30 Horseshoe Welding Projects to DIY Today (With Pictures and Videos)
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There’s more you can do with old horseshoes than toss them or use them as paperweights. They’ve got a rustic appeal, but they are also incredibly sturdy and can be used for several purposes. Most horseshoes are made of mild steel. So, whether you are a novice or a veteran welder, you should find them relatively simple to weld. Check out these 30 horseshoe projects that you can weld today.
The 30 Horseshoe Welding Projects Are:
1. Flower
| Materials: | Horseshoes, round bar |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This is an excellent piece of yard art. Place a round object on a table (roughly 5” in diameter) and arrange the horseshoes around it. These will form the petals. Then add another layer of horseshoes and stagger them. Then weld them at the joints on the front and the back. After you weld the petals together, weld a piece of round bar to the flower so you can place it on the ground. You can also weld additional horseshoes to the side of the bar for leaves on the stem.
2. Shamrock
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Cutoff wheel, welder, wire brush |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Cut a horseshoe down the center while it’s secured in a vise. You only need to use half of the horseshoe as the stem of your shamrock. Then take three horseshoes and put them together to form a shamrock shape. Tack and weld them up at all joints. Clean your welds with a wire brush and knock off any weld spatter with a chipping hammer or chisel.
3. Business Card Holder
| Materials: | Horseshoes, horse nails |
| Tools: | TIG welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This one requires special attention to detail and dexterity with TIG welding. The first thing you will do will be to put a horseshoe with the radius side down in a vise. Then heat the branches of the horseshoe and bend each branch down at a 90° angle. The next part will be to make a fan shape out of horse nails using the inside radius of a horseshoe. Once you’ve formed the shape, you can fuse them using your TIG torch without adding filler metal. Only after you’ve fused/tacked the shape can you weld them to the inside of the radius. Do this for both pieces and weld the two together.
4. Horseshoe Cat
| Materials: | Horseshoes, Lock Washers, Metal Coat Hanger |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This project is the cat’s meow, and you won’t believe how easy it is. The cat’s head and main body are comprised of two horseshoes welded together at the radius. The base of the figure is another horseshoe. Two lock washers are the eyes, and an old cut-up coat hanger is the whiskers!
5. Wall Hook
| Materials: | Horseshoes, wood screws |
| Tools: | Welder, wire wheel, buffing wheel, metal file, drill, countersink |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
Before you start, polish the metal with a wire brush and then buff it. Then cut one horseshoe, not exactly in half, but at the desired angle you would like once it’s hanging on the wall. Weld that segment to another full horseshoe. Drill and countersink holes in the full horseshoe for mounting with wood screws.
6. Fire Pit
| Materials: | Horseshoes, Shaped Steel |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This piece of shaped steel is well suited to be the base of a fire pit. Four horseshoes are then welded on the bottom of the bowl-shaped steel as legs. The top of the bowl shape is then expanded by adding more horseshoes around the perimeter. This is an easy project, and there’s plenty of aeration available for your fire with this model.
7. School of Fish
| Materials: | Horseshoes, steel ball bearings |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This project looks a little more involved than it is. By cutting a horseshoe in half and welding the halves back over each other with a lap joint, you can make a fish. Make a whole school of them and weld them together. Check out the steel ball bearings that make cool eyes.
8. Towel Rack
| Materials: | Horseshoes, rebar, screws |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, drill |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Lay the horseshoes out in an arrowhead configuration, like a flight formation of birds. They should all be laid out flat. Then tack them all and weld them together. To hide the welds, flip over the arrowhead and weld two more horseshoes at a right angle on either end. Tack up and weld your piece of rebar between the two horseshoes. You can drill and countersink holes for mounting at either end.
See also: 6 DIY Squat Rack Welding Plans To Assemble Yourself
9. Horsehead
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, bandsaw |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
- Materials: Horseshoes
- Tools: Welder, grinder
- Difficulty:
This one depends just as much on your drawing abilities as your welding. Considering that most of these are tacks, the welding is quite easy. Draw your template and fill it with horseshoes to shape; you might have to do some bending. Once you have it all, tack it up and weld it!
10. Cross
| Materials: | Horseshoes, horse nails |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Make this cool ornamental cross by cutting the horseshoes in half and welding them back together at a wider radius. Look at the layout shown in the video. It’s pretty simple, and the welding is not too difficult. It shows it being welded with TIG, but if you’re going for a more rustic look, you could also do Stick or MIG. Add some decorative pieces with horse nails on all four corners for some extra flair.
11. Horseshoe Bench
| Materials: | Several Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This is not a project you can complete without a plan. The horseshoe bench includes a decorative arch across the top. The entire bench is made of horseshoes: the legs, backrest, everything. We can’t vouch for how comfortable it is, so maybe you should add a couple of cushions to be sure you can relax in your garden!
12. Boot Rack
| Materials: | Tube steel, horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
The instructions in this video are extremely easy to follow. Check out the boot rack that will help keep your muddy boots off the floor when you come into the house. The shelves and sides are made entirely from horseshoes, while tube steel and rebar are used for the base.
13. Wine Rack
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, level |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This wine rack will wow your guests the next time you have them over for a dinner party. It can hold a wine bottle on its side and two glasses by the stem and bottom. Find a horseshoe with a radius that keeps it secure to ensure your bottle is not rolling around. The glass holders can be adjusted by cutting the horseshoes in half, removing a segment, and welding them to the desired radius.
14. Coat Rack
| Materials: | Horseshoes, screws |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, straight edge (for clamping), clamps, drill |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Lay out several horseshoes side-by-side. It’s helpful to clamp them down to the table using clamps and a piece of angle or flat bar to keep them straight. Tack them together and weld a horseshoe on each of them to create hooks. You can drill holes in the end pieces for mounting. A nice touch would be to mount this to a wood board which can then be hung.
15. Cactus
| Materials: | Horseshoes(several), diamond plate |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This project is not terribly complicated, but it is laborious. You will be spared a lot of headaches if you organize your horseshoes by size beforehand. Be sure that the bottom of the cactus has the inside of the horseshoes facing down so that the feet provide extra support.
16. Pumpkin
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, wire brush, vise, torch (optional) |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Get ready for the Fall with this horseshoe pumpkin. Cut half of a horseshoe to form the stem and add your own personal touch by bending it in a vise. This is done easier when you heat it up with a torch. Place the horseshoes in a circular pattern with the feet touching in the center so that the toe of the shoe is vertical on all horseshoes and tack them together. Then, weld the stem on the top and weld the bottom in a circle.
17. Heart with Wings Cross
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This one is easy if you have a creative and observant eye. Many of the horseshoes you don’t have to cut. The wings will be the most difficult since they have the most complicated cuts. Be sure to clean off all discoloration and spatter after welding.
18. Horseshoe Letters
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This is a principle for most of these projects, but you need horseshoes with a similar thickness and look. That’s especially true with making horseshoe letters. Unless you want your project to look like one of the ransom letters cut out of magazine clippings, don’t skip on the preparation. Another essential thing to remember is that whatever letter you choose, make sure your pieces are flat on the table.
19. Bowl
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Make this cool decorative bowl that can be used to hold fruit or other objects. It would make a great gift for the holidays and requires no cutting. Two horseshoes are used for the bottom, and four are welded at an angle and attached to the bottom piece. Then, four more pieces are overlapped and staggered over the others.
20. Decorative Christmas Trees
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
The length of the horseshoe segments you cut off is up to you. The video shows segments that are more or less the same length, but you could make the ones at the top a tad shorter, or for a more natural look, you could vary the sizes. Weld them together flat on the table, and then use a whole horseshoe for the base.
21. Footstool
| Materials: | Horseshoes, metal files |
| Tools: | Chop saw, welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
You can make this little stand/footstool out of metal files. They are welded together side-by-side and then supported by six horseshoes on the bottom. Ultimately the quality of the welds on the top is not that crucial. In fact, for aesthetics, you can grind them down flush at the end.
22. Log Rack
| Materials: | Horseshoes, rebar |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
If you need something to hold your lumber, then this is it. Using only 14 horseshoes and two small pieces of rebar, you can make this log rack. Twelve horseshoes are used to make the bulk of the frame, and two more are cut to make the four legs. The rebar is added on the front and backside for extra support.
23. Wreath for Front Door
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Wire brush, welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
For this design, mark all of the horseshoes the same on each branch. Arrange them in a circular pattern and overlap them along your markings. You should be able to create a star pattern in the middle of the wreath. Weld them together and clean off the welds with a wire brush. Decorate your wreath with ribbons or other festive ornaments.
24. Horseshoe Ring Puzzle
| Materials: | Horseshoes, chain links |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
This classic puzzle used to keep kids entertained for hours. Maybe now, with cell phones and too much television, the allure is slightly lost. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t puzzle over it yourself! Check out this easy-to-follow tutorial for a less than easy puzzle.
25. Wine Bottle Holder
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Once again, for wine bottles, ensure that you don’t have too much debris on the inside radius so that your bottle is secure. The video doesn’t show it, but you need to clean off all the rust from your horseshoes if you hope to have an easier time painting them afterward. This bottle holder is for a single bottle stored upright.
26. Chair
| Materials: | Horseshoes, round bar |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, bandsaw |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
The entire base frame, the supports, and the seat base are made from round bar, which is welded together in a jig of the desired dimensions. The seat is made of a web of horseshoes with extra support from a piece of round bar bent to shape and welded on the backside. This would make excellent patio furniture.
27. Trivet
| Materials: | Horseshoes |
| Tools: | Welder, wire wheel or brush |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
This project would make a great gift for Mother’s Day (or Father’s Day, for that matter). This trivet is made of three horseshoes welded together flat, and it couldn’t be easier to construct. Once you’re done welding it, you can carefully grind down the welds and so that your dish will sit flatter.
28. Yard Cup Holders
| Materials: | Horseshoes, rebar, plate |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder, cutting torch |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
A long piece of rebar forms the stand, which has a horseshoe as its base. This is welded together at the bottom, and at the top are two horseshoes on either side of the rebar. The horseshoes positioned where the drinks will rest have a piece of a cut plate (in the shape of a star) tacked to the underside of the horseshoe.
29. Turtle
| Materials: | Horseshoes, horse nails |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Moderate |
The main body of this little guy is an entire horseshoe. The back legs are the toe of the shoe which has its branches cut off. The front legs are two small segments, and the tail is a bent horse nail. This would make a nice decoration near a pond or a gift for reptile enthusiasts.
30. Turkey
| Materials: | Horseshoes, horse nail |
| Tools: | Welder, grinder |
| Difficulty: | Easy |
Place a layer of three horseshoes on the table side by side so that they can weld into the toe of another. Then stagger another layer of two on top of the three. Weld them all together, and flip your fixture upright so the heels can be welded to the heels of another horseshoe perpendicularly. Then, cut a small piece of a branch: one that you can fashion as a neck and head. Attach a small bent horse nail for the gobbler. Gobble Gobble!
Summary
It’s not just farriers who deal with horseshoes. There are so many uses for the metal pieces, but there’s something that the farrier knows that you may not. Horses, just like people, have different-sized feet (hooves). That’s especially pertinent to welding. If your project deals with specific measurements, you must ensure you get the right size. See this chart for a quick breakdown of sizes.
Featured Image Credit: Abbott Bowie, Shutterstock
