Wednesday 14 June 2017

The making of a wren.

I have cut out the headband and body pieces from sheet metal. Next, I applied the ball-bearings to the hexagonal nuts.


I have selected some scrap pieces that I think would make a good body. I then make them out of cardboard to see what it will look like when welded together.

Buffing the body plate.
This is what the metal pieces should look like when assembled.

What it should look like when added to the head piece.


To the left you can see the metal body is made and the legs are in progress.


Welding the legs together. I am using a spring, because it seems appropriate for its 'springy' legs.
I am using these metal blocks to keep the legs pieces secure. All ready to weld.
The legs are assembled. So I am now attaching them to the body piece. 

The legs and body are standing.
I am going to use nails to create the feet, so I am buffing them to make them shiny

Assembling the feet.

I am going to grind the heads of the nails down, using the bench grinder. This means it will have a flat surface, so I can apply the feet I have made.

Assembled body and legs. They are standing very nicely on the bench.


I now bring the head piece and join it with the legs.


The body is joined. You can see the clamp I am using to hold it together. To the right you can see a little model wren that I have found very useful when figuring out the proportions and dimensions.

Creating the wings. Here I am using a gas torch. It comes in very handy when bending thick knife and fork handles.

I am comparing the new wren with the old wren. I will also work out the position of the wings.

Wing assembly. I am using a fork for the fine wing feathers. and a knife for the long feathers. Cloth pegs make very good clamps.

Wings ready to add.

Attaching the wings.


Almost there.

Wren complete.