MIG Welded Turtle

This cute scrap metal turtle is easy to make and doesn't require much!

You're going to need:

Access to a MIG welding machine.

1 thin piece of scrap metal for the base (I used a 2" flat round plate)

2 1 1/2" washers for the body.

7 hex nuts for the shell (Size depends on the look you are going for. I just grabbed random ones from my misc bucket).

1 threaded bolt for head and neck.

We're going to start with making the body. Take the two washers and hammer each into a curved shape. Then when you put them together there will be a hole on either side, kind of like these parentheses (). The holes will be the front and the back of the turtle. Tack weld the sides of the washers together. One tack on either side should be enough.

Next grab the scrap you're using for the base and hold the washers on it. Add 4 tack welds on the corners, these are going to be the feet. Be careful not to hold the flux too long or you'll burn a hole through your base! I did that on one of the feet but stopped before it became too bad. It's better to add on extra in layers than just wait for a big flux puddle. We're not worried about strength, this is art.

Take the bolt and tack weld it into the hole between the washers. Make sure it's a nice angle. To create the nose/face of the turtle simple tack a big glob onto the front of the bolt. This will add the nice face shape and add a lot of character.

Now we're going to add the turtle's shell. Start tack welding one of the outer hex nuts first. Then add your middle hex nut and tack weld it on the top to the previous hex nut. Both of them should be holding on their own now. Add the rest of the hex nuts around in a circle and tack weld in the creases. If your tack welds are sticking up on the top, grind them down to make it smooth.

Now your turtle is ready to live on your desk or in your bookshelf! If you want you could polish it more, but personally I like the darker colors.