Riveter Tool Turned Hanging Flower Basket Holder

(House hunting in Ireland has commenced! Updates coming soon! If you’re just joining me today, I wrote about why we are in Ireland on Monday.)

If chippy paint makes your heart skip a beat, then consider yourself warned.

Heart palpitations may follow.

Behold the machine I call Red the Riveter. (Rosie was already taken.)

This gorgeous, chippy red hunk of equipment is an old rivet press.

At least, that’s our best guess. It would have been used to make rivets in leather and textiles.

Now it stands tall and proud in the backyard of the Junk Whisperer’s home. (The Junk Whisperer is my stepmom and she really needs her own page on this blog.)

We’re not sure how long the press has been out-of-commission. Decades probably. Now it has new life as a unique hanging basket holder.

In true Junk Whisperer fashion, this isn’t your average hanging flower basket. Oh, no. She planted yellow pansies in an old metal bucket and it works so, so well.

Finding a practical use for old industrial equipment can be tricky. More often than not, the equipment is either scrapped or forgotten when new technology takes its place.

When someone comes up with a cool way to salvage a piece of equipment, I always say, “why didn’t I think of that?” Then I steal their idea and make it my own. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery…or something like that.

Unfortunately, I did not pack a rivet press or a metal bucket in my suitcase when we moved to Ireland. I guess I’ll just have to live vicariously on this one. This is such a bright, happy spot in the Junk Whisperer’s backyard. I’m so glad I was able to see it in all of its glory.

Ready for more outdoor inspiration? Let’s go!

Decorating Your Flowerbeds

Outdoor Decorating with Farm Junk

Tire Planter

Potting Shed Part 1