Hitching Posts

[Matthew Groves]

My wife and I own an 1889 home here in the middle of Nebraska. I was noticing the other day the remnants of two "posts" near the street that I assume are bases for those conical cement hitching posts with the steel ring at the top.

This got me to thinking about making new posts and I wondered if any of you had ever tried it.

Anyone have some good pictures? Ideas you've seen/tried?

If I went the all-steel route, what's the best way to mount something like this? Do I sink a galvanized "socket" into the sidewalk and put the iron post into it? It will be decorative, of course. How does galvanized deal with long term concrete contact?

[HWooldridge]

I have made them for both wooden and metal posts. An easy way is to forge a light upset on the top end of a piece of 3/4" square, punch a hole thru the stock about 2-4 inches from the top, twist the bar in the middle and put the ring stock thru the hole. You can do this any way you like but I thread the rough circle thru the opening, then forge weld the ring so the section is consistent and the ring will rotate freely in the hole. You can also make the ring look like a door knocker so the ends pivot only in the up and down direction.

Re the mounting, I like to make a hole in the 'crete, plumb the post and pour lead around it. There are lots of other ways to do this part, including some very good modern epoxies but I like the look and period accuracy of lead.

Probably the best finish is a combination of paint and clear coat. I typically spritz on a light coat of the cheapest black paint I can find, then abrade the high spots with sandpaper after the paint is well dried. Add a little metal patina here and there followed by shooting a couple coats of clear satin urethane. After that is completely dry, I finish with a coat of paste wax. This combination is fairly easy to work with, cheap to apply and lasts quite well in my local climate of intense sun and sporadic rain.