So, at the start of 2022 I made a resolution to “teach myself something new” — and the “something” ended up being welding a sculpture out of stainless steel washers. Random, I know.
I decided to write up how I did it in this article, in case it interests anyone, or anyone wants to try making their own.
Getting Started — the mould
I decided I needed something to use as a mould for the welding — after all, I’m not capable enough to model a bust out of stainless steel washers in thin air. Step one therefore, was finding some sort of plastic bust.
Luck played a part in me finding one at a local reclaim yard for about 6 UK pounds. Clearly it was used to model clothes in a clothes shop, as you can see:
After a bit of thinking, it was clear that I couldn’t weld directly on to the surface of the plastic or I’d melt it and make a terrible mess, so the next step was to make a mould from the mould, if that makes any sense.
I chose concrete for this task and hence built a shallow wooden frame, filled it with concrete, laid the plastic mould into it and weighed it down with concrete sacks. After about a week of curing, I took the plastic mould out and this is what I was left with:
This was an exceptionally heavy mould, but sturdy and hence could be used for more than one sculpture if needed. In fact, the more I looked at it, the more this looked like a piece of art in its own right!
Welding
I had no previous experience of welding, but had friends who had used MIG welders with large canisters of oxygen for welding cars etc. I decided I didn’t want all the hassle of sourcing gas, so went for a gasless welder — this one in fact:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09F8W5STR
Also required for the sculpture was a LOT of stainless steel washers, these I sourced from eBay.
The next step was actually to start welding. This is surprisingly awkward — i.e. the process of welding the first couple of washers — because there’s nothing to attach the welders earth clamp to. So I ended up holding it against one washer while I welded the next to it, at least until enough washers had been welded together.
After a while, and having welded sufficient washers together, I was able to get the earth clamp to hold itself in place:
As you can imagine, the process was just rinse-and-repeat after this: grab a washer, position it, then weld.
Polishing and finishing
Eventually, I’d decided I had enough for my first sculpture, and then the process of polishing it began.
I used various wire brushes mounted in a drill and went back and forth over the surface of the sculpture until I was happy with the results.
And that is how I made my first sculpture from stainless steel washers!
For context, here’s what it looks like placed back over the original plastic mould:
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this article and might just feel inspired enough to try something like this for yourself!
