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Cast iron leaves - what can I repurpose them into?

 
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These just showed up for sale locally. Apparently there are hundreds of them available.

I need ideas for repurposing. They are 'a bit longer than your hand'.

Decoration on stove doors?

Put three together in a circle and it can be a decorative wreath on the wall or door, doubling up as a trivet when needed?

Modify into coat or towel hooks?

Decorative support on a shelf bracket, to go with all the bits of pretty stone shelving I keep rescuing?

All suggestions welcome.
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I wonder if you could fix two or three together into a trivet for hot things?

About how long are these pieces?

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Timothy Norton wrote:I wonder if you could fix two or three together into a trivet for hot things?

About how long are these pieces?



That's my favourite idea so far!

They guy just got in touch with me and says they are around 7" (18cm) long.  

He won't do me a deal if I buy lots, but I'm going to get five - three for a trivet and two spare for playing with.

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Depending upon mounting, maybe handles on cupboard doors.

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Perhaps an "evergreen" wreath?

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I've always been taught never to weld cast iron, but that was in the context of stoves or engines, where messing up the temper is likely to lead to catastrophe. But as a decoration, would it be okay to weld these? I think two of them turned to face away from one another as part of a sconce style wall light would look kinda neat. Or more of them surrounding a glass globe could make a neat hanging lamp that straddles the line between swag lamp and chandelier.

I think they could also be incorporated into a cool lamp or decorative shelf brackets. (Already mentioned.)

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T Melville wrote:I've always been taught never to weld cast iron, but that was in the context of stoves or engines, where messing up the temper is likely to lead to catastrophe.  



I have been taught the same, but have done it before when there have not been other options. Stick weld with a high graphite stick will make it easier, cast iron has a lot of carbon in it which makes it tricky.

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Though I haven't done it myself yet, what I've read about cast iron is that it should be heated almost red hot before stick welding, and then after the weld is completed, to tap the welded joint with a hammer to stress-relieve it as it cools to room temperature.  If you give it a try, let us know how well it turned out?
 
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Four of them attached to a piece of wood might be feet on a low stool? Being petite, I often need a stool if I'll be sitting a long time in a chair that's too big for me (read: almost *all* chairs are too big for me) but the stool only needs to be 4 to 6 inches high.

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cast is tricky to weld and yes you need the correct rods if stick welding.  I would probably opt for bronze welding for something like this except I don't have the kit for it right now.

They used to weld up cast iron cylinder blocks back in the day, I assume heat control is critical as someone else pointed out.

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We managed to weld up the cast iron needles on the old baler once after I managed to break them.

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We managed to arrange a time to collect them, and they are close enough to get more if we can think of enough genuinely useful things to do with them.

They are 'handed', which makes things even more interesting.



These three are all the same chirality, and will fit together to make a trivet which can double up as a seasonal wreath to put on the door.



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The top picture of two, almost looks like a heart shape.

Would you need some sort of door stop?

Bit hard to make decorative items completely useful - you need to consider your needs and go from there.

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What do the backs look like? Are there any nubs, bumps, or other bits that might work for wire attachment?

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Weld a plate on back and you have door handles
 
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