Tasteful automotive furniture

[Josh]

Gents,

Had an idea for a while, and I think that I'm going to start doing it. Wanted to get your thoughts, and see if this was actually plausible. I've thought for some time that it would be very cool to make some smaller furniture from automotive parts. Valve cover coatracks, camshaft lamps, Con rod wine bottle racks, intake/exhaust valve key racks, etc. also been thinking of doing some bigger stuff, like a cutaway transmission coffee table with a motorized input shaft to turn the internals. I'd start small and work my way up to the bigger stuff, and you could do it with almost any car, from Power Wagons to Ferraris. Customers would be able to pick part/paint finishes, some items, like the con rod bottle rack would have a wood baseplate, where the customer could pick the wood type and finish, etc.

You guys think this kind og stuff would catch on and actually sell? seems to be a relatively untouched idea.

[Brett]

Josh,
I Think there may be something in your Idea. My wife has been on a kick of showing me things she's seen on http://www.etsy.com . It may be a slightly different crowd than you had in mind. but, its amazing what people will buy, and what they'll pay for it.

Brett

[skinnedknuckles]

Being a single guy living in my own house I have made quite a few unique auto/heavy equipment related household items around my house. Like differential cover wall sconces ( cut them in half mount them to a nice piece of oak , black walnut, cherry with some stainless/chrome bolts and put in a L.E.D light in it ). Connecting rod lamps, ring gear clocks, 1930's Ford banjo housing rear axle mailbox stand, broken Jeep part wall decor (getting too many of these though), etc. The only thing is with using this stuff is that the weight sometimes becomes too much for walls and floors. But it is still looking . How many people can say that they know someone that has Dana 23 through Dana 70 differential cover wall sconces lighting their hallways or a Caterpillar connecting rod lamp by their computer, or a very narrowed Eaton rear axle out of a semi bird bath. The girlfriend just and the neighbors still think I'm crazy, but I think thats normal.

[poor rich]

Well....
In the movie When Harry met Sally, when the best friends move in together she makes him get rid of his wagon wheel coffee table.
On the other hand, on the set of Top Gear BBC, they have a V12 engine block with a glass top as a coffee table.
The big thing these days is "man caves" and for a gear head this would rock!
If I may give a bit of advice for styling, (feel free to take it or leave it) the man caves I've worked in tended to be leather, chrome, diamond plate, stainless steel, and more toward primary colors.


Keep us posted with your pieces, we're all gear heads, your sales may start here.
Rich

[MSeriesRebuild]

We have scrap stuff laying all over the place, come and get a load.

[SOTVEN]

HELLO JOSH. NICE IDEA INDEED. AS MENTIONED ABOVE THERE IS PLENTY OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WILL BUY VARIOUS ITEMS AND PAY BIG BUCKS FOR THEM. I HAVE SEEN SUCH FURNITURE VERY FEW TIMES, AND IT WAS ALWAYS MADE BY THE FURNITURES' OWNERS AND NEVER SOMETHING TO HAVE BEEN BOUGHT. SOME TIMES THEY WHERE TASTEFUL, ARTISTIC, AND UNIQUE PIECES, AND OTHER TIMES, MORE SIMPLE PIECES OF JUNK THAT FOUND THEIR SPACE IN HISTORY. MORE SPECIFICALLY, I HAD SEEN A V TWIN BIKE ENGINE TRANSFORMED INTO A BEER TAP ON A BAR, WITH LIZARD LIGHTS AND GLITERING CHROME, WHICH WAS A SITESEING BY ITS SELF. ON THE OTHER HAND, I HAVE SEEN A V10 DIESEL ENGINE CORE WITH A THICK GLASS IN A NON SYMETRICAL SHAPE ABOVE IT, MAKING FOR A GARDEN TABLE. STILL IMPRESSIVE APPROACH, UNLESS YOU HAD TO MOVE THAT THING LOL. BOTTOM LINE, GO AHEAD AND TRY. I HAVE SEEN YOUR WORK THROUGH THIS FORUM, AND I AM SURE ALL THE PIECES WILL BE METICULUSLY DONE, WITH LOTS OF TASTE. HOWEVER, YOU COULD START BUILDING SMALL, (PRODUCING THINGS THAT CAN BE SHIPPED EASILY THAT IS) AND RUN A MARKET TEST THROUGH E BAY. THIS WAY YOU HAVE THE ENTIRE PLANET AS YOUR CLIENTELLE, AND MORE PEOPLE CAN SEE WHAT YOU HAVE. GOOD LUCK FRIEND

[hbb]

Josh

There is a real market for that type of stuff! Every year at the Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale a guy is there selling such items and they are not cheep! The Rat Rod culture goes crazy for the stuff that you have in your home and it sounds like you have a artistic eye for it. I could put stuff like that together but someone has to show me the lead cus I am no artist and those folks are the ones that make it happen and make the money. Good luck with your idea and show us some work when you are finished.

I am a huge fan of that stuff also!

hb

[hmvlover]

How about some pics.

Later Joe

[Master Yota]

A stack of super swamper tires, and a sheet of plywood makes a great kitchen table...
The wife made me get rid of it though...

There'll be a niche with the rat-rod crowd for sure, especially if you could tailor it to thier rods. Like a connecting rod shifter for an auto tranny, or use short rods as the spokes of a steering wheel... My personal favorite is shop furniture; I've got a 22" wide aluminum wheel from a dirt track car that has made an excellent base for a shop chair. And its an instant conversation piece.

[MSeriesRebuild]

I was reading an article in Farm Show last night about some folks doing this same thing with old discarded tractor components and implement parts. They had some nice stuff pictured, and a room totally decorated with it. Looked really nice and would be definitely appealing to the tractor restoration crowd.

[hbb]

I was just at the recent Barrett Jackson auction and there was a collection of bomb fins made into a table,barbecue and a stand up cooler . they were all about four foot in length and really looked good and would be great patio furniture.

hb