Welding was essential to the birth of Old Steel, the life-size buffalo being built in the workshop of
LeRoy Kayl in Custer. The rebar frame came from an old, discarded swing set, while the skin was made from scraps of edging.
“ It was a lot of hammering. Every single piece was cut to size but then it had to be shaped before it was welded on,” said LeRoy.
He thinks the hardest, most time consuming part of Old Steel was its horns.
“ How they’ re bent buffalo have a distinct kind of look to the horn and they’ re not all the same. To get it the right size and kind of look, that looks right to me, that probably took the most thought,” LeRoy said.
LeRoy does the same with the old tools he has collected which will be welded to the buffalo skin to give the beast its texture.
He has buckets and buckets of these old tools. He recently went to rummage sales in Custer where he found old socket wrenches, pipe wrenches and chain links.“ Nothing chrome, it’ s gotta be old. Those are probably wrenches from the late 1800s up to the 30s or 40s,” he explained. He estimated he ' s spent way less than $ 500 total in creating Old Steel.
The beard of the buffalo will be made from old chains attached link by link to replicate the curly hair of the animal.
Different size chain links will be used to create textured legs that will be thicker than around the face.
“ All of them will either be a single chain link or just two,” LeRoy explained. The chain again is from garage sales. The eyes of Old Steel were ordered from a taxidermy shop.
LeRoy has been planning Old Steel for five years. He studied the bison animal from all angles, taking meticulous photos of the animals in Custer State Park, looking at their legs, how they stand, how they balance, how they hold their head, the overall physiology of the giant beast. He used a television set in his shop that he could use to zoom into photos he took.
“ There ' s a lot of difference between males, females, young, old. Even the old ones. You look at 10 different pictures of old buffalo and they look a little different. Some heads are a little wider, some are a little longer. I took what looked right to me. I didn ' t use a tape measure on anything.” LeRoy wanted his bison to be looking up, in a walking stance.
“ I knew what this was gonna look like before I even started on it,” LeRoy explained.“ Throughout my life I feel that way. I see a vision or something and I can reproduce that.”
He explained he built homemade trailers for himself and“ by looking at the metal I had and the purpose I wanted it for, before I even started on it I knew what it was gonna look like.”
By way of understanding, he explains that he has always had this gift. He’ s been cutting his own hair for most of his life.
“ When I cut the back of it Elizabeth asks‘ how do you get it so even in the back?’ In my mind I can see what I’ m doing. Just the vision of that,” he explained.
Eventually Old Steel will be coated with a vinegar solution so it rusts in a uniform pattern. LeRoy has no clue how much the sculpture weighs, but guesses currently it’ s 1,000 pounds. LeRoy still has to do the hooves; they have cloven hooves which are split in the middle and LeRoy hasn ' t decided yet how he will do that.
Elizabeth did not expect Old Steel would be so incredible. She says her husband has always been precise, but never artistic. In fact LeRoy still doesn ' t quite see himself as an artist.
LeRoy has been working on Old Steel for four months. He doesn ' t work on it constantly but spends five to six days a week for four to five hours a day. He is also able to take a break from the piece so he does not get burnt out. LeRoy is expecting to finish Old Steel by the fall, after which time it will stand greeting people who visit the Kayls at their home.
“ I ' m doing this for us,” LeRoy explained, hoping once it is finished the animal will live on the property for years to come.
19 Down Country Roads September / October 2026