Smiling Through the Breakdown

Cars. Love them or hate them, they get us from A to B… until they break down.

Some breakdowns are minor. A flat tyre, a sensor, an easy fix. Others are catastrophic, the kind that leave your pride and joy undrivable without thousands of £/$/€ and weeks of work.

That’s exactly what happened to my beloved BMW 3 Series a few years ago. A timing chain snapped and destroyed the engine. Instead of paying a garage and waiting months, I stripped the car down in my workshop and enjoyed a few weeks rebuilding it myself.

But this Instructable isn’t about the rebuild.

It’s about creating art from failure.

Using the parts that failed, I created a smiley-face artwork that represents the joy you can still find in the aftermath of mechanical catastrophe. It now sits above my workbench as a reminder that failure can be celebrated, and sometimes even turned into something that makes you smile during the tougher moments of a build (or rebuild!)

1 set of failed items (in my case, the timing chain system)

1 display system (in my case, a deep picture frame from IKEA)

Cable ties, welding rod, paint - whatever you need for your own design!

The trick is to choose a display method that complements the failed items. Your particular failure might be more suited to a sculpture, or a paperweight.

You can't just throw things in a pile and call it art. Well... maybe you can.

But if you have a design in mind, you'll have to plan it. Experiment with the space you have and the parts you want to use, and figure out something that looks good and works well.

In my case, I took the backboard out of the picture frame, measured up the edges, and laid out the parts within that space.

It took a few reshuffles and some experimentation, but eventually I figured out a stylish smiley face that fitted within the space and made best use of the parts. I even managed to keep the main failed chain in the same twisted spiral I found it in, with a metallic teardrop falling.

I should note that the whole thing would have been easier if I'd cleaned the parts (a dishwasher does a beautiful job), but I like the "well used" effect the oily coating gives.

Once you have the layout, make a note of it. I traced loosely around the parts to keep track of what was going where, and took plenty of photos.

Then you have to figure out a mounting solution! To keep the parts in place while up on a wall, there are a number of options.

If your part is lightweight and has a suitable backing, glue or double-sided tape can work.

However, if your part is heavy and/or covered in oil (like, for example, engine parts!), you can use things like screws and cable ties. I mostly used clear cable ties, as they were able to blend in against the background.

I drilled small holes into the backboard to fit the cable ties.

Keeping the chains from flopping was more difficult, these needed welding together, see the next step!

ProTip: Do not weld directly on top of your nice wooden worktop. Turns out it takes a fair bit of heat to melt metal, which is guaranteed to burn your desk. Who knew 🤷‍♂️

Seriously though, take precautions. I didn't mind a bit of damage, and I had a fire extinguisher handy.

Welding was required to fix the chain into the smiley shape. To ensure it didn't affect the final look, I welded the reverse side. If you're forming a sculpture, it won't be as easy to hide the welds, so take more time than I did!

If you want advice on welding, look elsewhere on Instructables, you can see from my pictures that I'm no expert...

To make the artwork really stand out, you have to get the background just right too.

A nice matt/satin white base would be perfect for the black frame and dark metal/plastic parts, so I cleaned up the board and gave it a few layers of white paint. Due to the oily parts, I ensured the paint was compatible, make sure you do the same. Don't want your nice new artwork to dissolve itself!

Now you have all the parts ready, lets get them together!

Be extra careful to not get greasy parts in the wrong places or smudging the glass.

Put your artwork somewhere it can serve as a constant reminder that failure isn’t the end. It can be tough in the moment, but if you persevere, think through the solutions, and take your time, things do get better. And who knows, your next setback might even become the start of another piece of glorious art!