Marlin Sculpture

[Sandman]

Well seen the fishing has been slow (an understatement for me) I decided to build a fish , a marlin as it happens Its taken all of a day and almost complete, its over 2mtrs and made out of scrap metal.
I have used a few books to get as close as i can to reals specs the only thing that has slowed me down is lack of material and daylight.

I have taken a few photoes but i will post these when the item is finished, i have one concern about mounting the sculpture in my yard and thats lightning, any thought about avoiding a strike ? I know being low should lower its chances but i had a silly thought about sticiking it out a sculptred tree in the front yard. Perhaps lightning will strengthen my welds Oh yeh its a small black tailing out of the water

Mick

[Cammy]

nice mate it sounds like it gonna look good!

Cammo

[hungry6]

This I REALLY want to see....

[RayDeR]

Certainly will look better than swans made out of old car tyres.

I look forward to the pics

Ray De R

[blaze]

when you put it in place, drive a 3/4 reo rod about 4 foot into the ground and then weld it to the fish (only guessing so dont take as gospil)
cheers
blaze

[Sandman]

Thanks guys , i think it looks the part anyway, its now just the final touches eyes etc gils , going to modify the pectrol today as they arent quiet long enough but i am feeling it really doesnt matter that much. The beak is impressive i have to shape that aswell.
Thanks Blaze, you know more than me , I currently have it mounted (welded) temp on a star picket so i can work on it in the yard, the smallest breeze picks it up nicely, I jokingly said last night i was going to mount it on the roof as a wind vien I found an old pump so iam thinking to place it jumping out of the pond now with water traveling over it.
Should have some photoes up tonight.
Mick

[groverwa]

Sandman

Lightning will try and find the quickest way to the lowest resistance earth. The circuit to earth, in this case via the conductor you will weld onto the bottom, needs to be straight in relation to the sculpture with little or no bends as lightning can and will leave the object in the bend is too severe. Ensure that your fone line and/ or underground power if you have it, is well away from your sculpture as lightning may decide to use the conductors as the good earth.
I worked for the PMG/ Telecom/ Telstra for over 33 years over a lot of the country region of Western Australia and have seen what kind of damage lightning can do.

Mike Belgrove

[Sandman]

Thanks Mike, Starting to worry now!! So basically there is potential for lightning to bounce if the sculpture bends rapidly ? If i place a conductor higher and staight to the ground and as Blaze mentioned around 4 foot i maybe able to reduce the risk or atleast avoid a bolt hitting other areas?

I think the best thing to do is complete it post a photo then get some suggestions from you Mike. Appreciate all your comments
Regards Mick

[groverwa]

Sandman

I dont think you would have to worry about it bending and if you weld the rod onto the sculpture and have that rod go into the ground as far as possible you should be ok

Where are you and do you get much lightning?

We dont get too many real bad electrical storms where I am now - Eaton about 2hrs south of Perth - but about 2 months ago we had a bloody beauty, so as old habits die hard I unplugged all electrical appliances with the exception of the handsfree fone we have, SWMBO was expecting a call, and had one of those lightning occurances that go FLASH and BANG together, frightened the shit out the 2 dogs and promptly buggered up the ADSL modem and the ethernet card in my PC. Should have left the PC on and got a new one on insurance - hehe

Mike

[ANYFISH]

mate if this thing looks good you should be putting it inside the house away from the lightning! It should go straight to the pool room.

[blaze]

Well I'm waiting for the pics of the marlin when the lighting strikes, just image the colors with the zaps coming out evert where
cheers
blaze

[choppa]

theres a bloke at the eumundi markets who makes all kinda creatures from the sea with tin,,copper,,,

i've seen some of his work,,,, and to put it bluntly,,,, its good,,, not exceptional,,, but bloody good,,,,

in general,,, its mainly ""wall hanging"" artform,,,, but the colors he gets out of heating and bending the material is great,,

dear as a few kilo of good quality australian prawns per piece,,,, but different

choppa

[loophole]

should look good eagerly awaiting the pics.

ivee been thinking since im handy at gardening id like to make a fish lke a marlin and trian it into a hedge.

[Sandman]

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Hope these work !! not finished yet had afew welding issues tonight after removing the pecs and me not being the greast welder. its looking good, i think i may leave out some of the details like the eyes but i may change my mind. let me know your thoughts, keep in mind its not finished yet.

[Sandman]

sorry about the angle i just learnt how to put the attachments on since this the changes to the site