How to make a DIY metal grasshopper sculpture

This is my first stick welding project. It is an insect sculpture I made out of scrap metal pieces. It was really fun to make and I learned a lot  through the process.

 The whole thing is made out of scrap metal. The grasshopper idea, was inspired by the shape of an old tool I had in the shop.

First of all I cleaned the tool a little bit, using a wire brush on my drill.

Then I welded the moving parts of the tool, in the position I wanted.

I used a hammer to remove the borax and check how my welds came out.

I then welded two nuts to act as eyes. 

I made the front four legs of the grasshopper using large nails. I bended them in shape using a hammer on my vise.

To keep the nails in place for the welding, I used my soldering station.

I made the back legs out of a thick metal rod. I cut them in place with the angle grinder, then I heated them with a blow torch and finally used a metal tube as a leaver, to bend them in shape. At the end of each leg I soldered a washer to act as sole.

I then designed the shape of the wing on a 3mm metal sheet. I used my grinder to cut the shape out. For the curved parts I created relief cuts, to help me with the cutting. I also used the grinder to clean up the burs. After that was done, I used the first wing as a template to make the other.

I then welded the wings in place.

I sanded the welds using a sanding disc, on my grinder. To reach a few hard spots, I used my rotary tool with a cone stone grinding bit. But the metal was too hard and that did not work that well!

At this point the sculpture was ready. I finished with two light coats of gold spray paint.

I really enjoyed this project. My welds came out awful, but I really enjoyed welding. I also learned a ton of stuff!