chancellor's ornament

steel bar with three holes, two nuts, large washer

peasant's amulet

machine-punched thin steel plate

lieutenant's ornament

spark plug, steel plate with two holes, copper wire

peasant's amulet

thick, wavy steel plate with hole

young prince's ornament

steel clip, square nut

queen's ornament

brushed steel machined plate, split ring washer, crystal chandelier drop, copper wire

scholar's ornament

steel library card file divider with paper label, washer

ring

hose clamp

folded steel bar with four holes

wavy steel plate with hole

washer

rubber washer

bridge

city in the distance

temple

A. Finkl and Sons steel mill, Chicago, near Wicker Park area

through the temple window

half-mile barricade

steel and fine mesh fence surrounding...something...

burial ground

I turned around and looked up to see THIS. I had no idea it was there, since I'd had my back to it, crouched over staring at the ground.

burial ground

This photo cannot show the scope of this scrap chute - that white rectangular thing to the middle left is a CAR. This pile of scrap is like five stories high.

amazing

Once again, I remind you that the white rectangular object to the lower left is AN ENTIRE CAR.

the royal crest

This is a fence post at the steel mill with the "F" for Finkl in steel on top. Very cool.

inside the temple

The forge is quiet...or is it?

eruption

The smelter opens

conflagration

Huge gouts of fire shoot to the ceiling, and scrap metal is poured in for smelting. I don't need to tell you that I had to pick my chin up off the floor at this point.

tools of the trade

A stiff brush and pick, paper towels

a bountiful harvest

I found SO MUCH stuff!

careful cleaning

I wanted to get the dirt off without damaging the rust.

a selection of the finest pieces

chancellor's necklace completed

Everything in these pieces was found on my archaological expedition, except for the waxed cotton cord used for hanging and connecting, and the copper wire, also for connecting.

peasant's amulet completed

quadruple-wrapped with waxed cotton cord, otherwise just as I found it

lieutenant's necklace completed

I copper-wired a spark plug to a thin piece of steel that had two holes in it

lieutenant's necklace second view

peasant's amulet completed

I used a simple wrap on this piece, which is otherwise just as I found it. I prefer to wear the larger, simple pieces just as they are.

young prince's necklace completed

I couldn't get a good photo of this one because the metal is pretty dark. I used a fairly complicated wrap to get the square nut to "float" in the middle of the clips, but I'm not satisfied with the way the photos came out - the details don't show well.

queen's necklace completed

Yes, I found the chandelier crystal, too. The washer is attached with copper wire, and the hanging is an elegant double wrap.

scholar's necklace completed

This card file divider is so awesome!

ring

The amusing thing about this is that I already have a number of hose clamp rings that I bought at the hardware store.