ausfire Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 You wouldn't want to stub your toe on this guy. There's some weight there. My son is a fitter for a mining company and he gave me a heap of old bearings from some massive pump he reconditioned. They fit together pretty well for the body of this hippo. His head is a piece that is used to hang the glass insulators on power transmission lines. It was heavily coated with zinc and took some acid to remove it. Those heads look a lot like the head of a moose too. Now, there's an idea ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Does it have a little tail? A hippo has a little tail that doesn't make sense on a critter that big till you see them taking a dump. Then just stand clear. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Yep, he has a tail made from one of those steel pegs that piano wire wraps around. Just not visible in the pic. We had a big heap of old pianos to get rid of, so I saved the steel pegs. We fed the rest to the steam engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old South Creations Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 cute! nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 How much piano wire do you have? Neat stuff piano wire. Were I into the dark side and making pattern welded billets I'd be awfully tempted to try wrapping a medium C bar with piano wire in a relatively open wrap and put it in a steel can or between mild flat stock and weld it up. It might make for a nice pattern. I don't play on the dark side though so I'll probably never know. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hah. How'd I miss this guy. Nice. That piece does make for a good head for one. Shame it's heavily zinced. I'm sure Frosty could send you some moose pictures for inspiration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Maybe. NatGeo has a good spread. There are some pretty amusing videos, some cute and sweet, some violent, some frighteningly stupid, some adult. A bull in the rut may mistake your yard sculpture or propane tank for a lady. You just do NOT want to get close when they're in the rut. Unless that is you wish to fill your freezer. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ausfire Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Got loads of piano wire Frosty. Don't know why, but our mechanic wound up a fair bit of it for some reason. High tensile stuff. I have no idea what pattern welded billets are but I have heard of people doing things with melted chain saw chains. Do you know a Ruston steam engine will run all afternoon on a piano? Those ivory keys make the boiler crackle though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 A pattern welded billet is sometimes called Damascus and generally used for blades though someone just posted a stunningly beautiful pattern welded hammer. They're actually IVORY keys? Those aught to be pretty valuable, it isn't legal to take ivory anymore but old ivory is grandfathered. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Yes I have saved the old ivory and ebony keys off of scrapped pianos for knifemaking. Celluloid keys would probably make the boiler sit up and take notice indeed! Now the hippo needs an additional bird and 2 ewes for that traditional song "Hippo Birdie Two Ewes" traditionally sung at natal day celebrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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