I made this for my dad today. He has been grain farming since he was young, and I try to help around the farm when time permits, so I thought wheat would be suitable.



It is made of 1/2" round stock, with old band saw blades for leaves and 1/4" X 1" bar for the base. It stands about 5' tall.

Really nice work. Very creative. I'm sure he will love it.

the head of this, was it made by braiding or 4 twisted pieces? my eyes aren't what they used to be, I can't tell.

the head of this, was it made by braiding or 4 twisted pieces? my eyes aren't what they used to be, I can't tell.

I took 4 pieces of 1/2" round, each 30" long. I took 2 of the pieces and forge welded the ends together. I then twisted them around each other and repeated for the other pair. Then, I folded both pairs of twisted bars in half and put them all together and forge welded both ends of the bundle.

I learned how to do it from this thread:



Glenn sums it up much better that I probably am.

Very good Mark! nice to be able to give things to family that you make, don't think people do that enough these days.

Thanks Dennis. My wife is always searching etsy to try to get me to charge for my projects. I am hesitant to charge for it for a couple of reasons:

1. I don't think my work is a high enough quality to justify charging what some people think their stuff is worth
2. Blacksmithing gets me out from behind my desk. I enjoy doing it and don't think I need to get paid to have fun. All my project have been my own 'design' so I enjoy making it happen.

Now if someone wanted something really special and they wanted to pay me (i.e. a commissioned piece), I would consider it. But the quality of my work would have to be quite high in my eyes to justify it. I don't think my skill level is there yet.

Thanks Dennis. My wife is always searching etsy to try to get me to charge for my projects. I am hesitant to charge for it for a couple of reasons:

1. I don't think my work is a high enough quality to justify charging what some people think their stuff is worth
2. Blacksmithing gets me out from behind my desk. I enjoy doing it and don't think I need to get paid to have fun. All my project have been my own 'design' so I enjoy making it happen.

Now if someone wanted something really special and they wanted to pay me (i.e. a commissioned piece), I would consider it. But the quality of my work would have to be quite high in my eyes to justify it. I don't think my skill level is there yet.

Don't put yourself down, a client will judge what they think of your work, and experience has shown that the majority pay for what they like, without looking at the technical ability that went into making an object.

How many times have you seen work on sale that is not up to your standard, and yet being admired and bought at what you would regard as overpriced.

well said john - i totally agree - that looks way better than some stuff i see with a high price tag...! i really like it and im sure your dad will too - i have never tried that but it looks very cool on the end there, i like yr leaves too :)

Thanks for the pep talk John and Beth. Everyone I have shown it to has given it positive comments. As usual, I'm my own worst critic.

I guess it's hard to view your work as being worth much money when you compare it to some of the work that the heavy weights on this site put out. You look at their work and it seems pretty much flawless and perfectly executed, whereas I can pick out pretty much every mistake on the stuff I make.

That looks super nice Mark I like it !!
And the size is pretty much to scale with all the rain we had this year

I know what you mean about being your own worst critic...I look at stuff I've made and if I seen it for sale in a shop I probably wouldn't pay for it...because I can make it (and make it better the next time)...but a lot of people can't.

I'm going to use Brian Brazeal's horse-head bottle opener as an example of the many things I've seen that I think are just amazing and beyond my capability...but then I show my awful first corkscrew to people at work and they find it just fascinating. So I think it all depends on how you look at it.

Thanks Craig! You aren't kidding about the rain this year. It's been ridiculous. I have a friend that lost a section of lentils alone and his durham has sprouted while standing.

I started making smaller scale versions of these about 2' high out of 1/4" round stock, and they have been huge hits when I give them as gifts.

I started making smaller scale versions of these about 2' high out of 1/4" round stock, and they have been huge hits when I give them as gifts.

Yeah, and I'm sure people who see them in your friend's homes ask where they got them !! You should try making some without the stand and stick them into a block of wood together...kinda like the glass wheat field...but not glass...and not 14,000 of them
http://www.reginaplainsmuseum.com/glassWheatfield.php

I have a couple of wall hangings with some of those glass heads of wheat in them. They are very nice.

I was actually thinking of making a sheave of wheat like the old threshing crews used put through the thresher, but it would probably take more time and material than I have available. Plus, it would weigh 200 pounds...

I have a couple of wall hangings with some of those glass heads of wheat in them. They are very nice.

I was actually thinking of making a sheave of wheat like the old threshing crews used put through the thresher, but it would probably take more time and material than I have available. Plus, it would weigh 200 pounds...

That's a neat idea, but yeah...heavy

Nice!your dad should be tickled to death!!

Thank-you sir. My parents are very happy with it.

It's nice to have a dad around to make things for, they like that you know, makes them feel loved like nothing else can. :P

Yeah, my dad is an old-school farmer. My mom is very enthusiastic about it, the most my dad says is 'neat!' :D

Great work Mark!! Very nice.
Jason

Thanks Jason.

great work, keep it up! You must be the apple of your Dad's eye. I tied a simple knot in the ends of a piece of 6 mm rod, bent it in halves and twisted it together to make a key ring and gave it to my Dad, He couldn't comprehend how I did it. Everyone wants one but how do you charge friends of family for what takes just a few minutes.

Sask Mark,
I too am my own worst critic, but one thing I have learned is that the really good guys also know how to hide their mistakes better

None of us are perfect, although some of us come very close B)