Monday 19 November 2012

A Little Bit More Shed Decor

I have added a few bits and pieces to my shed recently. Some I made myself and some I picked up at the last Collectorama at Nambour.


The first photo shows three 3 dimensional barnstars that I made. They are made from some thin galvanised sheet tin that I actually bought probably over 30 years ago. I was going to use it to make trays for the bottom of some birdcages that I intended to build.

My three homemade Barnstars
On close inspection you can see how the centre of the red star is not quite as crisp as I would have liked it to be. This was the first one I made. I began to refine my manufacturing process as I went on with the result that the cream and blue stars turned out a lot better. I chose to paint these stars red, white (cream) and blue to be in keeping with the colours of the Australian flag (or the American Stars and Stripes or the British Union Jack for that matter). My barnstars are approximately 30cm across and I have arranged them in a random pattern just above the barn doors of my shed.

The three barnstars above the barn doors
I intend to make some more, next time experimenting in different colour schemes and materials.
Click here for a brief history of the origins and uses of barnstars.


The next photo shows some more horse gear that I managed to find. This time a few different horse bits.
Three different horse bits.
I managed to pick these pieces up at the last Collectorama in Nambour a few weeks ago.
Amongst the gear were two horse bits which were a little different to the one that I had. My original one, the one on the left is blacksmith forged whereas I believe that the other two have been machine manufactured. Maybe some one can confirm this for me? I would also like to know what the two bits sticking out of the centre bit were for. Can anyone help me here? Included in the lot were a number of horse shoes and some other steel bridle links (at least that's what I think they are).

My Horse Gear.
I actually saw a set of leather horse blinkers and a full leather bridle for sale at the fair. They weren't too expensive but I am trying to do this shed decor thing on a budget so I left them for someone else to buy.


Below is a photo of the steel hook and shears that I also got from Collectorama, as well as my experimental Union Jack.
A collage of rusty metal and a few other bits
The shears were in a box of rusty junk which the seller really wanted to get rid of so was open to any offers. I picked out the two pairs of shears and was hoping I could get them for $10 for both. Before I could make him an offer he asked if $5 sounded OK. Of course I said that would be fine.

Two pairs of rusty shears
The shears are both marked and still work surprisingly well considering their rusty condition The smaller pair are simply marked Crest and Germany. The larger pair of sheep shears, however, have a number of different marks on them. They are marked Hind's Patent - Double Hollow Ground as well as Burgon & Ball Patent No 294. Along with a few other marks, they are also have Made in England stamped on them. Apparently, Hind's Patent shears were of the type used by the sheep shearing legend, Jack Howe.  He once sheared 321 sheep in a single day with shears like these. His hand sheep shearing record still stands today. They sure look good hanging on my shed and would probably clean up OK if I decided to put in the effort to do so. Read more about Jack Howe here.

The hook and chain was sold to me as possibly used to move wool bails around but I don't think this is correct. I believe it was most likely used to pull out stumps or drag logs behind a tractor. Either way it makes a great addition to my shed decor.

Rustic Union Jack and rusty hook
I made the rustic Union Jack while experimenting in making a folk art Australian flag. Never really intended hanging it on my shed but I think it looks OK so there it is. All I did was to grab a small bit of old ply that I had laying around and quickly brush on some acrylic folk art paint (I was after a rough folk arty look). I then got the sand paper to it to give it a slightly weathered look, added some rusty wire to hang it from and it was finished. I enjoyed making it and will probably experiment further with other rustic folk art flags in the near future. I may even take photos at each step along the way for a future post. Might plan to also do this when I make more barnstars.


I am currently waiting on more number plates and signs to arrive, so stay tuned for the next exciting instalment of Johnnyfive's shed decor.

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