Casen Custer stands on the nine-foot tall scorpion sculpture he built out of scrap metal with his grandfather.

Text and Photos
By Madison Hart
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — A local grandfather and grandson created a huge sculpture of a scorpion out of scrap metal.

Dale Custer, owner of Superior Landscape Products; and his 14-year-old grandson, Casen Custer, started building with scrap metal together two years ago, and have created smaller sculptures such as an owl, a flower and a dragonfly.

In December 2023, they started working on a project that would be their biggest yet — a scorpion that measures 9-feet 2-inches tall by 10-feet 2-inches long. A year prior, the pair made a prototype of a scorpion, but the final design would be 12 times larger.

The nine-foot tall scorpion took seven months to build. The process included sourcing the scrap from old excavating materials, cutting, welding and more. Casen wanted to learn to weld, and he did most of the welding.

They used the chain from a 100,000-pound excavator to make the body of the scorpion. Sprockets were repurposed for the pincers. The eyes were made out of grinding wheels. For the scorpion’s legs, the Custers used the re-rod from the bridge that crossed Tippecanoe River behind the Warsaw Racquet Club. Superior Landscape Products recycled the old concrete from the bridge when it was rebuilt, and Dale and Casen found a creative use for the scrap.

It was tricky to work with the materials because they were so heavy. They had to use levers and lifts to get the body off the ground. Then they had to ensure every piece of the chain was welded so it was immobile.

The final sculpture weighed 1,900 pounds.

The Custers haven’t made up their mind if the scorpion is for sale. They said they would be sad to to part with it because of all the time they put into it.