From Burst Copper Pipe to Phoenix Brooch a Tale of Rebirth
Introduction: From Burst Copper Pipe to Phoenix Brooch a Tale of Rebirth
On February 14, 2021, the state of Texas was hit by a devastatingly cold weather front, the likes of which had not been seen or felt in many decades. Millions of people across Texas lost power and the ability to heat their homes. The cold snap lasted for several days as did the power outages. My mother was an unfortunate victim of this severe weather and so were her copper pipes. About 5 days into the storm one of the pipes above her kitchen burst. By the time my brother and I arrived at her home the kitchen was completely flooded. Water was pouring from the ceiling on to her cabinets and on to her counter tops, the kitchen was ruined. We were able to turn off the water main and stop the water, but it was clear that the kitchen would have to be completely gutted and redone. We would come to learn that my mother was not the only person affected by ruptured pipes, the whole state had experienced tremendous losses due to pipes freezing and then bursting.
The next hurdle we faced was finding a repair man to fix the pipe. This turned out to be extremely difficult as everyone was booked and when I was able to get a repair man on the phone, he quoted me $500 to repair the one pipe. So instead, I decided to make the repair myself and as a souvenir I kept the piece of burst pipe that I replaced. And it is with that piece of copper pipe that I decided to make a brooch in the form of a phoenix. The phoenix signifies rebirth or a renewal and I plan to give my mother this brooch for her birthday which is coming up in January.
It was a difficult time for my mother she had to move out until the repairs were made. To make a long story, longer I was not able to find a person to renovate her kitchen, so my brother and I decided to perform the renovation ourselves. It took us 3 months to fully renovate the kitchen. 459
It would have been shorter but delays in things like cabinets and appliances due to Covid supply chain issues prolonged the process.
In this Instructable I will demonstrate how I went about making a brooch from a copper pipe.
Supplies
<PERSON> pipe or copper sheet
Card Stock
Pencil
Ruler
Utility knife
X-acto razor blade
Marker
Hacksaw
Bench vise
Rubber mallet
Needle nose pliers
Sandpaper
Files
Blow torch
Glue stick
Spray Paint
Clamps
Jeweler's Bench Pin
Jeweler's saw
Solder
Flux
Dremel w/sanding accessories
Bar pin hardware
5-minute epoxy
Step 1:
My mother actually ended up having two pipes burst in her kitchen. After I repaired the first leak, I turned the water back on and about 5 minutes later another pipe burst. So that's why I have to sections of pipes with holes in them.
The first thing you need to do is find out what size phoenix you can make from a 1/2-inch pipe. So, I took a piece of card stock and wrapped it around the copper pipe and marked were it starts to overlap on to itself. Then I laid the card stock flat and cut off that section off. This will be the size of my canvas, so to speak. I wrapped the card stock back around the copper pipe just to make sure its the correct size.
Step 2:
I don't know how to draw, so I cut several pieces of paper in case I need to draw more than one. After several sketches I eventually drew a version that I liked. You can see in the last picture, my progression and what I ended up deciding to go with after all.
Step 3:
I placed my sketch over the copper pipe and marked the length. Then I took the pipe over to my portable bandsaw table and cut the pipe, you could also do this step with a hacksaw.
Step 4:
Now I had to split the pipe down a seam. In order to do this I clamped the pipe in my bench vise and using a hacksaw I cut down the length of one side of the pipe. Take your time doing this and begin your cut at a steep angle on one edge and slowly drop your angle down as you cut. I found this allowed for more control and a somewhat straighter cut.
Step 5:
Now it was time to flatten the pipe. I used some needle nose pliers to begin prying the pipe open a little at a time switching from one side to the other. Once it was opened up enough, I clamped the copper pipe in my vise and opened it up further. 981