A welder by trade, Jeff Zimmerman might laugh if you call him an artist.

“I can’t even draw a stick man,” said the owner of Damage Control custom welding and fabrication in Niles.

Despite what he thinks about the classification, it would be difficult to describe the creations he welds in his spare time as anything but art.

Sitting on the concrete floor of his shop Wednesday afternoon were several industrial-looking creatures, including a dog, praying mantis, scorpion, stork and even a dragon.

All were made out of scrap parts he collects from yard sales and elsewhere, like shovel heads, rusty saw blades, springs, hedge trimmers and axes.

The Cassopolis man has been welding for more than two decades and opened Damage Control at 2524 Detroit Road about eight years ago. He says he can weld any type of metal, but mainly works on boats and aluminum.

He began making “yard art” out of scrap parts by chance while helping his son, Nicholas, a student at Ross Beatty High School, repurpose a bench out of old Chevy tailgates and other parts for a Cass County Fair project a few years ago.

“He won best of show,” Zimmerman said.

Since then, Zimmerman has made more than 25 pieces, which he sells or gifts mainly to family, friends or business contacts. He also has a booth at the Four Flags Antique Mall in downtown Niles.

“I didn’t even know I could do it,” Zimmerman said. “I never know what I am going to build either. I just see something in a part and then it turns into whatever I put together basically.”

For instance, he said he got the idea to make a praying mantis when he noticed the head of an axe looked a lot like a bug’s head. Bending a shovel head just the right way, he said, makes for a perfect dog’s head. He creates the dog’s teeth by manipulating garden rake tines.

“Everybody that comes in asks me how I thought of that,” he said. “I tell them, ‘I really don’t know. I just see something.’”

Zimmerman is not sure where he wants to go with his art. He says he is comfortable doing it for fun for now, but is thinking about ways to promote his pieces or enter them into art shows.

“If I’ve got a spare few minutes I start putting stuff together and everybody seems to think it’s cool,” he said. “It is kind of just a sideline, something fun to do. I think it’s cool too.”

Anyone interested in his work can contact Zimmerman at Damage Control by phone at (269) 470-0870 or visit his booth at the Four Flags Antique Mall.