Almost every Christmas, people look for a gift to give to that person who has everything. They search and search to no avail. Homemade welding gifts are different than anything you can find in the store. You can also use the welding projects as Christmas decorations for your own home. Start with one or two, and you might have people asking you to make one for them.
Horseshoe Wreaths
Collect or buy small horseshoes. Buy the ones for ponies and they will work great. Do not use the larger horseshoes, as the wreath gets very heavy. Paint the horseshoes with a black satin spray paint, making sure to get into all the nooks and crannies and paint both sides. Lay the horseshoes out in a circle, layering the edge of one on top of the previous one until you get the size you want. Weld the horseshoes together. Give the wreath another coat of the spray paint if necessary. Add a Christmas fabric or raffia bow to complete the wreath.
Take any leftover horseshoes and weld two of them together perpendicularly. Make two sets of these to use as bookends to give away as Christmas gifts.
Ornaments
Get some sheet metal and make some Christmas ornaments. Trace out a design on the sheet metal and cut them out. Make 3-dimensional ornaments by cutting out the three shapes and welding the sides of the ornaments together. This works especially well with Christmas tree ornaments. Cut a hole in the top of the ornament where you can loop a string through for hanging. Lightly sand the ornaments and paint them using paint especially for metals.
Yard Decorations
Design a stable, church, stocking, snowman or any other yard decoration you want. Use ¼-inch rolled steel to heat, bend and weld the shape together. Weld a couple of 14-inch lengths of the metal to the bottom of each design to put in the ground and hold the design upright when on display. Prime and paint each design. Wrap outside lights around the welded metal frames and put them in your yard to share with everyone who drives by.
To add multiple parts to your design, such as smoke coming out of a chimney, make separate pieces and attach them by welding with another length of the rolled steel. Then only wrap the lights around the portions of the design you want to light up.
Tags: each design, lights around, rolled steel, sheet metal, spray paint
