Saw this idea on a old magazine while waiting at the dentist office afew weeks a go. The Holidays came and I completely forgot about it until today that I was at the Home Depot picking up pellets remembered. Pretty straight forward andlooks great on my railroad - rustic living room. It goes really nice with my railroad cart coffee table. This should win me some points with the wife. For the record, these are not mine, mine are still drying outside. But They look 99.9% the same, only difference mine are slightly darker.
Jon, Thanks for replying. I was thinking of sitting it in water for a few days to rust it then paint it. Instead I used the "Hammered" Rustoleum Paint which gives it a banged up kinda look. Attached are the ones I made. I have to go to the HD tomorrow and get a few more fittings as they didnt have all of the ones i wanted. I need a few unions and two open caps.
I am really into re-purposing hardware and wooden furniture. I've used a base coat of flat black paint and a light coat of Mohawk brand tone finish that gives it the antique look. I have used it on a few antique light fixtures that I have re-wired. Heck, I'd throw a beat up pressure gauge on a separate branch off one of those stems. One of the antique markets I go to spring through the fall has tables of assorted "junk" for this type of work. I have a bucket of rail spikes to forge up into things this spring. This post just reminded me of the andirons I saw in NH over the summer in a fireplace that were pretty cool.
Jon that's a great idea with the pressure gauge. Thanks. I will definitely look for one tomorrow, the HD may not have it, there is a plumbing supply that will for sure have it. Speaking of re-purposing, this cart was used in a steel mill in Pittsburgh in the 30s and is now my coffee table. Thing weighs almost 400lbs.
That cart is what I call great decor. The possibilities are endless. I tried to convince Scotty to put his re-built wheelbarrow in his livingroom for a coffee table.
fishingpol, I saw something similar at Restoration Hardware but they wanted an arm and a leg and and half my foot for it. I searched and searched and found it eventually in Brooklyn NY at a warehouse just sitting there. Took some work but we like the way it came out. Id love to see the wheelbarrow.
I think it was posted at the other place if I recall. It is his current avatar. He re-used the old wheel, axle and handles.
Jon, My New project, and this one will be a challenge as my electrical skills are very limited. But I think this will go great in my living room. Possibilities are endless with pipes. This particular lamp is on Ebay for $999. What the Heck? I guess the cords for the bulbs are going through the pipes? The second one is "only" $799
A little pricey on those two lamps. Here is a site that I have used for light fixture restoration if you are considering on making one. http://www.grandbrass.com/
Jon, thanks for the info. Have you made any lamps? Id love to see them. Im going to a salvage yard tomorrow to look at some gauges and other rusty things they may have. Spoke to a guy today and he tells me to stop in that he may have some things I may like.
I've made one fixture and restored a few, including our outside mission-style lighting that I refinished and changed the stained glass panels in. The base for this actually fixture originally hung from the ceiling with two flame tip bulbs in it. I added hanging chain and sockets with new wiring. The blossom globes are hand blown glass that I purchased. The base was completely white, so I put some flat black paint and the toner color that I mentioned to give it some age. Sorry about the crappy picture. I am wondering what is going to happen when incandescent bulbs go the way of the dodo. A curly tip cfl will not cut it on exposed bulb type fixtures. Good luck pickin'.
