There’s something that always bugs us about bugs. Even at their best, like when they’re watching tiny TVs in miniature homes, or doing a dazzling dance to scare of predators. No matter how majestic or harmless they might look, they could always crawl or fly into some place (or someone) they shouldn’t. When you remember that billions of cicadas are about to emerge from the ground after a 17 year nap, or how “murder hornets” are a real concern we all have to live with, insects can really give us the heebie jeebies. But there is a way to admire them up-close without living in fear of them. You can simply forge one yourself out of nuts and bolts. It’s not exactly an easy process, but the end result is incredible.
The YouTube channel The Q has shared a tutorial on how to craft your own metal wasp. (Which we first came across at Laughing Squid.) It starts with some graphic design, to accurately plan the correct shape and size. That’s when the handiwork begins. Using the kinds of nuts and bolts you might find on any work bench, you put them in a drill. Then you file them down to create smooth, round pieces for the wasp’s body. After some fine-tuning and sanding, you should have pieces that give your metal bug a contoured body.
That’s followed by more metal work, which includes heating and shaping additional pieces. After that you cut out the wings, which have an intricate pattern. Then there’s lots of hammering, sawing, chiseling… yada yada yada, you have a metal wasp.
The Q
It all sounds so easy, right? Well it’s not. At all. At least if you’re like me, who could never be confused with Home Improvement‘s Al Borland. But even if this project is too hard for many of us, it has one thing going for it anyone would love. No matter what happens, your metal wasp will not sting you.
Messing up some nuts and bolts will never bug us as much as that.