Alright, let’s talk about this little project I wrestled with recently, the one I ended up calling ‘the brass bull’. Not because it was massive or anything, but man, it was stubborn.
It started simply enough. Saw a picture, maybe? Or just got a bee in my bonnet about making something solid, something with a bit of heft, out of brass. I figured, how hard could it be? Get some metal, cut it, stick it together. Famous last words, right?
Getting Started Wasn’t Smooth
First off, finding the right kind of brass sheet wasn’t a walk in the park. Went to a couple of places. One guy tried to sell me stuff thin as foil, another had bars thick as my thumb. Finally found some sheet metal, maybe a bit thicker than I wanted, but I grabbed it. Thought, I’ll manage.
Then came the cutting. I laid out my pattern, simple bull shape, nothing too fancy. Pulled out my snips. Hah. Those things barely scratched it. Okay, plan B. Got out the heavier shears. More muscle involved than I expected. Edges came out rougher than I liked, too. Took ages just to get the basic shapes cut out.
The Real Fight: Shaping and Joining
Bending this stuff? That was the next battle. Brass doesn’t like to bend cold, not this thickness anyway. Tried just forcing it – nearly broke my vice. Okay, time for heat. Got the torch out. Heated a piece, tried to shape it. Let it cool. Heated another. Slow work. Managed to get some curves into it, make it look less like flat cutouts.
Sticking it together, that was fun. Tried soldering first. Didn’t hold well. The joints looked messy, blobs everywhere. Cleaned it all off. Grumbled a bit. Decided I needed to braze it properly. More heat, different filler rod. It was fiddly. Trying to hold these small, now slightly shaped, heavy pieces in place while managing the torch and the rod… let’s just say there were a few choice words muttered in the workshop. Dropped pieces more than once. Had to reshape a horn that got flattened.
- Getting the legs positioned right was a nightmare.
- Attaching the tail so it didn’t look like an afterthought took three tries.
- Making sure the head was angled okay, not staring at the ground or sniffing the air.
Finishing the Beast
Eventually, I got it all assembled. Looked… well, it looked like a bull. A slightly lumpy, slightly uneven bull. But solid. Definitely solid. Then came the polishing. Oh boy. Files first, to knock down the worst of the rough spots and messy joints. Then sandpaper, working through the grits. Then polishing compound and the buffing wheel. Took way longer than building the thing, I swear. My hands were black.
In the end? I got it done. It stands on the shelf. It’s not perfect, not by a long shot. It’s got character, let’s say. Looks a bit grumpy, defiant. Honestly, calling it ‘the brass bull’ felt right. It fought me every step of the way. Didn’t turn out quite like the sleek thing I imagined, more like a testament to stubbornness – both the metal’s and mine. Learned a lot, mostly about how brass likes to misbehave. Definitely underestimated that project.
