How to Make an Iron Rooster

Roosters are a decorative item for many households.

Through the years, some decorations fade or break making them unattractive, but a wrought iron rooster decoration will not rust or break. Wrought iron is made into decorations for the lawn or indoors depending upon the artist's design. A rooster made of iron is a good decoration for the kitchen to go with other rooster items found at department stores. Make the rooster yourself, with special equipment and make the item unique to you and your home.

Things You'll Need

• Paper and pencil
• Propane forge
• 1 1-foot-by-1-foot flat mild steel piece
• Tongs
• Ball-peen hammer
• Anvil
• Propane torch
• Three 6-inch-by-3-inch flat mild steel pieces
• Chisel
• Two 6-inch-by-6-inch flat mild steel pieces
• 1 3-inch-by-3-inch flat mild steel piece
• Two 3-inch-by-1-inch flat mild steel pieces
• Two 1-foot rolled mild steel pieces
• 2-gallon bucket of water
• Sander

Instructions

1. Draw the rooster design before you begin to work. Doing this will help you map out which parts to make and the details you desire on your rooster.

2. Heat the propane forge to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a 1-foot-by-1-foot flat mild steel plate into the forge and heat until it is yellow-white in color.

3. Pull the iron out of the forge, using the tongs, and quickly use the ball-peen hammer to round the metal around the round end of the anvil. Once the metal is round, use the propane torch to heat the edges and weld them together to make the round metal into a ball.

4. Heat a sheet of 6-inch-by-3-inch iron until it is yellow-white. Use the chisel and hammer to make this piece of metal appear to have feathers by digging into the side and end in rounded feather shapes. Use the chisel to give the feathers texture as well. Repeat this process for a second wing for the other side of the rooster. Repeat this process and bend the steel into a tail on a third sheet of iron.

5. Use the propane torch to heat the wings and weld them onto the sides of the rooster.

6. Heat a 6-inch-by-6-inch steel plate until it is yellow-white. Roll this sheet of iron into a tube on the thin end of the anvil using the ball-peen hammer. Use the torch to weld the tube shut and onto the body of the rooster.

7. Heat a second 6-inch-by-6-inch steel plate until it is yellow-white and roll this into a ball the same way you did the body. Weld this ball onto the end of the tube neck.

8. Heat a 3-inch-by-3-inch plate until it is yellow-white. Fold this in half from corner to corner to make a triangle beak. Make sure the triangle beak has an opening in the middle to make the beak fuller. Weld this to the ball head.

9. Heat two 3-inch-by-1-inch plates until they are yellow-white. Use the chisel to make one plate rounded like the comb on the rooster's head and one rounded like the waddle under the rooster's chin. Weld these parts onto the rooster head with the propane torch.

10. Heat the end of a 1-foot rolled mild steel until it is yellow-white. Bend the heated end to make three wide set toes with one toe in the back of the foot. The toes will take up 6 inches of the 1-foot iron piece and help the rooster to stand. Repeat this process for the second foot. Weld the feet onto the bottom of the rooster 2 inches apart. Place the heated foot pieces into a bucket of room temperature water to cool them off before setting them on a work bench or table.

11. Sand the rooster with a metal sander to remove any bumps in the metal at the welding seams to give the rooster a more polished look.

Tips & Warnings

• The iron is only malleable for 20-30 seconds at a time, make sure to work quickly and precisely for the best results.

• Iron heated in 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit is very dangerous. Make sure to wear proper protective gear and use the equipment correctly.

References

• 4ironwork: Artistic Blacksmithing by Witzke Ironworks: Basics of Blacksmithing
• Metal Smith; Propane Forge Safety; Bruce Freeman, et al.