This is my husband's Father's Day present.
I've been looking for some vintage caster wheels for awhile for this project and last week while driving home from a visit to my parent's, I spotted a "Barn Sale" sign and of course told my husband we HAVE to go check it out! It was an experience to say the least (more to come about the sale in another post!). But while digging through the piles of stuff I spotted these wheels . . . covered in gunk, dirt and grease. For 5.00 . . . they were mine! I did some research on how to clean these. Do you know there was actually an article on cleaning vintage steel caster wheels??
After first cleaning as much as I could with a wire brush, they went into a white vinegar bath for 24 hours. Isn't that a pretty sight? Just look at all that crud that floated away. Per the instructions, I rinsed them thoroughly and dried them.
I love that the vinegar bath even removed all of the crud in the nooks and crannies that I would have never been able to get to. I also had to stabilize the 'swivel' of these. If you are just making them for photo display, it wouldn't matter and you could skip this step. I just wound some thin wire around to disrupt the 'swivel'.
For the base I bought these moulding pieces from Home Depot for under 2.00 each. I drilled the holes for the screws and then painted them black. I added a piece of cork onto the bottoms to finish the base off.
All of this was the easy part. The photos . . . that was another story. I started by measuring the diameter of the wheels with a strip of paper to see how many/what size photos I needed for each wheel.
Then I printed a few sample strips, adjusted the photos and finally printed them on matte photo paper. I cut them to fit the width of the wheel.
Go with good, old Mod Podge (I used the matte finish). I applied a thick layer directly to the metal wheel, then to the back of the photo strip, then another layer on top of the photos. I smoothed it out with my finger and set them aside to dry . . . until I realized I had applied the photos UPSIDE DOWN. Because these are being used as bookends, I need the photos to be 'viewable' from a distinct direction. Sigh.
After much peeling and scraping, I got most of the photo paper off and started all over again.
I did add a second coat of Mod Podge to seal them extra well and then they were finished! The steel will continue to rust and age which I like.
I also did some research on the value of these . . . they are selling online for as much as 50.00 each so I think my $5.00 was well spent!
If you can't find two of these wheels, I think it makes a great photo display as a single wheel too.
Men are SO hard to buy/craft for! What ideas do you have or have you made for the men in your life? I'd sure love more ideas!
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