To begin turning trash into garden decorations, hat stands and a myriad of other items, draw inspiration from the shapes of steel scraps you find. If an off-cut of steel looks like a clown, explore that design, using a marker to indicate where you will cut out sections or add other scraps to create your piece of art. Add interest to flat sheets with three dimensional items such as chains, bolts, gears and pipes. Support fragile or light steel sculptures with heavy bases made from pipe sections. To add interest to high-school scrap-steel art projects, and to educate consumers about recycling, try contacting local and state metalworking companies, some of which even hold contests for recycled steel art.
Be creative in your sourcing of steel scraps. Dumpsters are good sources, especially those behind welding shops. Always ask permission before rummaging around, especially on private property. If you ask politely inside a shop or business and explain your ideas, you may leave with a huge collection of scraps, or at least come to an arrangement with the owner to buy the scrap steel shapes you choose. Scrap yards will charge you for steel scraps, but are useful for hunting down a large variety of different shapes and sizes.
You do not need to become a master of welding, or even know how to operate a grinding machine, to make scrap steel art. If you do use these machines, always wear foot, eye and hand protection. Less aggressive tools include an assortment of tin snips, hammers, pliers and metal shears, all available from local hardware stores. Shears are used to cut outlines, pliers to bend and curl sections, and hammers, punches and stamps to create textures. Soldering attaches small items, like bolts, to the main sculpture. Annoying burrs which catch on clothes are removed with small handheld grinders. Drill holes of all sizes for decoration or to add a hook for hanging your work on a wall.
Scrap steel for art requires no protection against the elements, since it does not corrode. Finishing techniques include angle grinding rough edges, cleaning and polishing areas of the sculpture to highlight them, sanding, brushing with wire wool and burnishing sections. Paint your finished work, or leave the bare metal, as you wish. Paint options include using spray cans, applying paints with sponges, but since the paint is less hardy than the steel, finish your painted art with a weather-resistant coat for outside works.