Still practicing on hooks.

Took Dave's advice and got some 3/8-inch round stock to play with and worked on my techniques for shaping the hook (without the benefit of a horn).

Funnily enough the far left was my first attempt and my favorite. I'm kinda thinking I need to video myself making these so I can see exactly what I did to get certain results after the fact.

Looking good!
Phil

You may wish to consider the shape of the hook and form the hook for the use it will encounter. For instance the entrance line and exit line should be parallel and maybe a little deeper for use such as a curtain rod holder, but should be more open or more closed for other uses. You may wish to put a fish tail scroll on the end of those hooks that are use for hanging a jacket so as not to poke a hole in the fabric.

You may wish to put a fish tail scroll on the end of those hooks that are use for hanging a jacket so as not to poke a hole in the fabric.

Fishtail on the end sticking out from the wall? Will those little pigtail finials I've been doing tear through a jacket?

Much improved!! Your curves, your rat tails, your tapers... all much improved. Keep practicing!

much improved i say too - they are looking good - the first one looks the best to me because youve tapered it slightly more and the shape is good. not At All sick of seeing your hooks, keep them coming :)

Fishtail on the end sticking out from the wall? Will those little pigtail finials I've been doing tear through a jacket?

The reason you put a pig tail on the end of the hook is to soften any point. Can you imagine trying to hang a jacket on the sharp end of a nail? The broader and wider the end where the jacket is placed, the less damage to the jacket, hat, or whatever else you are hanging.


Now that you have the basic hook, dress it up a bit.

Take a ball pien hammer and ball end down make a couple of dimples in the long piece of stock, drill a hole in the dimple to attach the hook to the wall with a screw or nail.

Make a leaf on the long end.

Make a leaf on the hook end but use the middle (widest part) of the leaf to support the jacket. Roll the edges under a bit so it will not snag the jacket.

Turn the round to square and put a twist in the now square section as a decorative element.

I like them too. The first one seems to flow better.

Keep at it!

Bravo!

I often make a really good piece to start with, and then it goes downhill from there....that happens occasionaly with everyone and the newer you are the more often it will happen. The important thing is that you got a much cleaner curve on all three of your hooks, and especially on that first one.

Your finial scrolls look much nicer as well!
I like the finial scrolls on the far left and far right hook the best. I like to sometimes leave the finial a bit more open like the one on the right, and sometimes close it up really tight more like the one on the left. I also sometimes like to curl them around more drastically, sort of tucking that tip inside the circle.

The places for improvement would be as follows:
Towards the ends of your hooks, you are having one of two issues. You are allowing too much material to hang over the edge of the anvil when you first hit the material, or the end of the material is too cold and isn't moving properly. If you alter one or both of these, it will start to eliminate the flatter area on the tip of your hook.

On the mounting bracket area, are you punching or drilling those holes?
It looks like you tried to keep the mounting bracket area the same width as the stock when looking at the hook from the front! (I could be wrong.) Allow the metal to spread out wider than the original stock, and practice using your hammer to control where and how far the material spreads. Also, thin it down more drastically. Make it about 1/8-inch thick or maybe 3/16-inch. I usually make my mounting brackets so that the screw holes can be 1/2 or 3/4-inch apart.

Good job! It's great to see your progress! Keep it up!

Thanks again for all the kind words everybody! I'll keep practicing!

Dave, I haven't drilled or punched these yet, I don't have the tools necessary to do either one here at the house.

As for the mounting area, I'm still really trying to get the flattening technique down. Those half-hammer blows take a little practice to get them in the same spot! :)

Sounds like you need to get a coil spring from a car or truck and make a suitable punch! The neatness of your taper suggests this is within your ability.

You can make a punch out of the same material as the hook you are punching and expect it to make some holes before needing dressed, but it will need dressed very frequently, probably every dozen holes, more or less.


Phil