Dolphins In Steel mail - box stand art

by Dick
(New Milford, PA)

Dolphins In Steel

A few summers ago, one of our neighborhood kids went on a mail box and fence wrecking spree (7 boxes, 1 fence) with her boy friend's car. 4 of the boxes happened to be on the 5 year old stand which I built and maintained. An adult associated with the girl made an attempt to keep the kid out of more trouble than she could afford and cobbed the stand back together. It just looked ugly!

I own a Lincoln Pro MIG 175 welder and Hobart Airforce 400 Plasma Cutter. After 2 years of light and medium duty hobby and maintenance welding repairs, I had a desire to do delve into a little artistic work. My wife is a Dolphin fan (in many senses) and she also wanted the mail box stand fixed. I did the repair and made her an early Christmas gift in one - creating Dolphins In Steel.

The main panel is made from 12 ga. stainless sheet. I used the plasma cutter to cut the dolphin shapes, which I traced from pictures onto the metal and free-handed the wave patterns. The primary upper and lower wave patterns were created by a single cut (except lower panel inset wave crests), then the upper portion reversed and modified slightly to present an alternating chaos of waves. The dolphins were positioned and sandwiched between the main lower and upper wave sections then spot MIG welded in place from the back. Spacer/brace pieces were welded into the ends to maintain the proper spacing and wave relief. The left and right posts are painted 2 in. black pipe with 3/4 x 1/4 in. steel strap brackets welded on for panel mounting. The panel was worked with a sanding disk to create varying sheens at different viewing angles. It did turn out nice and she was pleased.