A behind-the-scenes look at the raw materials, fresh welds, and upcoming sculptures currently taking shape on my workbench
The Hole-Saw & Sprocket Bouquet
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Prepping automotive components on the bench for the floral bouquet. The distinct, tapered petals of this unique flower are carefully cut from a salvaged car clutch diaphragm spring plate. These high-grade spring steel segments provide a beautiful, clean symmetry that perfectly contrasts with the raw, rugged mechanical textures of the sprockets and hole-saws.
A sharper, aggressively industrial look on the workbench. This unique botanical variant features jagged flower heads upcycled from worn workshop hole-saws and mechanical engine sprockets, balanced by a distinct geometric bloom meticulously crafted from salvaged automotive clutch pressure plate fingers. The entire assembly is solidly hand-welded onto ribbed rebar stalks
The Floorboard Nail Sunburst Head
Fabricating a striking sunburst flower head using heavy, salvage-grade floorboard nails. By carefully radiating the thick, hand-curved nails outwards from a heavy industrial central bolt, it creates a wonderfully dense, rustic sunflower outline that is completely solid and securely hand-welded.
This view showcases the complete multi-stem industrial flower arrangement fully assembled on the workshop floor. The towering centerpiece sunflower head stands proudly on a thick, structural ribbed rebar stalk, flanked gracefully by the three smaller nail and washer blooms supported on slender, hand-bent steel rods. The entire heavy-gauge botanical assembly is anchored permanently into a thick, salvaged automotive brake disc base, combining raw workshop fasteners and vehicle components into a beautifully balanced, heavy-duty garden sculpture with immense windproof stability.
The Spark Plug & Bolts Triple Bloom
The towering centerpiece bloom features a brilliant sunburst pattern meticulously hand-welded from a ring of salvaged automotive spark plugs with their distinct white ceramic insulators. This is flanked by a left bloom crafted from thick wheel bolts radiating out from a circular wire wheel brush core, and a right bloom formed from industrial threaded studs and structural fasteners.
The entire multi-stem arrangement stands on sweeping, hand-bent steel rebar stalks anchored into a heavy, reclaimed automotive brake disc base for maximum windproof garden stability. This sculpture is still a work-in-progress, with plans to weld tall, organic metal leaves coming up from the heavy brake rotor foundation to complete the silhouette.
The Horseshoe Horned Owl
A characterful woodland creature taking form on the welding bench. Designed specifically as a rustic wall or fence-hanging sculpture, the body and distinct brow of this horned owl are formed from a pair of reclaimed iron horseshoes. A couple of heavy industrial hex nuts and a salvaged metal spike give the bird its sharp, focused expression. The entire figure is tacked securely onto a textured perch meticulously built from ribbed steel construction rebar and hand-welded offcuts to simulate a split-wood branch.
Interested in an Upcoming Piece?
If you see a sculpture taking shape on this page that you would love to own, you can secure it before completion. All of my workshop creations can be purchased in their raw, natural "rusty" steel finish—bypassing the chemical rust conversion and clear lacquer stages—allowing the vintage metal to naturally weather and develop a rich, living patina in your garden over time.
Because every sculpture is a completely unique, one-of-a-kind original, please email me directly at info@scrap-metal-art.co.uk to check availability, discuss custom adjustments, or claim a build straight off the bench.