Horseshoe Nail Cross

This is a neck cross made of horseshoe nails featuring a braze accent in its center. I needed to make fifteen of them for an awards ceremony at a local church.

Materials

1. 2 Inch Horseshoe Nails (4 per cross)
2. Brazing rod
3. Flux

Tools

1. Metal cutting bandsaw
2. Aluminum bar
3. Two small washers
4. Spring clamps
5. MIG welder
6. Wire wheel
7. Grinding wheel
8. Dremel tool with a grinding stone
9. MAP gas torch
10. Masking tape
11. Measuring tools
12. Hammer
13. Needle nose pliers
14. Clear spray lacquer

I sketched a well-proportioned Latin cross to decide on dimensions for the two lengths of nail pieces. The finished cross is 1 3/4 inches tall (45mm). The long base piece of the cross is one inch long (25mm). The pieces for the arms and the upper vertical piece are all 9/16 inch long (15mm). I placed a piece of masking tape on the table of my power metal cutting bandsaw. I made two marks, one for the length of each nail part.

Horseshoe nails often have a coating that interferes with welding. I used a grinding wheel to remove the coating back from the ends of the pieces about an eighth of an inch (3mm) on the back of each nail piece. I also ground the end of each nail piece to remove any burrs.

See the first photo. I want the back of the cross to be on the same plane. I need to add support at the weld joint to achieve that. Two small washers add the right amount of thickness.

See the second photo. I am clamping nail pieces to a piece of aluminum bar 1/8 x 1 inch. The aluminum bar was mounted in a vise. The welder ground clamp was attached to the vise. Begin by positioning and clamping the two arm pieces. I set them at a slight diagonal to keep the nail heads on the 1 inch aluminum bar for better clamping. I am using 1 inch spring clamps. Removing the soft plastic tips first is a good idea, but the results are good if the plastic tips are still in place, too.

See the third photo. Add the upper vertical piece. I visually aligned the pieces to be straight and at a right angle to the other pieces. Usually that was sufficient.

See the fourth photo. Position and clamp the long base piece.

See the fifth photo. A weld bead from top to bottom across the joint area secures the pieces very well.

See the sixth photo. If you remove the clamps and turn the welded cross over it should look like this. Braze will cover the seams where metal pieces meet.

I welded on the back side so the pieces would stay in alignment later during brazing.

Use a grinding stone in a Dremel tool to smooth the front area over the joints and to remove the coating on the nails. I used a plumber's flux for sweating copper tubing to make the braze flow better. I used a MAP gas torch and a firebrick for the brazing process.

I used scrap from Step 1 to make a loop for a cord or lanyard. Place a waste piece from cutting one of the shorter pieces. Support one end with the head of an extra nail. Align it over the head of the top nail on the back side of the cross. (I ground away the anti-corrosion coating first.) Clamp with a spring clamp. Weld. Trim the scrap piece so only about 1/2 to 5/8 inch (12 to 15mm) sticks up above the head of the nail.

Place the cross into a vise. Use a MAP gas torch to heat and soften the scrap of nail that will become the loop. Heating the scrap piece makes bending very easy. See the second photo. Use a needle nose pliers to form the loop. Reheat as necessary. The third photo shows the completed loop. Add a small weld to close the loop.

I used a wire wheel to remove residue left from welding and to give the cross a nice finished look. The braze should look nice and clean. If anything is poorly aligned, try putting one part of the cross into a vise and use a hammer or a pliers to bend a little as necessary for a better appearance. When you are pleased with the result, seal with spray lacquer on back and front to protect from rust.

You can buy suitable cording at a store selling sewing supplies. Hobby Lobby in the USA has begun to stock more of such things now that JoAnn Fabrics has gone out of business.