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I Forge Iron

another mantid (giant size)


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Been making a few praying mantids (or mantises if you like) so I thought it was time to make a big guy. This one stands 650 mm high. The body is a shaft from my son's Nissan race car gearbox, which makes the whole thing quite weighty. Took a bit of slogging in the forge to taper the end a bit. The front legs are made from a combination of bolts, flattened chain links and motorcycle sprocket pieces. Legs are rebar.

Here he is (with a few of his smaller mates):

 

mantid1.JPG

mantid2.JPG

mantid3.JPG

mantid4.JPG

mantid5.JPG

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14 hours ago, Nodebt said:

Awesome bug!  I like how you straightened out those sproket pieces, Ill try that in the future.  It's probably been discussed before but I havent seen it, do you clearcoat your creations?  Scott.

The big mantis is not coated ... just as I finished welding it.

I will probably give it a spray of clear coat (that American stuff - Rustoleum Clear - is good) or sometimes, if it's likely to live outdoors, I will use Rustmasters. It's a little gummier than clear coat but holds up well in the weather. Alternatively you can just let them rust.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Here's another one. Not as big as the giant one, but quite robust. The body is a steering worm drive from an old truck and it must be the hardest steel I have ever hammered. Even cut over half way through it was still difficult to bend at orange heat.

mant 1.JPG

mant 2.JPG

mant3.JPG

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