Some Wall Hooks from RR Spikes!

[bigfootnampa]

I made these for a customer who will mount them on an interior wall.  Because the arrangement of the hooks will make it unlikely that they will locate over studs, I made these to be screw anchored so that standard drywall anchors can be used anywhere on the wall.  These are forged and ground but will still need to be drilled and countersunk.  Forged from old railroad spikes.  I first made a 5" nail then cut 1 1/2" of the 5/8" square spike shank where the nail head would normally be and flattened it some, slightly domed.  I ground the top ends to a nice round shape, as that was quicker than trying to forge it accurately.  I got two hooks from each spike and tossed the end with the spike head into the scrap bucket.  BTW I forged the heads of the spikes down to square to make it easier to handle them with my tongs... didn't worry about cold shuts as I discarded the remnants that were affected anyway. 

[Ohio Rusty]

Nice work !!!   Those hooks will last the new owner forever. Railroad spikes are still good steel for lots and lots of projects. Railroad spikes are an alloy that is tough and will take abuse without breaking. All sorts of good items can be made from them .....

Ohio Rusty ><>

The Ohio Frontier Forge

[VaughnT]

Good use of scrap metal, especially when you can get two hooks from each spike.

The leftover heads, if you've squared them up, make excellent decorative washers and backer pieces of more hooks.  Punch a hole in the center, or in the corners, and you've got plenty of room to add some decorative chisel marks or rivet on a hook.

[Frosty]

Looking good. You're just a step away from leaf coat hooks and those are popular sale items at Demos. You'll want to punch holes though. Punch rather than drill for a couple reasons, most importantly it lets you easily counter sink for screw heads and secondly punching is faster and easier than drilling. Thirdly it's a good skill to add to your mental kit.

Decorative twists are good additions too twisting is real crowd pleaser at demos.

Frosty The Lucky.

[bigfootnampa]

Frosty; I often do punch rather than drill.  In this case I had plenty of metal as the pads are about 3/16" thick and drilling was faster and neater than punching.  Time was a factor.  These spike hooks are pretty soft to drill and countersink.  Because the kitchen where they are mounted is kind of a clean modern look, I didn't think twists or rustic embellishments would be a good fit.  I have made many leaves but didn't want these too complex or costly.  I put a paint finish on them with Rust-Oleum's universal paint, burnished amber color.  I like this paint!  It forms a flexible film with strong bonding properties.  

Edited March 28, 2015 by bigfootnampa
Spelling

[Frosty]

Ayup, we need to temper what WE think looks right to what the customer wants. I don't know what gave me the impression they were your first hooks, I even wondered about that.

Paint is good, Rust-Oleum is top shelf paint and it keeps getting better. Who knows, maybe they'll invent a paint I won't have to touch up for a generation or two.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Vladimir]

Nice work. But It will be better make rounded corners on the hooks. Sharp corners is not good for  coat loops.

[bigfootnampa]

They won't be holding coats.  Actually each corner has a small ground chamfer.  It is hard to see in the pictures.