Fast, easy, simple display stand

So far, everything on the Batdad Cave (all two posts) has been rather involved and don't apply to everyone.  This one is fast, easy, essentially free and applicable to everyone.  This has probably been done in many other places but I haven't seen it, so if someone else did it first, kudos to them. 

The Batdad needs a way to display all his many awards from the citizens of the city, although a superhero does not do it for the glory. 

The Batdad display stand

Here is the list of supplies for this project: one strip of metal.  That's it.  A straightened paper clip works good for small items.  A larger piece, as long as it could be bent, could be used to display books, plaques, etc.  In this example, I used some scrap pieces I had from some fencing I used for the Batdog's fence. 

The entire tutorial is shown in the photo below.  First, straighten the piece of metal.  Second, bend the ends into small hooks in towards each other.  Third, bend the metal in half with the hooks facing up.  Finally, bend the whole assembly in half again to about a 30 degree angle.  You can adjust the stand to display your item more upright or more laid back.  The crucial step is the 2nd one, making the small hooks at the end.  The key is to bend them as tightly as possible around the thickness of the item to be displayed.  Needlenose pliers work best but if you are using a paperclip they can be bent by hand pretty easily.

Steps 1-4: Display stand

The finished project

Bat-tar

No Batdad Cave would be complete without a guitar with which to melt some faces (as my friend Paul would say).  So my second post, which only took a few months to get done, is a sweet Bat-tar.   It all started with the Batdad's brother's old yamaha stratocaster knockoff.  It was looking and sounding pretty rough anyway so it was in need of an overhaul.  Here it is partially disassembled:

Bat-tar Before

Taking it apart is pretty easy.  I just pulled off the volume, tone, and pickup selector switch knobs and unscrew everything.  The screws around the pickups are a little longer and have a spring that, I think, isolates the pickups from the body of the guitar.  Then I washed and laid out all the pieces.  I am sure there is some product that washes and preps the pieces for painting better but soap and water did find for me.  Perfect is the enemy of good enough.  One thing I would do differently is set the pieces off the ground a little higher because I was getting some dust and bits of debris on some of the parts.  Here are the pieces laid out in my painting booth with the front plate painted:

Pieces laid out for painting

 One of my favorite effects (that my lovely Batwife taught me) is the glossy/matte effect.  First I painted the front and back plates of the guitar with high gloss paint.  Then I used a spare Bat-a-rang that I had lying around (thanks to my old buddy Matt) as a stencil.  Below is the back plate of the guitar with the aforementioned Bat-a-rang in position.  After a coat of matte black paint on all the pieces, the painting was essentially done. 

The back plate of the Bat-tar ready for a coat of matte paint

Assembling a freshly painted anything is one of the most fulfilling experiences I can do, especially when it is something as awe-inspiring as a Bat-tar.  The knobs came out great and the Bat-tar actually sounded better.  I guess I must have fixed a connection or something when I reassembled everything.

Bat-tar reassembled

The Bat logo and volume knob

Here is the before and after.  This was a fun, fairly easy project and great addition to the Batdad Cave.  Oh and the final cost was really just the cost of 2 cans of spray paint and a guitar or anything else you may want to Batify.

The final product

The before