Stone and Steel and Fire Sculpture

I hate to see stuff wasted and enjoy recycling other people's junk
Nearly everything on this project was found in a dumpster, an inorganic collection or bought very cheaply from trademe
The stone block is from a house demolition which I "acquired" a couple of years ago and has been sitting outside my shed waiting for inspiration
The metal part is a light I found in a skip in Aucklands North Shore
The bbq was bought for a dollar from TradeMe.co.nz

Stone slab
Standard lamp

Parts from old BBQ/Patio Heater

Router/Dremel
Drill
Handsaw
Chisel

As I have already mentioned I found the stone blocks in a skip a couple of years ago, at a house demolition/remodel, I initially drove past then changed my mind and went back for a couple.

I wish I had got more but they were all gone by the following day.

I'm not sure what it is but think it is engineered limestone, in any case it is quite soft and easy to work even with hand tools and surprisingly light.

The light was in a skip a few doors down from where the stone was but about 18 months later.

The BBQ I purchased from TradeMe (NZ's answer to Ebay) last week for the princely sum of $1, I had to partially dismantle it to get it in the car at some ungodly time in the morning in the rain!!

I also bought a 3m length of 8mm gas hose ($4.50/m)

Once I got home I fully dismantled the BBQ, I think that I really only need the wok burner and valve and the regulator and hose, however I kept all the Stainless Steel as I may use it in the future (and I have plenty if storage space) and the rest will go into the scrap metal pile at work and bolster the biscuit fund!

Firstly I dismantled the light, I didn't need the weighted base and bottom pole (although I do have a plan for them later as a bicycle work stand), I also removed the glass shade and all the electrical "gubbins".

I have never worked with stone before so I had no idea how this would work out, but first of all I squared the stone block up.

It was a little damaged at the top so I decided that a taper would be best to remove the damaged areas

I marked it out and then cut the slopes, initially I thought I would need an angle grinder, but the stone cut easily with a hand saw.

I then drilled a hole right the way through using a masonry drill, the cut a larger recess to accept the standard light pole

I drew on my design with a pencil and then using a trimmer router and a 3mm straight bit cut out the outline.
I put ferns on 2 sides and the names of my 4 grandchildren on 1 side (Luke 17, Erin 8, Jack 8 and Aria 2 months)

I thought the carving looked too flat and basic so using a wood chisel I rounded out the fern leaves to give a more 3D impression
I think this is called bas-relief carving, I haven't gone for anything massively detailed maybe I will on the other piece of stone I have at a later date

I dry fitted the lamp to the stonework to see if it was aesthetically pleasing or needed more or less height.
I think it is about right, though the top is a bit wonky at the moment
There needs to be some enlarging of the hole at the top and probably some form of bracing/support
I will "cement" the pole in after plumbing the gas with some 2 pack epoxy filler

I was going to run the gas pipe up the centre, but it's diameter is too small, time for a rethink

This is my alternate way of connecting, come out of the side and attach the valve mounted on a bracket
Trouble is, it is ugly as sin
So another rethink

I had a root around the shed and found this small diameter aluminium gas pipe, it's from an old fire I dismantled that I had kept as I thought it might be useful one day (see I was right)
I straightened it out and fed it through all the components (which was both a bit of a faff and had to be done several times as I kept missing bits out)
I also cut the right angled tube up so I just have the air intake and venturi
Then I reassembled it all
Much neater but I may still have another modification yet

I cut a curved slot for the 8mm gas hose in the bottom of the stone block and fed the hose through and connected it the aluminium pipe.
Once done, I screwed all the standard lamp together, pulled the remainder of the slack hose back and connected the gas reducer
Problem is I still don't like it, so I'm going to bin the whole burner assembly and just use a gas jet, the flame is too small and it looks ungainly having the burner so elevated

I had assembled the burner in the metal light dish, not sure if I'm going to use it yet as on connecting I get a very small flame,

edit, complete redesign, all this was binned and a small gas jet from the same fire that I got the aluminium pipe from was used

Next modification, I threw away the original steel bottom dish and substituted it with a small stainless steel bowl ($3 from KMart) this allowed me to have the burner lower and out of sight, also the original dish had multiple holes in it due to the redesigns

I then did a trial run to see what the flame looked like

I cut a couple of flame shapes from the bbq stainless steel hood Using a nibbler on my drill to finish off the shape

I used a cardboard template to get the shape I wanted

These were pop riveted into position, Then another test with the first (of 3) flame shape attached

Much happier with that

The Centre pole needed to be secured, I used some 2 pack epoxy filler that was given to me as it was out of date (so free)

Ready to locate in the garden somewhere

As it is mobile, I put it in the garden to take some pictures (and wait for dark while I wrote it up!)

Then I waited for dark to take an Atmospheric Night Photo