The Dragonfly

A while ago I posted about the railroad spike crickets (grasshoppers) that my father made when I was a kid and how I started making them again.

I made a few of them and then immediately started thinking about other things I could make using the same basic idea, and you know, dragonflies are pretty cool and the railroad spike is the right shape and all…

The first one I made (not pictured), I cut the wings out of a piece of sheet metal using my angle grinder and a cut-off wheel, then refined the rough shape with my bench grinder.

Damn, that was a lot of work.

Then I discovered guys out there like @whiteravenartistry and @john_norris_metal_sculpture who were making some pretty awesome stuff with silverware. SILVERWARE!

Like, WTF!? You can DO that!? I don’t think I ever would have thought of that on my own in a bajillion years, so thanks, guys! (Seriously, check their stuff out if you’re into metal work.)

And that’s where this guy came from. Railroad spike, thin steel rod, and cheapy butter knives for wings.

Now I just need to get off my butt and work on my lightning bug idea.