Horseshoe Crafting
A few years ago I was working in manufacturing and was in the same building a welder and I had gotten to know him quite well.
He had spent many years welding pipe and steel panels and was certainly bored with the trade.
He was kind enough to show me a few tips of the trade so I went out a purchased a small MIG flux core wire welding machine, proper helmet and welding gloves.
Safety Disclaimer
Practice Safety – Always
Please wear all the recommended safety gear for any of your DIY projects.
All these projects require wearing ANSI approved eye and face protection, hearing protection, approved gloves and the proper dust mask or respirator.
This is not a complete list as each project is slightly different. Please follow the manufacturer’s instructions that come with your tools and/or chemicals that will give you many specific safety tips and required safety gear that is not mentioned here.
Get proper training and seek professional advice if you are uncomfortable using a specific tool or tools before taking on any project.
Please follow those specific instructions as they are designed to keep safe and injury free.
There are quite a few different welder models and prices out there so best to check out the reviews online before purchasing.
I searched for ideas and came upon some horseshoe art projects photos.
Pinterest which is another huge visual search engine was the best resource for ideas and inspiration.
You can organize and save items to your own boards for future reference when you sign up for a free account.
It was amazing what one could do with a few horseshoes, a grinder and a small welding machine.
Fortunately I knew a girl who owned and rescued horses and was glad to get rid of the shoes.
She also gave me some old stirrups and bits and with a little imagination you can add these to your creations.
I found out though that cleaning them was going to be a pain with all the rusted nails and embedded stones so I bought a new few pair to get some projects started as they were fairly inexpensive.
There are a few tutorials on YouTube that shows how to properly clean used and rusted shoes if you have the time and motivation.
It’s important to use brand new shoes if you are making anything that’s going to be on a table or near food and they still need to be cleaned and disinfected just to be safe.
You may also want to sand them first with a rough grit sandpaper like 80 grit to remove the grey primer coating before disinfecting.
I used bleach and water, one part bleach to three parts water and let soak for a few minutes.
Whoa Cowboy, Hold your wine
The projects that caught my attention first were unique looking functional items that held wine bottles and had a country rustic theme.
After a few tries with the help of magnetic holders and steel clamps you can get the hang of welding them together properly.
I used a standard size wine bottle as a template, measure twice weld once and finally got everything dialed in.
Then you remove the weld splatter with a steel brush, smoothed out the welds using an epoxy filler and gave them a rough sanding.
Then I cleaned them with a damp cloth and added a little spray paint to give them a rustic look.
It’s best to use spray paint as I find it is easier to get into the corners and you can blend two colors together for a custom look.
Black with the edges lightly sanded off was a popular look for shoe crafts today.
These sold fairly quickly at a local consignment store along with several other simple design variations.
We sell our products mostly locally at Merry’s Mercantile, a unique antique and specialty store in Bentley, Alberta.
Merry the owner was happy to take our wares on a consignment basis and so far things are selling regularly. Maybe there is a store in your area that would love to take your creations.
You can check out her store website here at: www.merrysmercantile.com.
Also you can see what she is up to on her on her blog at:
merryabouttown.com and on her Instagram page.
The social media sites and online marketplace sites are also a great place to sell your creations.
Many people today are looking for unique and different country style decorating ideas and don’t have a lot of interest or time to do it themselves so this creates a market for your handmade items.
As you complete a project and are pleased with the outcome, you gain confidence and knowledge to take on more challenging tasks.
These are a few other design ideas that were completed later.
These are easy to complete for yourself and are are popular items to sell to others.
You can check out more items similar to these on our webpage here.
- Use the proper PPE (personal protective equipment) Safety First when using any power tool, painting and working with cleaning chemicals etc.
- Horseshoe art is a great way to create unique custom projects that sell in specialty stores and online with a few basic welding skills and creativity
- Wine holders, boot racks, coat racks are all functional items that are easy to make using a small welding machine
- You can mix and blend different colors of spray paint for unique effects
- Check out specialty stores and online marketplaces in your area to sell your creations
