Art Under Construction — Service Tech Gives New Life to Old Parts

Experts will tell you that to reduce stress, you should avoid bringing work home with you. For Tony Roberts, a service technician at EquipmentShare’s branch in Columbia, Missouri, the opposite is true. 

As Roberts repairs heavy machinery each day, he envisions a second life for the parts he replaces. He brings them home and spends evenings in his shop creating functional works of art.

“It started about seven years ago. I was kind of lost in my head and was trying to keep my mind off silly stuff in life,” Roberts said. “I build these things to keep my head right. It’s better than anything the doctor can give you.”

Roberts’ latest creation is a new mailbox for the Columbia branch. It includes a boom lift’s wheel, an excavator’s track tensioner, gears, sprockets, a turbo charger, a steel air tank and more. He used one of his grandfather’s wrenches for a flag and a socket wrench for a handle.

He checked with the branch’s letter carrier to make sure the box was up to code, and she gave it her seal of approval.

“She liked it so much, she got out and took a photo with it,” Roberts said.

He’s made hundreds of pieces, including end tables, chairs, lamps and a Christmas tree. He has an artist’s eye for shapes, and when he sees something he likes that’s being discarded — whether it’s at work or on the side of the road — he brings it home. Roberts admits this habit has led to a cluttered backyard, but it provides a ready supply of art materials. 

And you never know when you might need an old hot rod’s steering wheel.

“I really never have an idea of what it’s going to look like when I start,” he said. “I start welding and tacking, and if I don’t like something, I’ll just cut it off and add something else. I really like to build lamps, and I don’t really know the reason behind it except that they’re functional. A person could put it close to their chair and use it.”

Before his co-workers throw things away, they’ll ask him if he wants this intake manifold or that muffler. The answer is usually yes.

“There is something remarkably rare — and profoundly inspiring — about someone who can recognize potential where others see only waste,” said Denise Flaspohler, the service manager at EquipmentShare’s Columbia branch. “While most overlook broken machines, scrap metal and forgotten components, he pauses, envisions possibilities and brings them to life through creativity and craftsmanship.” 

Roberts has been told his artistic style, with all those gears and gadgets, is called steampunk. He did not set out to be a steampunk artist — he just works with the materials he knows best — but he’s glad people enjoy them and that the process of creating them makes him happy.

“My sister pointed out the steampunk thing and said, ‘That’s expensive stuff,’” said Roberts, who gives away his art to friends and family rather than selling them. “I told her, ‘It’s just junk I got out of the recycle dumpster, and I repurposed it.’”

— Interested in a new career? See what EquipmentShare has to offer.