure I will be just as impressed. :)

[AngryRedhead]

Very cool and appropriately symbolic.

 

[Phil B]

Thank you and a Merry Christmas to you.

[mikeasaurus]

I think the last picture would make a better intro picture, gives people an idea of what you've made.

Got any other welds using these antique nails that aren't religious?

[Phil B]

I had an idea.  The "beefy" nature of the nail heads made me think these nails could be used for legs and feet in sculptures of animals, like a Clydesdale horse.  I am not sure what you would do for the body, perhaps something with metal tubes.

[mikeasaurus]

was thinking something more like this:

[Phil B]

That is good.  Did you do it?

[mikeasaurus]

no, I found it somewhere on the internet.
Though a good sculpture it's not my taste, though this one is (and it looks like it uses similar nails as the ones you have!):

[Phil B]

The nails do appear to be very similar.  I see brazing, but do not know if the nails were tack welded and then covered with brazing, or if the nails were held in a fixture and brazed in place.  Thanks for sharing this.

[mikeasaurus]

Either way, judging from the work posted in your instructable I'd say your qualified to try something like this.

Experiment and post the results!

[Phil B]

Thank you for your vote of confidence. 

[Phil B]

I gave serious thought to using the last picture in the Introduction, and argued pro's and con's with myself before settling on referring people to the last step in the Introduction for a picture of the finished project.  Once I did an Instructable on making a carbon arc torch for a 230 volt stick welder and had the same dilemma with it, too.  I resolved it the same way.  You could be right, though. 

So far I have not had an idea for a non-religious object using this type of nail.  These nails lend themselves so well to religious themes hinting at the Crucifixion.  It might be possible to utilize nails in a Western cowboy theme, but those would likely be horseshoe nails.  Again, this ornament is a copy of an ornament I saw on eBay.  It is not original with me.

Thank you for your comment.

[lemonie]

That wasn't what I was thinking of, but by leaving the finished product until last we see it coming together in stages. I think you'd probably be best with the on tree.jpg as image #1, for the thumbnail view at least, it's nice.

L

[prestux]

Well done!
Very inspirational.

[Phil B]

Thank you.  I showed this Instructable to a woman I know.  Now she wants one of these.  Her friend saw it, too, and she also wants one.  I had already planned to make a couple as Christmas gifts.  Be forewarned!