Custom Metal Signs and Art
Well there have never been many elephants in South Texas but I liked the silhouette of this elephant and the typical African tree. Made a nice lamp and it is a nice change from the many whitetail and domestic critters that usually get named on such projects. The lamp shade is my wife's selection.
Customer wanted some art on a gate he was building. Old tractor, milo and his father in law's Piper Lance airplane. That cold scene is in New Mexico.
Recent order for last name cut out of 3/16" plate to be mounted on the back of work truck. Painted white to match the truck cab and looks very nice on the black headache frame. Notice it was mounted high enough to not block the rearview of the driver.
The gate that I built for display out in front of the store, kept having a problem with the color of the saddle for being visable from the interstate highway. First, I painted the saddle red like the lettering and it just didn't contrast with the background. Secondly, I painted the saddle silver to see if I could get a better contrast. Still didn't have the "Pop" that I needed. Well, guess what, YELLOW seems to bring out the look that is well displayed and visible. The saddle and lettering is cut from 1/8" plate to keep the weight down on the gate.
Well, the photographer came forward with a much better picture of his rig. This truck can go anywhere and look good doing it. Torchcraft art welded on the back of his headache rack as well as the custom tailgate. Not only can this guy shoot a camera but he can fabricate too. Again, I am honored that he has chosen to display my art in such a unique way. Thanks Eddie
Here is the The Hopper sign mounted and I sure do like the way it turned out. What a neat way to display your sign. The name sign is a perfect display in front of the home. Hung by chains from a stand that once held a flag pole.
Well, if you need to put a name and put two cats but have limited room, let one cat hold the O! Works for me and the customer liked it too.
When this little girl came to Torchcraft, I thought of a lot of things that she can proclaim. When momma aint happy.....ain't nobody happy! Welcome but Behave! Go Away. Howdy seemed to be a good one. You can order this little darling and say whatever you decide. Cut from 3/16" plate and painted for outdoors.
One of my favorite things to do is combine tempering of the steel for colors and adding brass for added color and dimension. I found this design while looking through a magazine many years ago. It was actually hanging on African queen's necklace and made of gold. I guess brass is a poor man's gold but it gives a nice look to the sun's face.
Custom brand made for customer who's initials are LV but his wife's name starts with a G so he modified he brand to accomodate the G with the number 6. This brand is made with 1/4" x 1" strap steel.
Well, this is brotherly love in true fashion. A fellow in Washington state wanted to give his brother in Memphis, Tennessee a sign for his new farm. The brother favors the image on the sign......a chichen playing a guitar. This may have something to do with the fact that the Tennessee brother is involved in music. The font used is IRON MAIDEN for you that are young enough to recognize that name. It was explained to me. The sign is shown in raw steel prior to painted black.
Over the years, Torchcraft has made many pieces for gates made by other fabricators and Torchcraft makes gates from time to time. I recently made a gate to display in front of my store to show the public that I welcome gates and always ready to place names and art on them. The gate shown here is
a 13 foot gate with a 2" outside frame and 3/4" pickets. Heigth is approximately 72" at the top of the arch and had 60" sides.
This is a repeat on an original order from Incarnate Word. The picture shown is of the crown after it is primed with etching primer and before the top coat of black paint. The metal this is cut from is 1/4".
In a previous post, my South Texas photographer friend had installed the headache rack art to his pickup. Now after fabricating his own tail gate, he included a Bobwhite quail and dog scene.
Customer furnished his own art of a really nice howling wolf. Cut from heavy 1/4" plate and incorporated the address numbers to new home.
This order is for two ovals to be inserted in custom made gates. Cut from 3/16" plate. The two Fords are copied from photos that the customer sent of his project pets. The tree is inspired from a painting the wife has of their relationship.
Here is the real deal. Someone, who we won't name, looked at the new ranch and said "mejor que nada" which translate to better than nothing! So that became the name of the ranch. Now that is original and unique.
Not a brand, but in this case the person's initials are welded onto a Texas plaque. The plaque is tempered and the 1/4" thick initials are welding on to the plaque from the back side, then they are polished to a silver finish. The entire piece is clear coated and a hanger in the back for wall display.
Moore Boys Farm.....This is a sign that was made for a customer in Arkansas. Actually, I recieved an order for a gate and wings from a lady and this
is from a family member. The top picture shows the gate topper in my shop after it was primed. The overhead art was mounted and later I received
the order for the gate and wings. I like this job and the folks were fun to deal with.
Bunn Orthodontics in San Antonio - has an established logo that was designed to simulate teeth with braces. The sun flower was an addon and the peace symbol was added after the flower. Asked me to make it out of metal. The circle of teeth is cut from 3/16" plate, while the flower is brazed with brass. The peace symbol is tempered like the teeth. A coat of automotive clear coat was sprayed over the entire piece. Lettering is tempered and clear coated as well.
I recently made the sign for the luxury chicken coop and I borrowed one of the hen designs to create a key holder. The large horseshoe nails are great for hanging keys, pot holders, ribbons and such. The hen is heated to give the colors and a clear coat is applied. This hen is getting ready to scratch the ground and look for whatever she turns up.
I had the pleasure of hunting on the Kenedy Ranch down at Sarita, Texas for a number of years. The division we hunted is called La Parra, which means the grape vine. The size of La Parra is somewhere around 26,000 acres and it is loaded with game. The recent pieces I just cut and painted for a gate in Giddens, Texas are hanging in my shop and it reminded me of going to the coolers at La Parra and seeing all of the game that had been harvested. This particular gate will sport buck, doe, hog, turkey tom, cactus with quail, ducks and flying doves. I hope the gate owner will send a picture of the finished product.
This order came from a customer who's great great great great grandfather was quite a piece of Texas history. I looked up Jose Antonio Navarro and there is too much to list here. He was a statesman, rancher, politician, revolutionary and merchant. Also, he was one of the original signers of the Texas Declaration of Indepence. If you like Texas history, look up Jose Antonio Navarro and read about this Texas patriot. This brand was his. I like the old brands as they have a style of their own. This is all cut from 3/16" plate and has 1/4" round rod for hangers. Painted flat black and holes for mounting on the wall.
It is a good day when the Cajun girls come through my area. One of them has a husband that works on the Texas coast and they like to make the trip to visit. They bring one husband for changing flats and picking up the meal tickets. It seems that they like Texas Bar B Que. Well, the cajun queen ordered a sign for her husband. I could listen to her accent all day. They are all fun people and I hope they continue to stop by.
Had an order for two of these for custom gates. Each oval is 48" wide and cut from 3/16" thick plate steel. These will be welded in the gate and then the gate will be sand blasted and powder coated.
A fellow artist, wildlife and life photographer jazzed up his rack with some metal art. This is a good as I have seen. He painted the art a nice hammered brown to contrast with the black rack. I am very proud to see this.
This cap/hat rack has turkeys. Four of them. Two in flight and two on the ground. Lots of turkeys around this new home and now it sports a Torchcraft fireplace screen and a cap/hat rack. The rack has 410 gauge shotgun shells for hangers.
Well, I am in full agreement. When you need to show your appreciation to a friend, what better way than to call up Torchcraft and have a custom made wall art to express that gratitude. This one is cut out of 3/16" plate and shown after it was primed. Finish color was black.
This sign represents the Texas bluebonnets and Florida's state wild flower, the coreopsis. Hummingbird is local South Carolinan???? Cut from 3/16" plate and shown after a coat of primer was applied. The top coat will be black.
This fireplace found it's home and looks really good on the rock . A fairly large fireplace, the screen is not light weight but presents the ranch brand and the game that the owners like.
